Samsung has unveiled its next generation of LPDDR5X DRAM, which boasts 10.7Gbps of memory bandwidth. The new generation is 25% faster than Samsung's first-gen LPDDR5X, and is aimed at improving AI performance for mobile devices with local hardware-accelerated neural processing capabilities. Samsung said that mass production of the new LPDDR5X will begin in the second half of 2024.
Samsung's new 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM is the fastest version of the low-profile DDR5 standard to date. It's faster than Samsung's first-gen LPDDR5X, which clocked up to 8533 MT/s (8.5Gbps), and it's faster than Micron's 9.6Gbps LPDDR5X. At least on paper, the only other memory architecture that can achieve similar speeds to the new 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM is GDDR5 graphics memory.
Samsung is utilizing its own 12nm process technology to build its new 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X modules. The higher memory bandwidth that the 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X modules provide is designed for the growing popularity of on-device AI acceleration, particularly from NPUs. AI workloads can be very memory bandwidth-intensive, which is where Samsung's additional bandwidth performance will help.
“As demand for low-power, high-performance memory increases, LPDDR DRAM is expected to expand its applications from mainly mobile to other areas that traditionally require higher performance and reliability such as PCs, accelerators, servers and automobiles,” said YongCheol Bae, Executive VP of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will continue to innovate and deliver optimized products for the upcoming on-device AI era through close collaboration with customers.”
Beyond performance, Samsung's new 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM is also 25% more power efficient than its predecessor, thanks to specialized power-saving technology that adjusts power according to workload demands. The low-power mode intervals have also been expanded, extending the time Samsung's new LPDDR5X remains in low-power saving mode. Capacity has also been improved to up to 32GB per module — which is 30% more than the company's previous-gen LPDDR5X modules.
Mass production of the new 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM will reportedly begin in the second half of this year, meaning we can expect to start seeing these new chip modules in mobile devices by the end of 2024.
