Western Digital's UFS 3.0 EFD Empowers 5G Mobility

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is enriching smartphone users' mobile experience in the 5G era with a new embedded flash drive (EFD) that provides the speed and capacity necessary to maximize the capabilities of ultra high-end smartphones and mobile devices. Built on the company's advanced 96-layer 3D NAND, the iNAND® MC EU511 supports Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 3.0 Gear 4/2 Lane specifications. The advanced iNAND SmartSLC Generation 6 propels turbo sequential write speeds up to 750MB/s*, enabling a 2-hour movie download in only 3.6 seconds¹.

The 5G standard promises ultra-fast transfer speeds, low latency, lower power consumption and high network capacities for all mobile and edge devices. These capabilities necessitate the high-speed data interfaces, such as UFS 3.0, transforming not only smartphones but billions of interconnected Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

"Smartphones are increasingly becoming the hub of all things connected," said Oded Sagee, senior director, Devices, Western Digital. "High speed 5G networks are set to deliver data at up to 100X the speed of previous generations and amplify AI on many devices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered by integrated neural processing units (NPU) with access to big and fast data will transform how we use our smartphones. Real-time computing on the edge will be in such high demand that high standards of data capturing and accessing are fundamental. With our UFS 3.0 embedded flash drive, we are enabling users to experience the new power of 5G applications, on-demand, seamlessly and instantaneously."

Powered by the higher performance of a UFS 3.0 flash interface, 5G mobile devices will provide greater performance and lower latency for applications such as augmented reality, virtual reality (AR/VR) and mobile gaming. Additionally, high network speeds will enable consumers to quickly download and view ultra-high-resolution photos and 4K/8K media on mobile devices.

Ready for 5G devices with iNAND® MC EU511 EFD

The iNAND MC EU511 leads the industry with turbo sequential write speed up to 750MB/s and sequential read speed that is nearly double its predecessor. With increased random read/write performance and capacities ranging from 64GB to 512GB, iNAND MC EU511 is ready to empower mobile devices for the coming 5G revolution. Western Digital is currently sampling the iNAND MC EU511 EFD solutions with OEMs. For more information, visit the website: Western Digital.

About Western Digital

Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. The company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Western Digital® data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk®, Upthere™ and WD® brands.

© 2019 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, and iNAND are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Product specifications subject to change without notice. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Not all products are available in all regions of the world.

* 1MB=1,000,000 bytes. Based on internal testing.
¹ Based on H.265 compression and 4.5GB file size.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including the expected availability, benefits, capacities, features, performance, pricing and versions of the iNAND MC EU511 UFD. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: changes to specifications from standards organizations, volatility in global economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the company's most recently filed periodic report, to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.