Samsung Announces LPDDR5X 8.5Gbps DRAM For Smartphones, Laptops

Samsung Electronics announced that it is developing LPDDR5X as the next generation of LPDDR5 RAM modules, stating that the company has completed validation of the DRAM chips. The latest iteration of low power DRAM modules for smartphones and laptops is almost ready, and Samsung Electronics announced the validation of LPDDR5X DRAM on Snapdragon mobile platforms where it achieved the record-breaking speed of 8.5Gbps, surpassing the previous record of 7.5Gbps achieved in March. To recall, LPDDR5 had an operating speed of 6.4Gbps. 

Low power DDR memory has been in high demand in the PC and smartphone market, thanks to  the ability to deliver high performance at high efficiencies in a small form factor, driving more compact designs without compromising on the performance. The modules also find application in high-performance computing, servers and automobiles with robust growth over the years. 

“As more and more data is generated through autonomous driving features, high-bandwidth memory like LPDDR DRAM is needed to process massive amounts of vehicle data at much faster speeds.” Samsung Electronics said.

While LPDDR RAM modules have been popular in driving smartphones and laptops, Samsung said the higher speeds unlocked with LPDDR5X will allow the DRAM module to find applications in many more industries. The low power consumption and high performance makes it suitable for applications in servers, automobiles, etc. 

“The joint validation of 8.5Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM has enabled us to accelerate market-wide availability of this high-speed memory interface by more than a year, which is a tremendous accomplishment made possible through our long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies,” said Daniel Lee, Executive Vice President of the Memory Product Planning Team at Samsung Electronics. “As LPDDR memory continues to broaden its usage beyond smartphones into AI and data center applications, strong collaboration between memory and SoC vendors is becoming all the more important. Samsung will continue to actively engage with innovators like Qualcomm Technologies to enhance ecosystem readiness for future LPDDR standards.”

“At Qualcomm Technologies, we strive to be at the forefront of enabling and adopting the latest memory specifications on our Snapdragon mobile platforms. We’re the first in the mobile industry to enable the latest LPDDR5X at 8.5Gbps on Snapdragon mobile platforms, which will enhance user experiences with new features and improved performance for mobile, gaming, camera and AI applications,” said Ziad Asghar, Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.