Samsung Electronics' LPDDR6 Successfully Validated on Qualcomm's Next-Generation AP, an Industry First

[Financial News] Samsung Electronics has become the first in the industry to validate its next-generation low-power DRAM, LPDDR6, on Qualcomm's next-generation mobile platform. The company aims to maintain its leadership in the mobile DRAM market with a next-generation product that improves data-transfer performance and power efficiency.■ Samsung Electronics Conducts First Validation of LPDDR6 on Qualcomm's Next-Generation PlatformSamsung Electronics said on the 23rd that it had become the first in the industry to successfully validate 16 gigabytes (GB) of LPDDR6 on Qualcomm's 'Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th Generation' at input/output speeds of up to 10.7 Gbps.
LPDDR is low-power DRAM primarily used in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. As on-device artificial intelligence (AI) evolves into multimodal AI and AI agents, the importance of high-performance, low-power memory that can process more data quickly while reducing power consumption is growing in mobile devices as well.
Samsung's LPDDR6 provides memory bandwidth of up to 114 GB/s. It reduces data bottlenecks between memory and the processor, enabling smooth processing of the data required for AI computations.
The product also incorporates dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) and dynamic efficiency mode (DEM) to improve power efficiency. By adjusting operating voltage and frequency according to performance requirements and reducing unnecessary power consumption when usage is low, it improves power efficiency by up to 21% compared with the previous-generation LPDDR5X.
The validation was achieved through technical collaboration between Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm that began during the early stages of product development. Samsung Electronics explained that the process confirmed LPDDR6 can meet the performance requirements of next-generation mobile platforms.
Choi Jang-seok, vice president of the Product Planning Team in Samsung Electronics' Memory Business, said, "Following the industry's first development of LPDDR6, we have completed sample deliveries and quality validation on Qualcomm's next-generation platform. We will provide high-performance, low-power memory solutions on time in line with customers' and the market's commercialization schedules."■ Maintaining Its Leadership in Mobile DRAMThe development and validation of this next-generation memory reflect Samsung Electronics' strategy of staying ahead of demand changes driven by the spread of AI and maintaining its leadership in the mobile DRAM market.
As on-device AI becomes more widespread, the amount of memory installed in smartphones is growing faster than smartphone sales. According to market research firm Omdia, global smartphone shipments rose 0.5% year on year in the first quarter of this year, while the total DRAM capacity installed in smartphones increased by 6.1%. Average DRAM capacity per device also rose 5.5%, from 7.8 GB to 8.3 GB.
This trend is expected to continue alongside the spread of AI smartphones. Counterpoint Research projects that generative AI smartphones will account for 45% of global smartphone shipments this year, up from 36% last year, and 52% next year.
The transition to next-generation memory is also expected to accelerate gradually. Omdia forecasts that LPDDR6's share of total LPDDR shipments will rise from 3% in 2027 to 9% in 2028, 21% in 2029 and 39% in 2030.
Samsung Electronics ranked first in the global mobile DRAM market with a 43% share by revenue in the first quarter of this year. After becoming the first in the industry to develop LPDDR5 in 2018 and LPDDR5X in 2021, the company is responding to the transition to next-generation products by completing the development of LPDDR6 and its validation on a Qualcomm platform.
[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter