Silicon Motion Announces World's First Merchant SD 5.1 Controller Solution

Silicon Motion, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices, today announced that its flagship SM2703 SD controller now supports the fastest random read/write performance of up to 2000/800 IOPS to meet the A1 (Application Performance Class 1) requirements from the latest SD 5.1 specifications. By meeting the A1 performance standard and offering compatibility with the Android 7.0/6.0 Adoptable Storage platform, SM2703-based SD cards allow users to expand the internal storage in Android smartphones via a larger unified, high-performance embedded memory.

The SM2703 delivers unprecedented 4K random read/write speeds of up to 2000/800 IOPS in multi-die configurations and 2000/650 IOPS on a single TLC die -- easily exceeding the SD 5.1 A1 performance requirements (random read/write: 1500/500 IOPS). In addition, the SM2703's full compliance with SD 5.1 and compatibility with the latest version of Android's Adoptable Storage platform enables the integration of SD card and internal storage as a single storage platform for user applications, data and media.

"Android Smartphone shipments accounted for more than 85 percent of the worldwide market share, and 70 to 80 percent of these phones have microSD slots," said Nelson Duann, Senior Vice President of Product Marketing at Silicon Motion, "We have been working with the SD Association and our ecosystem partners in bringing this latest specification to market. With the SM2703 controller now supporting SD 5.1, our partners can rapidly bring to market a new generation of SD cards to enable a much better user experience and extend the usability of the Android smartphones."

SM2703 is a single channel UHS-I controller that has been adopted by over 100 manufacturers worldwide with proven quality, stability and performance. The new SM2703 firmware drives ultra-high random performance with industry-leading capabilities, including:

Supports Video Speed Class 30 for 4K video recording

Supports all the latest generation, cost-effective NAND including 3D TLC NAND from all the major NAND suppliers

Compatible with Android 7.0/6.0 Adoptable Storage platform

Complies with SD 5.1 and supports A1 performance

4K random read / write IOPS up to 2000 / 800 with multi-die  

4K random read / write IOPS up to 2000 / 650 with one TLC die

The global leader in supplying NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices and the merchant leader in supplying SSD controllers. We have the broadest portfolio of controller technologies and solutions and ship over 750 million NAND controllers annually, more than any other company in the world. Our controllers are widely used in embedded storage products such as SSDs and eMMCs which are found in smartphones, PCs and industrial and commercial applications. We also supply specialized high-performance enterprise and industrial SSD solutions. Our customers include most of the NAND flash vendors, storage device module makers and leading OEMs.

For additional Silicon Motion product information or technical support, contact Symmetry Electronics, an authorized distributor of industry leading wireless, audio/video and embedded chips, modules and dev/eval tools. www.symmetryelectronics.com/contact or call (877) 466-9722.