If you believe that 4GB RAM for smartphones is overdoing it a bit, think again. Samsung has paved the way for 6GB RAMs to debut in smartphones in the near future. The company today announced that its mass producing the first 12-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR4 (low power, double data rate 4)mobile DRAM based on its 20-nm process technology. Samsung says that the newest LPDDR4 is likely to significantly improve adoption of high capacity mobile DRAM across the globe, it brings the largest capacity and highest speed available for a DRAM chip with improved energy efficiency, reliability and ease of design for manufacturers.
According to Samsung the 12Gb LPDDR4 is over 30% faster at 4,266 Mbps than the preceding 20nm-based 8Gb LPDDR4 and also twice as fast as DDR4 DRAM for PCs while reducing energy consumption by 20%. Moreover the manufacturing productivity of the new LPDDr4 has been raised by 50% over the preceding chip. Samsung's 12Gb LPDDR4 enables 3GB or 6GB of mobile DRAM in a single package using two and four chips respectively, it also happens to be the only solution capable of providing a 6GB LPDDR4 package. The company says that in the next generation of mobile devices 6GB of RAM will enable users to enjoy seamless multitasking and maximum performance, and since the new chip can easily fit in the same space used for 3GB packages, manufacturers won't have to make major design changes to accommodate the new chip. This appears to be a clear hint that the Galaxy S7 could tout 6GB of RAM, Samsung also expects to serve other platforms with its new LPDDR4 memory such as digital appliances, automotive devices as well as ultra-slim PCs in the future.
