JMicron Technology Corporation (Taiwan Stock Exchange/GTSM # 4925) has officially released the JMS901 that meets the UFS 2.1 specification at this year’s Flash Memory Summit 2018. The JMS901 is a high-speed bridge IC capable of connecting USB 3.1 Gen1 to UFS 2.1, which is a new solution from JMicron specifically for the emerging UFS interface storage devices.
UFS (Universal Flash Storage) have been widely used in various handheld mobile devices due to their superior data transfer speed and power saving features, especially for the internal memory storage used in smartphones to replace the traditional eMMC. In addition to the UFS as an internal memory storage, another key application is the UFS memory cards, which inherits the advantages of the UFS memory storage. UFS’s physical dimensions are also equivalent to the current SD card. It is an emerging new generation of high-speed, power-saving, and portable storage medium. Compared to the traditional SD card and its card reader, JMicron’s JMS901 equipped with UFS memory card, has the data transfer performance of 430MB/s or more. This changes the users’ performance expectation on memory cards completely. This SSD-like performance will greatly reduce the time required for data transfer, sharing, and editing.
Ming-Cheng (Tony) Lin, JMicron’s VP of Sales & Marketing, indicated that although UFS related specifications and UFS cards were officially released in 2016, there is no corresponding UFS card reader product on the market, which has led to the slower adaption of UFS memory cards. By collaborating with major international manufacturers to establish UFS and improve the overall supply chain ecosystems, JMicron’s JMS901 solution will accelerate the penetration of UFS memory cards in the market and enhance UFS memory cards in various consumer electronic products. This will also diminish the wait-and-see attitude on UFS cards for the consumer electronics manufacturers, which will kick off product developments, accelerate the visibility and penetration of UFS cards in various consumer electronic products, and ultimately enable consumers to enjoy UFS card’s superior user experience.