One of the problems smartphone owners always complain about is local storage. We can’t have enough of it, and handset makers aren’t really ready to meet our needs, as they often cut corners on base models and employ all sorts of tricks to convince buyers to pay extra for more memory or cloud storage. However, SanDisk just announced a new flash memory chip that might help certain OEMs improve their mobile memory game when it comes to future flagship devices.

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The iNAND 7232 is a new chip that has an embeddable flash drive that can offer users not just more storage, but also faster memory. Built on SanDisk’s latest 15nm 3-bit-per-cell flash storage technology, the memory chip is available in capacities from 32GB to 128GB and is set to offer “terrific 4K Ultra HD video capture and digital photography experiences never before possible in flagship smartphones,” according to the company.

Performance-wise, iNAND 7232 chips offer sequential write speeds of up to 150MB/s (a 25% increase from the previous model) and sequential read speeds of up to 280MB/s. Additionally, the chip is built on the eMMC 5.1+ HS400 specification with Command Queue support, which further enhances random read speed, resulting in faster responsiveness in apps. The chip also supports fast wireless data transfers via 802.11ad/ac protocols.

Increased capacity and speed aren’t the only new features that SanDisk’s iNAND 7232 chips will offer users. The memory chip is also very small, being just 0.9mm thin, which means OEMs will be able to further optimize battery design for future smartphones and tablets while keeping them as slim as possible.

The full press release follows below.

SanDisk Transforms the Mobile Experience with High Capacity iNAND 7232 Storage Solution

SanDisk Designs Advanced Embedded Storage Device to Meet Rising Demand for Digital Storage Capacity and Enhanced Smartphone Photography Capabilities

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS SHANGHAI, China, July 13, 2015 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash storage solutions, today introduced the iNAND® 7232 storage solution, a new, advanced embedded flash drive (EFD) optimized to deliver best-in-class imaging performance and superior storage capacity in flagship mobile devices. Available in capacities up to 128GB1, the iNAND 7232 storage solution enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to introduce smartphones, tablets and other connected devices that feature ample storage to meet the needs of increasing consumer content while providing data-rich application experiences and next-generation digital photography capabilities.

“From North America to China, consumers are demanding higher and higher capacity storage,” said Christopher Bergey, SanDisk’s vice president and general manager of Mobile and Tablet Solutions. “Our iNAND 7232 storage solution not only enables mobile OEMs to cost-effectively deliver the robust storage mobile users want, it is also our most advanced embedded storage solution to date. It leverages new, innovative application-level storage architecture and SanDisk’s latest 15 nanometer flash storage technology to enable outstanding application experiences, terrific 4K Ultra HD video capture and digital photography experiences never before possible in flagship smartphones.”

“Smartphone and tablet users are maturing in how they use their devices. Therefore their expectations when purchasing a new smart device have also significantly risen. This puts immense pressure on mobile OEMs who must balance the need to innovate against managing their investments in order to deliver flagship devices at attractive price-points in a highly competitive market. This is particularly true in China and other high-growth markets,” said Neil Shah, research director, Devices & Ecosystems, at Counterpoint Research. “SanDisk’s iNAND 7232 EFD is the ideal solution to address this need as it enables OEMs to deliver what consumers want most outside of form factor: reliable high capacity, exceptional digital photography capabilities and great application experiences.”

Enabling Next Generation Mobile Experiences

The combination of iNAND 7232’s advanced application architecture and innovative storage technology both enhances popular current mobile photography capabilities and allows for breakthrough application experiences.

The iNAND 7232 storage solution features SanDisk’s second-generation SmartSLC technology, an innovative new storage architecture that quickly and intelligently responds on demand to mobile users’ changing needs. iNAND 7232 is SanDisk’s fastest embedded flash storage device to date. It boasts sequential write speeds of up to 150MB/s2, a 25 percent increase from the previous generation product3. The sequential write speed can further increase in the intelligent iNAND 7232 storage solution to an impressive 1.2 gigabit (Gb) per second and beyond when application performance demands it. This helps to provide fast, responsive mobile device experiences, including easy 4K Ultra HD video capture, quick downloading via 802.11ac/802.11ad and RAW photography capture even under low-light conditions. It also enhances the performance of multi-camera and depth-sensors, such as 3D, virtual reality and more.

The iNAND 7232 storage solution is built on the e.MMC 5.1+ HS400 specification, which includes Command Queue functionality. This further enhances random read speed, which results in faster responsiveness in data-intensive applications.

Advanced Memory-Level Technology

iNAND 7232 is built on SanDisk’s 15-nanometer (nm) 3-bit-per-cell (X3) NAND flash storage, the most advanced NAND flash process node in the world.

Availability

Samples of the iNAND 7232 storage solution are currently available to customers in capacities of 32GB to 128GB.

Specific features and specifications include:

• Latest e.MMC Specification: Built on the e.MMC 5.1+ HS400 specification, which features Command Queue

• Designed for the Latest Wi-Fi Standards: Fast transfer speed to support gigabit wireless performance; 802.11ad ready; supports 802.11ac two-by-two rates

• Significantly Enhanced Speed Over Previous Generation: Sequential read speeds up to 280 MB/s; sequential write speeds up to 150 MB/s2

• Incredibly Thin Form Factor Enables Integration In Slim Host Devices: Available in packages just 11.5mm4 x 13mm in size and as thin as 0.9 mm

• Easily Integrated and Optimized to Support Fast Mobile Device Product Development Lifecycles: The iNAND 7232 storage solution is supported by advanced simulation, trouble-shooting and engineering tools that enable mobile manufacturers to quickly and easily integrate the device into mobile device designs. This offers the potential to significantly reduce the time from product development to product availability.

SanDisk at Mobile World Congress Shanghai

SanDisk also announced separately today that it has shipped more than two billion microSD™ cards since it started commercial shipment of the technology ten years ago. Invented by SanDisk in 2004, the microSD format was initially known as TransFlash™. In 2005, SanDisk contributed the technology to the SD Card Association who renamed and released the final specifications for the microSD format on July 13, 2005. This format has become the most popular removable memory card in SanDisk’s history. Collectively, SanDisk’s two billion microSD cards could store an estimated 11,103 billion megabytes (MB) worth of memory – the equivalent of more than 100MB of flash storage for every man, woman and child that ever lived on Earth.

SanDisk will be displaying its complete line of embedded and removable mobile memory solutions, including the new iNAND 7232 storage solution, in the company’s Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2015 booth (Hall 5, Booth #W5 G.90).

About the iNAND Family of Products

SanDisk iNAND storage solutions have made incredible mobile experiences possible on hundreds of millions of devices. The SanDisk iNAND product family offers an embedded storage solution for every performance segment and comes in capacities from 4GB to 128GB. The SanDisk iNAND EFD product family includes iNAND 7132, iNAND 7232, iNAND 3120, iNAND 5020/5130, and iNAND 7030 EFDs. SanDisk’s iNAND storage solutions, available in EFD and MCP (Multi-Chip Package) forms, provide tablets, smartphones, e-Book readers, personal media players, personal navigation devices and other connected smart devices with fast system responsiveness, improved multitasking and browsing performance, long battery life and an enhanced user experience.

SanDisk works with all major smartphone and tablet manufacturers worldwide. SanDisk optimizes its iNAND portfolio of solutions to seamlessly work with industry-leading application processors to enhance performance in Android™, Chrome and Windows® based smartphones, tablets and connected devices.

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, is a global leader in flash storage solutions. For more than 27 years, SanDisk has expanded the possibilities of storage, providing trusted and innovative products that have transformed the electronics industry. Today, SanDisk’s quality, state-of-the-art solutions are at the heart of many of the world’s largest data centers, and embedded in advanced smartphones, tablets and PCs. SanDisk’s consumer products are available at hundreds of thousands of retail stores worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.sandisk.com.

1 – 1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user storage less.

2 – 1MB = 1,000,000 bytes

3 – Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon drive capacity, host device, file attributes, OS and application.

4 – MM = Millimeters

© 2015 SanDisk Corporation. All rights reserved. SanDisk and iNAND are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for markets and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: the market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or our products may not be available in the capacities that we expect or perform as expected, or the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent annual report on Form 10-K. We do not intend to update the information contained in this news release.