BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:MU) announced today three new 64-layer, second-generation 3D NAND storage products, which support the high-speed Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.1 standard. Micron’s new mobile 3D NAND products are available in 256GB, 128GB and 64GB capacities.

These new mobile solutions are based on Micron’s industry-leading triple level cell (TLC) 3D NAND technology, empowering smartphone makers to enhance the user experience with next-generation mobile features such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality and facial recognition. The emergence of AI in flagship phones is driving the need for more advanced storage solutions that enable faster and more efficient access to data. Analyst firm Gartner predicts that by 2022, 80 percent of all smartphones will have on-device AI capabilities, increasing the requirement to process and store more data locally.¹

Additionally, storage capacity has continued to increase significantly as smartphones have become the go-to devices for photography and multimedia sharing, with up to 256GB in flagship phones today and projections for that to grow to a terabyte by 2021. Micron’s new 64-layer TLC 3D NAND storage solutions address these needs by utilizing a mobile-optimized architecture to deliver consistent high performance and low latency, while offering more capacity in a smaller space.  

“Memory plays an increasingly critical role in delivering the bold new features we have all come to expect from our smartphones,” said Gino Skulick, Micron vice president of marketing, Mobile Business Unit. “Micron uniquely delivers both mobile DRAM and 3D NAND, and our leading-edge designs continue to provide the performance demanded by the most advanced smartphones.”

64-Layer TLC 3D NAND: Powering the Future Mobile Landscape

The new mobile 3D NAND products pack more storage cells into a smaller die area, and by utilizing Micron’s CMOS under Array (CuA), they deliver a best-in-class die size. Micron’s unique approach places all the flash memory layers on top of the logic array, maximizing the use of space in the smartphone design.

Micron's second-generation TLC 3D NAND for mobile offers several competitive technical advantages, including the new features described below:

• Micron’s mobile-optimized architecture delivers consistent high performance and low latency for an enhanced user experience, while minimizing power consumption through the use of an efficient peak power management system.
• Micron’s new 64-layer TLC 3D NAND products are 50 percent faster than previous-generation TLC 3D NAND.
• Micron’s 64-layer 3D NAND technology doubles the storage density of previous-generation TLC 3D NAND while maintaining the same package size.
• The UFS 2.1 G3-2L interface specification provides compelling performance for mobile applications, delivering up to 200 percent higher bandwidth versus e.MMC 5.1 and providing simultaneous read and write capabilities. This underpins the speed of data access needed when capturing bursts of high-resolution photos or recording 4K video to storage. 
• The new products are based on a 32GB die, which measures 59.341mm² — the industry’s smallest 32GB TLC 3D NAND die on the market.²

About Micron
We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions. Through our global brands — Micron®, Crucial®, and Ballistix® — our broad portfolio of high-performance memory and storage technologies, including DRAM, NAND, NOR Flash, and 3D XPoint™ memory, is transforming how the world uses information to enrich life. Backed by nearly 40 years of technology leadership, our memory and storage solutions enable disruptive trends, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous vehicles in key market segments like cloud, data center, networking, and mobile. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit micron.com.

©2018 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information, products, and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. Micron, the Micron logo, Crucial, the Crucial logo, Ballistix and the Ballistix logo are trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. 3D XPoint is a trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. 

¹ Gartner Market Insight: 10 Use Cases for AI-Powered Smartphones to Generate New Business Opportunities. https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3842564
² Source: Micron. Comparison based on Micron internal measurements of Micron B16A 32GB TLC 3D NAND die versus competitive 32GB TLC 3D NAND die. 

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Micron Technology, Inc.
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