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posted by martyb on Monday March 08 2021, @04:50PM   Printer-friendly

SK Hynix Commences Mass Production of 18GB LPDDR5 RAM Chips for Smartphones With 6,400Mbps Speeds

Android phone makers will continue to push the limits of hardware specifications, and from the looks of it, SK Hynix will lend out more than just a helping hand. The memory manufacturer today announced that it has started mass production of 18GB LPDDR5 RAM chips for flagship smartphones, meaning that premium handsets touting more memory than notebooks will become a commonplace.

SK Hynix claims that its 18GB LPDDR5 RAM for smartphones can operate up to 6,400Mbps, making it around 20 percent faster than the previous-generation LPDDR5 RAM, which could run up to 5,500Mbps. The manufacturer also mentions that it has supplied ASUS with these DRAM chips for the upcoming ROG Phone 5 flagship. Keep in mind that during a specifications leak, the ROG Phone 5 was spotted with the aforementioned RAM count.

Why does a smartphone need 18 GB of memory instead of the previous 16 GB? From the press release:

"This product will improve the processing speed and image quality by expanding the data temporary storage space, as the capacity increases compared to the previous 16GB product," an official from the company said.

So we will see smartphones with 18 GB of RAM, or perhaps smartphones or laptops with 16/32 GB of error correction code (ECC) LPDDR5 memory.

Also at ZDNet and Guru3D.

Previously: Samsung Begins Mass Producing 12 GB DRAM Packages for Smartphones
Samsung Mass Producing LPDDR5 DRAM (12 Gb x 8 for 12 GB Packages)
Get Ready for Smartphones with 16 GB of RAM
Samsung Announces Mass Production of 16 GB LPDDR5 DRAM Packages


Original Submission

Related Stories

Samsung Begins Mass Producing 12 GB DRAM Packages for Smartphones 9 comments

Samsung Begins Mass Production of 12 GB LPDDR4X for Smartphones

Samsung announced late on Wednesday that it had started volume production of 12 GB LPDDR4X-4266 memory for high-end smartphones. The chip is currently the highest-density DRAM for mobile applications. The first smartphone to use Samsung's 12 GB LPDDR4X DRAM package will be the company's own Galaxy S10+ handset formally announced last month.

Samsung's 12 GB LPDDR4X package integrates six 16 Gb memory devices featuring a 4266 MT/s data transfer rate at 1.1 Volts and produced using the company's second-generation '10nm-class' process technology (also known as 1y-nm). The 12 GB memory module is 1.1 mm tall, which is a bit higher than standard quad-die LPDDR4X packages (which are thinner than 1 mm), but Samsung has managed to incorporate the device into its latest premium smartphone.

Were the previously announced 12 GB DRAM smartphones using two packages instead of this one thick package?

Related: Samsung Announces 12Gb LPDDR4 DRAM, Could Enable Smartphones With 6 GB of RAM
Samsung Announces 8 GB DRAM Package for Mobile Devices
SK Hynix Announces 8 GB LPDDR4x DRAM Package for Mobile Devices
Oppo Likely to Release the First Smartphone With 10 GB of RAM
Xiaomi Announces Smartphones with 10 GB of RAM
Lenovo Announces a Smartphone With Up to 12 GB of RAM


Original Submission

Samsung Mass Producing LPDDR5 DRAM (12 Gb x 8 for 12 GB Packages) 8 comments

Samsung Commences Mass Production of First Ever 12Gb LPDDR5 DRAM for Premium Handsets

After the LPDDR4X standard, Samsung is ready to take mobile computing to the next plateau, as the Korean giant has announced that mass production of the industry's first 12-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM, a component that has been optimized for 5G and AI features for future smartphones.

Additionally, Samsung plans on mass producing 12-gigabyte (GB) LPDDR5 packages later this month, which each package combining eight of the 12Gb chips. This reveals that future premium devices will demand the best when it comes to faster, more efficient memory, and Samsung wants to be ahead of the curve in both supply and demand.

Data rate will be 5,500 MT/s, compared to 4,266 MT/s for LPDDR4X, with up to 30% less power consumption than LPDDR4X. Future LPDDR5 chips could hit 6,400 MT/s.

Samsung plans to start producing 16Gb LPDDR5 chips next year. Smartphones with 16 GB of DRAM are sure to follow.

Samsung press release. Also at AnandTech.

Previously: Samsung Announces LPDDR5 DRAM Prototype Before Specification is Finalized
Samsung Begins Mass Producing 12 GB DRAM Packages for Smartphones


Original Submission

Get Ready for Smartphones with 16 GB of RAM 25 comments

Micron shared details of its 3rd generation of "10 nm-class" DRAM fabrication:

Micron's 3rd Generation 10 nm-class (1Z nm) manufacturing process for DRAM will allow the company to increase the bit density, enhance the performance, and the lower power consumption of its DRAM chips as compared to its 2nd Generation 10 nm-class (1Y nm) technology. In particular, the company says that its 16 Gb DDR4 device consumes 40% less power than two 8 Gb DDR4 DRAMs (presumably at the same clocks). Meanwhile, Micron's 16 Gb LPDDR4X ICs will bring an up to 10% power saving. Because of the higher bit density that the new 1Z nm technology provides, it will be cheaper for Micron to produce high-capacity (e.g., 16 Gb) memory chips for lower-cost, high-capacity memory sub-systems.

[...] As for mobile memory, Micron's 16 Gb LPDDR4X chips are rated for transfer rates up to 4266 MT/s. Furthermore, along with offering LPDDR4X DRAM packages with up to 16 GB (8x16Gb) of LPDDR4X for high-end smartphones, Micron will offer UFS-based multichip packages (uMCP4) that integrate NAND for storage and DRAM. The company's uMCP4 family of products aimed at mainstream handsets will include offerings ranging from 64GB+3GB to 256GB+8GB (NAND+DRAM).

Finally, a reasonable amount of RAM for smartphones. But I think we may need at least 24 GB, if not 32 GB.

Related: Xiaomi Announces Smartphones with 10 GB of RAM
Samsung Mass Producing LPDDR5 DRAM (12 Gb x 8 for 12 GB Packages)


Original Submission

Samsung Announces Mass Production of 16 GB LPDDR5 DRAM Packages 9 comments

Samsung Starts Mass Production of Second-Gen 16GB LPDDR5 RAM for Future Premium Smartphones

Samsung has announced that it will kick off mass production of the world's first 16GB LPDDR5 RAM package for future smartphones. Last year, the Korean giant stated that it started mass production of 12GB LPDDR5 RAM. For 2020, Samsung has taken that production dial to the next phase and claims that the new RAM packages will enable users to experience enhanced 5G and AI features ranging from graphic-rich gaming and smart photography.

According to the company, the data transfer rate for the 16GB LPDDR5 [package] is 5500Mb/s (megabits per second), making it significantly faster than the previous-generation LPDRR4X RAM package, which peaks out at 4266Mb/s. That's not the only benefit of using these chips, because compared to an 8GB LPDDR4X package, the new mobile DRAM can deliver more than 20 percent power savings while offering twice the memory capacity.

16 GB DRAM packages could also be used in single board computers and other compact systems. For example, the BCM2711 SoC used in the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B can theoretically address up to 16 GB of memory.

Samsung press release. Also at AnandTech.

Previously: Samsung Announces 8 GB DRAM Package for Mobile Devices
Samsung Announces LPDDR5 DRAM Prototype Before Specification is Finalized
Samsung Begins Mass Producing 12 GB DRAM Packages for Smartphones
Samsung Mass Producing LPDDR5 DRAM (12 Gb x 8 for 12 GB Packages)
Get Ready for Smartphones with 16 GB of RAM


Original Submission

SK Hynix to Manufacture 48 GiB and 96 GiB DDR5 Modules 5 comments

SK Hynix to Manufacture 48 GiB and 96 GiB DDR5 Modules

Today SK Hynix is announcing the sampling of its next generation DDR5 memory. The headline is the commercialization of a new 24 gigabit die, offering 50% more capacity than the leading 16 gigabit dies currently used on high-capacity DDR5. Along with reportedly reducing power consumption by 25% by using SK Hynix's latest 1a nm process node and EUV technology, what fascinates me most is that we're going to get, for the first time in the PC space (to my knowledge), memory modules that are no longer powers of two.

For PC-based DDR memory, all the way back from DDR1 and prior, memory modules have been configured as a power of two in terms of storage. Whether that's 16 MiB to 256 MiB to 2 GiB to 32 GiB, I'm fairly certain that all of the memory modules that I've ever handled have been powers of two. The new announcement from SK Hynix showcases that the new 24 gigabit dies will allow the company to build DDR5 modules in capacities of 48 GiB and 96 GiB.

To be clear, the DDR5 official specification actually allows for capacities that are not direct powers of two. If we look to other types of memory, powers of two have been thrown out the window for a while, such as in smartphones. However PCs and Servers, as least the traditional ones, have followed the power of two mantra. One of the changes in memory design that is now driving regular modules to non-power of two capacities is that it is getting harder and harder to scale DRAM capacities. The time it takes to figure out the complexity of the technology to get a 2x improvement every time is too long, and memory vendors will start taking those intermediate steps to get product to market.

These are for server RDIMMs, at least for now.

Press release.

Related: SK Hynix Begins Production of 18 GB LPDDR5 Memory... for Smartphones
Samsung Developing 24Gb DDR5 ICs: 768GB DDR5 Modules Possible


Original Submission

Upcoming Android Smartphone to Include 24 GB of RAM 19 comments

Android phone hits 24GB of RAM, as much as a 13-inch MacBook Pro

Android manufacturers tend to love big spec sheets, even if those giant numbers won't do much for day-to-day phone usage. In that vein, we've got the new high-water mark for ridiculous amounts of memory in a phone. The new Nubia RedMagic 8S Pro+ is an Android gaming phone with an option for 24GB of RAM.

The base model of the RedMagic 8S Pro+ starts with 16GB of RAM, but GSMArena has pictures and details of the upgraded 24GB SKU, which is the most amount of memory ever in an Android phone. Because we're all about big numbers, it also comes with 1TB of storage. [...] This suped-up 24GB version of the phone appears to be a China-exclusive, with the price at CNY 7,499 (about $1,034), which is a lot for a phone in China.

You definitely want an adequate amount of RAM in an Android phone. All these apps are designed around cheap phones, though, and with Android's aggressive background app management, there's usually not much of a chance to use a ton of RAM. Theoretically, a phone like this would let you multitask better, since apps could stay in memory longer, and you wouldn't have to start them back up when switching tasks. Most people aren't quickly switching through that many apps, though, and some heavy apps, games especially, will just automatically turn off a few seconds once they're in the background.

There were a few smartphones on the market with 18 GB, but it looks like 20 GB has been skipped entirely by Nubia.

Now we need to be on the lookout for 32 GB of RAM and alien technology in upcoming smartphones.

Previously: SK Hynix Begins Production of 18 GB LPDDR5 Memory... for Smartphones
Samsung Announces Development of LPDDR5X Memory


Original Submission

Samsung Announces Development of LPDDR5X Memory 14 comments

Samsung Announces LPDDR5X DRAM for Smartphones; 1.3x Faster Than LPDDR5 With Speeds up to 8.5Gbps

Samsung today officially announced LPDDR5X DRAM chips for smartphones and other applications. Compared to the LPDDR5 standard, the new chips bring increased speeds, and it will be no surprise that we will see them in action in several 2022 flagship handsets.

[...] In contrast to LPDDR5's 6.4Gbps maximum bandwidth, LPDDR5X can achieve 1.3-times the performance with processing speeds that go up to 8.5Gbps. Samsung has used its 14nm technology to mass produce the next-generation DRAM chips, and it will be advantageous for portable devices too because the new standard is 20 percent more energy-efficient than LPDDR5.

The press release says that 16Gb LPDDR5X chips will enable 64 GB memory packages, "accommodating increasing demand for higher-capacity mobile DRAM worldwide." In other words, Samsung is planning to put 32 dies in a single package, and eventually stick 64 gigabytes of memory in smartphones (or tablets, or laptops). Recently, Samsung has been making 16 GB packages with only 12 or 8 dies:

The 16Gb LPDDR5 can build a 16GB package with only eight chips, whereas its 1y-based predecessor requires 12 chips (eight 12Gb chips and four 8Gb chips) to provide the same capacity.

Also at AnandTech.

Previously: SK Hynix Announces 8 GB LPDDR4x DRAM Package for Mobile Devices
Samsung Announces LPDDR5 DRAM Prototype Before Specification is Finalized
Samsung Announces Mass Production of 16 GB LPDDR5 DRAM Packages
SK Hynix Begins Production of 18 GB LPDDR5 Memory... for Smartphones


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 08 2021, @05:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 08 2021, @05:27PM (#1121431)

    Now I can keep up with the latest in Royal Family racism 20 percent faster. We live in wonderful times.

  • (Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Monday March 08 2021, @05:43PM (5 children)

    by SomeGuy (5632) on Monday March 08 2021, @05:43PM (#1121435)

    "This product will improve the processing speed and image quality by expanding the data temporary storage space, as the capacity increases compared to the previous 16GB product," an official from the company said."

    So, bigger, longer, and uncut dick pics.

    Face it, at this point, you have NO IDEA what the freak you need that much ram for in a stupid toy cell phone. It's just a bigger number, so time to throw everything away and buy all new stuff!

    FFS, I don't even need that much on a desktop computer. Most of that memory probably goes towards the 9000 different advertisement tracking and privacy zuckering systems.

    16GB? 18GB? Hey, hey, 16K!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IagZIM9MtLo [youtube.com]

    • (Score: 2) by tekk on Monday March 08 2021, @05:59PM (1 child)

      by tekk (5704) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 08 2021, @05:59PM (#1121439)

      Because apps will always grow in memory usage until they require 1.5x the maximum memory available for their platform.

      • (Score: 5, Informative) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday March 08 2021, @06:12PM

        by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Monday March 08 2021, @06:12PM (#1121443)

        Not the apps, the ads. And the tracking data. All that privacy invasion, face recognition, fingerprint scanning and tracking takes a lot of memory and CPU man. The onus is on the trackees to pony up the money for a first-rate digital servitude experience.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 08 2021, @06:02PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 08 2021, @06:02PM (#1121441) Journal

      FFS, I don't even need that much on a desktop computer.

      An anecdote from my computing past.

      Dear wife saved up enough, and bought herself a pretty sweet computer, with an AMD Athlon XP 1 ghz CPU, and, believe it or not, 256 MB of RAM. At that point in time, it was a modestly high end consumer product. Windows XP ran alright. I did some tweaking on it, starting with Black Viper's tweaking guide, and made it run better. But, it was sluggish.

      My own personal computer at that point in time was a homebrew, sporting a SuperSix mobs, and an AMD 450 mhz mobile CPU. I had just upgraded to a full gig of PC-100 memory. (Memory was still pretty expensive then) Installed Windows XP on one of my hard drives, and performance just blew away that Athlon XP. My machine was responsive, where hers was sluggish, even before I started tweaking Windows.

      Time and time again, I've proven to myself that you can never have too much memory.

      Smartphones? I've never used a "high end" smartphone. Cheap junk has sufficed, and I can't justify paying $1000 for a portable computer/toy. With only a couple apps running, I've watched those cheapos grind to a standstill. Given sufficient memory, I'm convinced that even a cheap phone can perform quite well. Some of them already have impressive CPUs after all, and addon storage space is cheap. Gotta have the memory to run all the crap that people want, or it's all useless.

      --
      “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
    • (Score: 3, Touché) by takyon on Monday March 08 2021, @09:01PM (1 child)

      by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Monday March 08 2021, @09:01PM (#1121498) Journal

      If one of your two smartphones doesn't have 18 GB of RAM, you basically aren't even a real person.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday March 09 2021, @08:56AM

        by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 09 2021, @08:56AM (#1121720)

        I'm fine then: both of my smartphones don't have 18 Gb of RAM.

  • (Score: 2) by fadrian on Monday March 08 2021, @05:49PM (4 children)

    by fadrian (3194) on Monday March 08 2021, @05:49PM (#1121438) Homepage

    ... five blades are better than three.

    --
    That is all.
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Tork on Monday March 08 2021, @06:15PM (3 children)

      by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 08 2021, @06:15PM (#1121446)
      When did we lose our interest in our computing devices having more resources?
      --
      🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 08 2021, @06:49PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 08 2021, @06:49PM (#1121465)

        When we realized todays "programmers" #1. aren't, and #2. DGAF about resource optimization anyway.
        The presentation layer has become sewer-like.
        More RAM is always nice, yes. But if software wasn't garbage nowadays we wouldn't always "need" more.

        • (Score: 2) by Tork on Monday March 08 2021, @07:01PM (1 child)

          by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 08 2021, @07:01PM (#1121473)

          But if software wasn't garbage nowadays we wouldn't always "need" more.

          While I agree with the general gist of what you're saying I do have an issue with this specific remark: Camera upgrades alone are going to drive further memory requirements. Record 4k video, edit it, transcode, etc. Additionally I personally am not dying for more memory on my phone... this is where I am drifting off-topic for just a bit... but on my tablet where I do a lot of painting + layers, well let's just say I know exactly how much memory my tablet has. I don't feel like it'll be long before I start doing some sort of creation on my phone, for example modern phones have a lidar sensor, more ram will always be helpful when using apps that need oodles polygons + textures.

          Again, this is just a small nitpick not intended as a complete rebuttal. The more we can record the more memory we'll need.

          --
          🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
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