SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has started supplying its customers with 16 gigabyte (GB) packages of Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo (LPDDR5T)1, the fastest mobile DRAM available today that can transfer 9.6 gigabits per second (Gbps).

1LPDDR: Low power DRAM for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, which aims to minimize power consumption and features low voltage operation. The latest specifications are for the 7th generation, succeeding the series that end with 1, 2, 3, 4, 4X, 5 and 5X. LPDDR5T is a newly developed version by SK hynix, and an upgraded product of the 7th generation (5X), prior to the development of the 8th generation LPDDR6.

Since the successful development of its LPDDR5T in January, SK hynix has been preparing to commercialize the product by conducting performance verification with global mobile application processor (AP)2 manufacturers.

2Mobile AP: A semiconductor chip that serves as the ‘brain’ of mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets. It is also the central processing unit in a system-on-chip (SoC) format that contains a complete set of products and systems, including computation, graphics, digital signal processing, etc., in a single chip.

SK hynix explained that LPDDR5T is the optimal memory to maximize the performance of smartphones, with the highest speed ever achieved. The company also emphasized that it would continue to expand the application range of this product and lead the generation shift in the mobile DRAM sector.

The LPDDR5T 16 GB package operates in the ultra-low voltage range of 1.01 to 1.12V set by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC), and can process 77 GB of data per second, which is equivalent to transferring 15 full high-definition (FHD) movies in one second.

The company recently started shipping its product to a global smartphone manufacturer, Vivo, which also announced that its latest smartphones, X100 and X100 Pro, will be equipped with SK hynix’s up-to-date memory packages.

These devices will also be packed with MediaTek’s newest flagship mobile AP ‘Dimensity 9300’. In August, SK hynix confirmed that it has completed the performance verification for application with MediaTek’s next-generation mobile APs.

“Smartphones are becoming essential devices for implementing On-Device AI3 technology as the AI era kicks into full swing,” said Myoungsoo Park, Vice President and Head of DRAM Marketing at SK hynix. “There is a growing demand for high-performing, high-capacity mobile DRAMs in the market.”

3On-Device AI: Artificial intelligence technology that implements AI capabilities on the device itself, instead of going through computation in a physically separated server. AI functions can become more responsive and provide more customized AI services as smart devices are capable of collecting and computing information on its own.

“We will continue to lead the premium DRAM market based on our technological leadership in AI memories, while staying in tune with market demands,” Park added.