You can't typically write just 1 byte into flash - you have to write in pages of say 4KB.
And writing to flash is painfully slow.
So it's most efficient (current-wise) to store up 4KB worth of data in RAM and then write it all to flash in one fell swoop.
It's a tradeoff with data security, but I think it's a good tradeoff because only rarely will things go wrong, but the additional current burn is guaranteed and constant if you write every datapoint to flash.
Magnetic FRAM is making a comeback just to scratch some of these low-power itches. It's faster, uses less power, and has greater write endurance. TI even put it in one of their latest MSP430's.
And writing to flash is painfully slow.
So it's most efficient (current-wise) to store up 4KB worth of data in RAM and then write it all to flash in one fell swoop.
It's a tradeoff with data security, but I think it's a good tradeoff because only rarely will things go wrong, but the additional current burn is guaranteed and constant if you write every datapoint to flash.
Magnetic FRAM is making a comeback just to scratch some of these low-power itches. It's faster, uses less power, and has greater write endurance. TI even put it in one of their latest MSP430's.