SK Hynix’s new LPDDR5T chip shipped to Vivo for X100 smartphones

SK Hynix Inc. said on Monday it has commercialized the world’s fastest mobile DRAM by shipping its new advanced mobile chips, LPDDR5T, to Chinese smartphone maker Vivo.

The South Korean company, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker after Samsung Electronics Co., said it has begun shipping LPDDR5T chips to Vivo for use in the Chinese firm’s latest smartphones, the X100 and the X100 Pro.

The two Vivo flagship smartphones will be powered by Taiwanese fabless firm MediaTek Co.’s mobile application processor (AP) chipset Dimensity.

SK Hynix said in August it completed LPDDR5T’s performance verification with MediaTek’s advanced flagship mobile AP chip, Dimensity 9300.

A mobile AP is a system-on-chip (SoC) designed to run applications and functions on a mobile device. It typically contains a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) and other components on a single chip to enable it to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.

FASTEST MOBILE DRAM CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

Developed in January, LPDDR5T is the world’s fastest mobile DRAM with an operating speed of 9.6 gigabits per second (Gbps).

The chips SK Hynix is supplying to Vivo are 16 gigabyte (GB) multi-chip packages, which combine multiple LPDDR5T, or lower power double data rate 5 turbo chips, into one package.

The packaged product can process 77 GB of data per second, meaning 15 full-HD quality movies can be transferred in one second, according to SK Hynix.

Running in the ultra-low voltage range of 1.01V to 1.12V set by JEDEC, the international semiconductor standards council, the latest chip uses less power than previous models.

The Korean company said the latest DRAM chip is 13% faster than its previous generation LPDDR5X chip unveiled in November.

LPDDR DRAM is becoming the standard for a variety of devices because of its low-power and high-performance characteristics, expanding its use beyond smartphones to PCs, high-end computing (HPC) and servers.

LPDDR memory is also an important component in vehicles as a massive amount of data processing is required for autonomous driving.

“LPDDR5T is the optimal memory to maximize the performance of smartphones. We will continue to expand the application range of this product to lead the generational shift in the mobile DRAM sector,” SK Hynix said in a statement.

With the JEDEC standardization process in its final stages, the company expects a generational change of DRAM for mobile devices to accelerate from next year.

BRING ON-DEVICE AI TECH TO SMARTPHONES

As the need for faster, smaller and more power-efficient memory increases across various sectors, chipmakers expect LPDDR DRAM to be widely used in artificial intelligence (AI) and metaverse businesses.

Chipmakers and smartphone makers are now paying attention to on-device AI technology designed for smart gadgets.

On-device AI tech implements AI capabilities on the device itself instead of going through computation in a physically separated server. By doing so, AI functions become more responsive and provide customized services.

Compared with conventional generative AI such as ChatGPT, on-device AI offers higher security, costs less and consumes less power.

“Smartphones are becoming essential devices for implementing on-device AI technology as the AI era kicks into full swing,” said Park Myoung-soo, vice president and head of DRAM Marketing at SK Hynix.

“We will continue to lead the premium DRAM market based on our AI chip leadership while staying in tune with market demands.”

SK Hynix, which became the industry’s first chipmaker to release DDR5 DRAM in October 2020, aims to enhance its presence in the growing market.

Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, said in October it has successfully proven the performance of its LPDDR5X DRAM on Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s Snapdragon mobile platform at a speed of 8.5 Gbps.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.