SK Hynix Begins Shipping First 24GB LPDDR5X Mobile DRAM For Next-Gen Smartphones
SK hynix announced it is now mass producing what it claims is the industry's first 24-gigabyte (GB) Low Power Double Data Rate 5X (LPDDR5X) mobile DRAM for a new round of smartphones with more memory than ever before. OnePlus is getting the party started as the first to use SK hynix's new DRAM packages, and specifically on its Ace 2 Pro with 24GB of memory (the Red Magic 8S Pro+ with 24GB of RAM isn't out yet).
As a longtime iPhone user, my biggest frustration with Apple's smartphone ecosystem is that there never seems to be enough DRAM, especially in comparison to the crop of flagship Android phones. The flagship iPhone 14 Pro Max, for example, wields 6GB of RAM. This disappointment mostly manifests when switching between apps only to have one of them reload. It's a first-world problem for sure, but still annoying, especially when devices like Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra have up to 12GB of RAM, and the ASUS ROG Phone 7 Ultimate kicks it up a notch with 16GB of RAM.
I don't anticipate SK hynix's 24GB LPDDR5X memory chips finding their way to Apple's iPhone lineup anytime soon, but Android devices are another matter. We'll have to wait and see what other devices jump aboard the 24GB caboose, but rest assured the Ace 2 Pro won't be the only one.
"With the timely supply of 24GB LPDDR5X from SK hynix, we were able to become the first to launch a smartphone that features the industry’s largest capacity DRAM," said Louis Li, Vice President of Marketing at OPPO. "This new smartphone will allow the customers to enjoy optimized multi-tasking environment as well as extended battery life."
As for the DRAM itself, SK hynix says it operates in the ultra-low voltage range of 1.01V to 1.12V as standardized by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). SK hynix further states that it can process 68GB of data per second. As a point of reference, that's sufficiently fast enough to transfer 13 Full HD 1080p movies in a single second.
"The company integrated the High-K Metal Gate (HKMG2) process in the 24 GB LPDDR5X package, enabling the product to deliver outstanding power efficiency and performance," said SK hynix. "The addition of the 24GB package to our mobile DRAM product portfolio has given us a more flexibility in accommodating customers’ needs."
SK hynix's 24GB LPDDR5X DRAM arrives just in time for the emerging AI era. AI has been around for decades, but more recently there has been a huge industry-wide push to level up AI capabilities and use-case scenarios. How it all manifests in the mainstream is yet to be fully determined, but lack of RAM shouldn't be a problem (at least for Android users).
