SK hynix Inc. has begun supplying the industry’s first 24-gigabyte (GB) Low Power Double Data Rate 5X (LPDDR5X¹) mobile DRAM package. The company started mass production of the memory device in Nov. 2022.

“The company integrated the High-K Metal Gate (HKMG²) process in the 24GB LPDDR5X package. This enables the product to deliver outstanding power efficiency and performance,” said SK hynix. “The addition of 24GB package to our mobile DRAM product portfolio has given us more flexibility in accommodating customers’ needs.”

Specifically, the 24GB LPDDR5X package operates in the ultra-low voltage range of 1.01 to 1.12V set by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). Also, it can process 68GB of data per second. This is equivalent to transferring 13 full-high-definition movies in 1sec.

SK hynix, prior to today’s announcement, has begun supplying its new product to smartphone manufacturer OPPO since last month. OPPO’s latest flagship smartphone ‘Oneplus Ace 2 Pro’ features SK hynix’s 24GB LPDDR5X package. It was launched on August 10.

“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.”

Due to rapid performance improvement, the roles of modern smartphone have expanded beyond the communication device and into edge device³. Accordingly, IT experts forecast the gadget to be essential in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). To incorporate AI into smartphones, it is crucial to enhance the performance of semiconductor memory, which is the core component. Accordingly, the memory industry is projected to grow further.

“Along with a faster advancement in broader IT industry, our LPDDR products will be able to support a growing list of applications, like PC, server, high-performance computing, and automotive vehicles,” said Myoungsoo Park, Vice President and Head of DRAM Marketing at SK hynix. “We will cement our leadership in the premium memory market by providing the highest-performance products that meet customers’ needs.”

¹ LPDDR: Low Power DRAM for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, aimed at minimizing power consumption and features low voltage operation. LPDDR5X DRAM is the 7th generation product, succeeding the series of such that ends with 1, 2, 3, 4, 4X and 5. SK hynix, in January, developed LPDDR5T, which is an upgraded product of LPDDR5X prior to the development of the 8th generation LPDDR6, and is currently processing customer validation.

² HKMG: A next-generation process that uses a material with a high dielectric constant (K) in the insulating film inside DRAM transistors. Specifically, it prevents leakage currents and improves capacitance. Also, it reduces power consumption while increasing speed. SK hynix became the industry’s first to integrate the process in mobile DRAM in Nov. 2022.

³ Edge Device: A device that operates at the edge of a network – an edge-to-cloud continuum – that collects and transmits data to connect the local network to an external wide area network (i.e. cloud, data center), such as personal smart devices, vehicles and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.