Samsung Hopes to Squeeze 4 GB RAM into Upcoming Smartphones

Syed Sofian Rabbani

We had been drooling over the 3 GB RAM in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. However, Samsung has plans to bring something better for us in 2014. Samsung has recently unveiled its latest offering – an 8 gigabit (1 GB) low power double data rate 4 (LPDDR4) mobile. If Samsung is to be believed, they are the first to launch an 8 Gb LPDDR4 RAM chip, which would lead to 4 GB of RAM in a multi-layered package for mobile devices.

The chip is fabricated on a 20 nanometer (nm) class process technology and offers 1 GB on a single die, which is the largest density available for DRAM components today. Since the new chip has moved over to the 3.1 Gbps DDR4 standards, the performance of the RAM would be boosted by 50%. Despite the boost in performance, this new chip from Samsung has a lesser power footprint than its DDR3 predecessors – the power requirement is reduced by up to 40%.

The release from Samsung states that “[their] new high-speed 8Gb LPDDR4 mobile DRAM will provide the highest level of density, performance and energy efficiency for mobile memory applications, enabling end users to have faster, more responsive applications, more advanced features, and higher resolution displays while maximizing battery life.”

Samsung expects to get the technology ready for mass deployment sometime in 2014. The Korean manufacturer plans to utilize the LPDDR4 chip in large screen mobile phones and tablet devices which support ultra-HD displays – to power up those extra pixels. They also plan to expand the use of the LPDDR4 chips in uHD Laptops as well.
It seems that 2014 would definitely see some exciting things in the mobile arena. As on date a 4 GB DDR3 RAM is a staple attaché on laptops, however the mobile phone bandwagon has been limited to 2 GB DDR3 RAMs, with the exception of the aforementioned Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which boasts of a 3 GB RAM. Once Samsung puts the new LPDDR4 chips in mass production, we would definitely be seeing more traction on our smartphones. Couple this with the 64 bit Exynos processor from Samsung or the Snapdragon 805 and we would be in tech heaven.

-Google