For the past few weeks, it's been easy to prematurely relegate Samsung as a company in dire straits given its tumultuous trouble with exploding Note 7 devices and the media appropriation that automatically comes along with it. While that subject alone deserves in-depth scrutiny and reportage, it's equally remarkable that Samsung is moving past the debacle and doing what they are most compelling at: developing system on a chip and memory processing technology.
Tech Times previously reported that the company has started mass producing semiconductors with 10 nanometer FinFET technology, the first of its kind in the smartphone industry.
Today, Samsung has announced that it's been hard at work developing new memory chips. The company is introducing the industry's first 8 GB low power double data rate 4 (LPDDR4) mobile DRAM package. It will utilize four of the newest 16 Gb LPDDR4 chips and advanced 10-nanometer technology.
The 8 GB mobile DRAM package operates up to 4,266 Mbps and is expected to greatly enhance the mobile experience, especially for devices that have large Ultra HD displays. The package can run twice as fast as DDR4 DRAM found in PCs.
"The advent of our powerful 8GB mobile DRAM solution will enable more capable next-generation, flagship mobile devices around the world," Joo Sun Choi, executive VP for Samsung's Memory Sales and Marketing, said.
With the 8 GB mobile DRAM, future mobile devices can take full advantage of the high capacity available since smartphones are usually undercut by memory-intensive activities such as 4K video playback, virtual machine operation and PC-level premium features. That said, the new DRAM package, while banking on high-end memory processing, will still feature efficient power consumption using the latest 10-nanometer processing technology and Samsung's circuit design that boasts low power consumption.
Samsung's new DRAM package has a dimension of 15 mm x 15 mm x 1 mm, which is well within the acceptable size to fit inside ultra-slim smartphones or other mobile devices in the future.
Virtual reality and 4K content are the big bets of future smartphone technology, and Samsung's new DRAM package makes it easier for manufacturers to design their devices around those features without having to worry about finding a balance between high performance and power consumption. Samsung's new 8 GB LPDDR4 DRAM signals the forthcoming standard for powerful, slim mobile devices that are ready for virtual reality, 4K, greatly improved multitasking support alongside a host of other features.
However, PocketNow notes that while the future may look hopeful in broad strokes, it's worth considering that Samsung still hasn't provided much about the Galaxy C9, which supposedly houses 6 GB of RAM. Those chips were announced back in 2015, so it means that just because Samsung is making the technology available doesn't mean that we'll see the immediate aftereffects of its implementation.
It remains to be seen how Samsung plans to turn this technology into an industry standard, although there's a chance that it could bundle the memory chips inside its forthcoming Galaxy S8 since the device is rumored to primarily feature 4K video streaming and VR.
