Samsung has now officially unveiled the world's first LPDDR5 DRAM for mobile devices. The company confirms it has completed tests on an 8 GB LPDDR5 prototype, which could result in faster, more efficient phones.
The memory in question is described as a faster and less power-hungry RAM that'll be used to power machine learning applications in 5G-capable smartphones. The announcement comes as no surprise, of course, as Samsung has been aggressively improving its microSD range, introducing new SSDs with faster write speeds, and just generally trying to be the top dog when it comes to mobile processors.
LPDDR5 DRAM For Phones
Compared with devices that have LPDDR4X chips, Samsung's 8 GB LPDDR5 DRAM offers data rates up to 1.5 times faster: it's capable of transferring 6,400 Mbps, meaning it can move 51 GB worth of files in literally a second, which Samsung says is the equivalent of 14 HD video files.
Samsung is now officially the first company to announce a validation of its LPDDR5 prototype, which is a significant inroad given that LPDDR5 is so cutting edge that the standard itself has yet to be completed, according to AnandTech. Even the JEDEC standards group — a council that imposes specifications for semiconductor memory circuits — has yet to finalize the specifications for either DDR5 or LPDDR5.
LPDDR5 And Power Consumption
AnandTech has published an in-depth analysis on the RAM's capabilities, along with its potential benefits for smartphones in general. Basically, one of the biggest improvements when it comes to LPDDR5 is power consumption. While LPDDR4X features reduced voltage, LPDDR5 will bring it even lower.
More importantly, perhaps the most notable feature of LPDDR5 — at least from Samsung's perspective — is the new deep sleep mode, which is a longer sleep mode than what's currently offered by LPDDR4X, allowing the DRAM to stay in idle at even lower levels of power consumption.
In all, Samsung claims LPDDR5's power consumption will be somewhere upward of 30 percent lower than LPDDR4X. Such a system could lead to more efficient usage of battery, and ultimately longer battery life for phones that'll support the new DRAM model.
Samsung has yet to announce when LPDDR5 chips would be ready to hit the market, but is apparently eyeing to start mass production soon. Both Android and iOS devices stand to benefit from Samsung's advancements in LPDDR5 technology, potentially paving the way for faster, more memory-efficient phones.
Make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more about Samsung's plans. In the meantime, don't forget to sound off in the comments section below if you have any thoughts!
