Samsung's new microSD fast cards

Samsung is mass-producing a new series of microSD cards that it says are four times faster than the current generation. Available in a 16GB version, the new UHS-1 microSD card will offer a maximum read speed of 80MB per second, according to Samsung's internal testings. That will provide a significant bump over today's advanced microSD cards with speeds of around 21MB per second. In tech terms, the cards are made up of Samsung's 20 nanometer-class 64 gigabit toggle DDR 2.0 devices and use a Samsung controller that supports the ultra fast UHS-1 interface. "MicroSD cards with a UHS-1 interface offer users an extremely high level of performance on their LTE smartphones and for other advanced mobile applications," Wanhoon Hong, Samsung's executive vice president for memory sales and marketing, said in a statement. "This allows consumers to enjoy high-quality images and video playback directly from the memory cards, which fully support the advanced performance features of diverse digital gadgets." The new SD cards went into production late last month. Samsung did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on pricing and release dates. The company is already aiming to produce future UHS-1 microSD cards with capacities higher than 16GB.