"Second-Half Supply" SK hynix and Samsung Electronics Enter Mass-Production Race for Next-Generation LPDDR6

According to Financial News, SK hynix and Samsung Electronics have begun competing to mass-produce the next generation of low-power Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) products, known as LPDDR (low-power double data rate) 6.
SK hynix announced on the 10th that it has completed development certification for a 16Gb (gigabit) LPDDR6 DRAM built with a 10-nanometer-class sixth-generation 1c process node, the first such achievement in the world. SK hynix stated, "We will complete preparations for mass production within the first half of the year and begin supplying products in the second half," adding, "Through this, we will build a general-purpose memory lineup optimized for implementing artificial intelligence (AI)." The company explained that, compared with its existing LPDDR5X (Low Power Double Data Rate 5X) products, it has improved both data processing speed and power efficiency.

In LPDDR, the "LP" stands for low power. As the name suggests, it is low-power DRAM. Thanks to its high power efficiency, its use is expanding beyond premium laptops and smartphones to smart cars, autonomous driving systems, and more. Analysts say it is not only capable of smoothly running high-spec Large Language Model (LLM) workloads, but, with its strong power efficiency, it could become the "workhorse memory" following High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). LPDDR currently accounts for about one-third of the mobile DRAM market, but as more smartphones and laptops adopt On-device AI that runs AI directly on the device, it is expected to rapidly replace demand for conventional DDR DRAM products.

The LPDDR6 for which SK hynix has completed development certification is based on the cutting-edge 1c process node. By expanding bandwidth, its data processing speed has improved by 33% over the previous generation, and its operating speed starts at 10.7Gbps (gigabits per second), exceeding the maximum of existing products. Despite the speed gains, power consumption has been reduced by more than 20% compared with the previous generation. Industry observers interpret SK hynix’s application of the ultra-fine 1c process node to LPDDR6 as a move to strengthen its leadership in the era of On-device AI.
Samsung Electronics is also accelerating commercialization, having won an innovation award at CES 2026 with its LPDDR6 products based on 1b process technology earlier this year. The industry believes that, by choosing 1b process technology instead of the 1c process node used for HBM4, Samsung likely prioritized performance stability and earlier mass production. Moreover, reports that Samsung has recently delivered samples of its "next-next-generation" LPDDR6X to Qualcomm are fueling expectations that the LPDDR6 market could open up sooner than anticipated.
ehcho@fnnews.com Jo Eun-hyo Reporter