Anyone who has ever tried to upgrade iOS or download a hefty mobile game knows the irritation of receiving a "not enough storage" alert on their mobile device. That could soon be a thing of the past, though, as Samsung is now mass-producing a 256GB embedded flash memory chip.

Based on Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0, the 256GB chip complements a 128GB version introduced a year ago. Smaller than an external micro SD card, it can store nearly 50 HD movies and support serious multitasking, such as the ability to watch 4K Ultra HD movies on a split screen while searching image files or downloading video clips.

But in addition to storage capacity, Samsung is also touting speed. "The UFS memory handles up to 45,000 and 40,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) for random reading and writing respectively, over two times faster than the 19,000 and 14,000 IOPS of the previous generation of UFS memory," Samsung said.

That, the company said, "is nearly twice as fast as a SATA SSD for PCs," according to Samsung Vice President Joo Sun Choi.

Today’s announcement comes just days after Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones, but thus far, neither device will be offered in 256GB versions. As Droid Life points out, Samsung released a 128GB UFS 2.0 version of the Galaxy S6 last year, so perhaps it will do the same for the Galaxy S7 or Galaxy Note 6 later this year.

In September, meanwhile, Samsung announced a new dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip capable of delivering 6GB of onboard memory to smartphones. It consumes 20 percent less energy and is 30 percent faster than previous memory chips from the company.