SK Hynix Begins Mass Production of 18GB Lpddr5 Memory for Smartphones

SK Hynix has started mass production of Lpddr5 memory with a capacity of 18GB. The module is intended for smartphones and will be used first by ASUS in the ROG Phone 5.

The new memory achieves a speed of up to 6400Mbit/s and SK Hynix claims that this is a speed increase of 20 percent compared to other Lpddr5 memory in current smartphones. The manufacturer is referring to Lpddr5 memory with a speed of 5500Mbit/s. However, Samsung already makes Lpddr5 memory with a speed of 6400Mbit/s.

With 18GB, the new Lpddr5 memory module from SK Hynix does have a higher capacity than what is available for smartphones so far. Top models from Samsung, among others, currently use a maximum of 16GB of Lpddr5. SK Hynix has already supplied 18GB modules to ASUS, which the manufacturer will use for its ROG Phone 5 gaming smartphone. That device will be presented on March 10.

SK Hynix quotes a market researcher as saying that Lpddr5 currently accounts for 10 percent of the smartphone memory market. This is expected to rise to more than 50 percent by 2023. In addition to Lpddr5, there are many smartphones with slower Lpddr4 or Lpddr4x memory.