SK Hynix announced on Monday that it would start mass-production of 18 LPDDR5 mobile DRAM that offers the largest capacity in the industry.
The product boasts an ultra-fast speed that is able to transfer ten 5GB FHD movies in just one second. It targets premium smartphones as it provides an optimal environment for high-resolution games and high-quality videos.
A representative for the company said that the product is able to increase temporary storage space of data in a mobile device and drastically improve processing speed and image quality.
Along with the increased capacity, the memory also provides 6,400Mbps that is about 20% faster than the mobile DRAM (LPDDR5, 5,500Mbps) that is currently used for smartphones. This speed is capable of sending ten 5GB FHD movies in just one second.
SK Hynix will start the production by supplying the memories to Asus for its gaming smartphone called “ROG5”.

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<SK Hynix’s 18GB LPDDR5 mobile DRAM (Source: SK Hynix)>

The company predicted that its DRAM’s applications would continue to expand towards camera application with super-high performance and artificial intelligence.
Also, because sales of smartphones with advance specifications are expected to increase greatly as more smartphones continue to support 5G, it is likely that the company will take an even more active approach towards mass-production of its new DRAM. The company plans to improve profitability of its mobile DRAMs continuously through 2nd generation 10nm-class (1y) mobile DRAMs.
A market research company called Omdia predicted that while demands for LPDDR5 DRAMs currently take up about 10% of the entire mobile DRAM market, the percentage is likely to surpass 50% in 2023 as more and more advanced devices require LPDDR5 DRAMs.
SK Hynix is currently working on a variety of technologies in order to secure the market for DRAMs with high specifications. It is currently building a line at its new M16 fab in order to introduce EUV lithography to 4th generation 10nm-class (1a) DRAM. HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory) that is able to drastically increase transmission speed is also one of technologies that the company is working on for the future.
The company was responsible for 29.5% of the global DRAM market in the fourth quarter last year.
Staff Reporter Kang, Hyeryung | kang@etnews.com