Samsung's new low power DDR4 memory chip could mean 4GB of RAM on your next smartphone

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Samsung's new low power DDR4 memory chip could mean 4GB of RAM on your next smartphone
Get ready for a smartphone carrying 4GB of RAM. On Monday in Korea, Samsung announced that it has developed the first 8 gigabit (Gb), low power double data rate 4 (LPDDR4) mobile DRAM. The chip was built using the 20nm process and offers 1GB on a single die. This means it has the largest density on a DRAM component. In addition, Samsung says it provides a high level of performance with low energy consumption. Four of the 8Gb chips would combine to offer a single 4GB LPDDR4 package would would mean 4GB of RAM for a smartphone, or other device.

The 8Gb LPDDR4 mobile DRAM would allow for faster applications, higher resolution displays, longer battery life, and more advanced features for your device. With the new Low Voltage Swing Terminated Logic (LVSTL) I/O interface, data will be transferred per pin at a rate of 3200Mbps. That is twice as fast as the 20nm process LPDDR3 DRAM that is currently mass produced. It also achieves 50%  higher performance than the fastest DDR3 memory chip and at 1.1 volts, uses only 40% of the energy.

The chip will be used for top-shelf devices, including smartphones, and will be ready for shipment in 2014.

Samsung’s mobile RAM journey has been quite amazing. Here are the types of mobile memories the company produced throughout the years:
  • 2009: 256MB (50 nanometer 1Gb MDDR, 400Mbps)
  • 2010: 512MB (40 nano 2Gb MDDR, 400Mbps)
  • 2011: 1GB/2GB (30 nano 4Gb LPDDR2, 1,066 Mbps)
  • August 2012: 2GB (30 nano 4Gb LPDDR3, 1,600 Mbps)
  • April 2013: 2GB (20 nano 4Gb LPDDR3, 2,133 Mbps)
  • July 2013: 3GB (20 nano 4Gb LPDDR3, 2,133 Mbps)
  • November 2013: 3GB (20 nanometer 6Gb LPDDR3, 2,133 Mbps)
  • H1 2014: 4GB (20 nano 8Gb LPDDR4, 3,200 Mbps)


source: Samsung via Engadget

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