SK hynix’s 18GB LPDDR5: world’s largest mobile memory modules enter mass production

One of the planet’s leading semiconductor suppliers, SK hynix Inc., has reached a new frontier in the mobile DRAM modules’ sector. Their brand new 18GB LPDDR5 chips have been cleared off for mass production. As the company states, the chips are expected to provide an increase to the overall performance of the mobile phones they are added to and could, furthermore, open the doors for complex future camera and AI applications. Unsurprisingly, the impressive DRAM modules are said to be targeting upcoming flagships.

The first device to feature the 18GB LPDDR5 DRAMs is going to be the Asus ROG Phone 5 which is to be unveiled on the 10th of March. Compared to the previous generation of mobile memory chips made by SK hynix, the new product is almost 20% speedier, able to achieve pin speeds of up to 6400Mbps -- vs 5500Mbps in the older chips. Also, the new chips have the bandwidth to move ten 5GB Full-HD video clips in a second. So far, the largest capacity DRAM modules available to the mobile phone industry included 16GB of DRAM.

The mass production of the new DRAM modules is a neat move by SK hynix as they seek to catch up with Samsung. Samsung’s own 16GB LPDDR5 6400Mbps chips have been in mass production since August 2020. According to research institution Omdia, right now, LPDDR5 DRAM chips constitute 10% of the mobile memory market, though by 2023, these are expected to be inside of more than 50% of the available cell phones.