Samsung has started mass producing the industry's first 8Gb low power double data rate 4 (LPDDR4) mobile DRAM, which means next-generation flagships may come with 4GB of RAM.
The higher-end flagship smartphones currently available on the market come with a maximum 3GB of RAM, but that may well change next year thanks to Samsung. The company has developed new technology based on its 20nm process and aims to herald a new era of 4GB mobile DRAM devices.
"Samsung pioneers the next generation of ultra-fast, high density mobile memory technology, opening the door to the era of 4GB mobile DRAM for a new level of mobile responsiveness," the company touted in a new blog post.
"By initiating production of the 20nm 8Gb LPDDR4, which is even faster than the DRAM for PCs and servers and consumes much less energy, we are contributing to the timely launch of UHD, large-screen flagship mobile devices," said Joo Sun Choi, Executive Vice President of Memory Sales and Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "As this major advancement in mobile memory demonstrates, we will continue to closely collaborate with global mobile device manufacturers to optimize DRAM solutions, making them suitable for next-generation mobile OS environments."
According to Samsung, the new 8Gb (gigabit) chip that allows for the creation of a 4GB (gigabyte) LPDDR4 package is twice as fast as the previous DDR3 DRAM and supports UHD recording and playback, as well as continuous shooting of high-resolution images with more than 20 megapixels.
"The LPDDR4 mobile memory chip's operating voltage was reduced to 1.1V from that of LPDDR3 memory chips, which makes the new Samsung chip the lowest power memory solution available for large-screen smartphones and tablets, and high-performance network systems. For example, in case of a 2GB package, an 8Gb LPDDR4-based 2GB package can save up to 40 percent of power compared to a 4Gb LPDDR3-based 2GB package, due to low operating voltages and faster processing."
Samsung plans to start pushing out its new 4GB memory modules to manufacturing partners in "early 2015," suggesting that next year may bring the very first smartphones to boast 4GB of RAM. In this case, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015, which takes place in March, may include even more exciting announcements.
