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Samsung lowers the heat by switching to third-party supplier for Galaxy S25 RAM chip

By Alan Friedman

Published: Jan 14, 2025, 5:17 PM

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Render of the Galaxy S25 Ultra with itrs new rounded corners seen against a white background.

To help those planning to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S25 model enjoy a consistent performance from GalaxyAI regardless of which model they buy, Samsung plans to equip each 2025 flagship Galaxy S model with a minimum of 12GB of RAM, up from the minimum 8GB of memory available on the Galaxy S24 flagship line. This should improve the ability of the Galaxy S25 series to multitask and run on-device AI features.

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While the Galaxy S25 series will continue to support the LPDDR5X RAM standard, that doesn't mean that the RAM chips won't offer improved performance and energy-efficiency. Instead of packing its 2025 flagship phones with its own LPDDR5X RAM chip, Samsung is using Micron's 12GB RAM chip instead. One reason for the improved performance and energy-efficiency is the slight improvement in the process node used to produce the RAM chip. Micron's chip will be made using the 12nm node while Samsung's RAM chip was made last year with the 13nm process node.

Samsung's RAM chips also had a tendency to overheat which was the first reason why the Korean manufacturer decided to reach out to America to replace them. Samsung reportedly fixed the overheating issue, but not in time to include its own RAM chips in the Galaxy S25 line without having to delay the release of its flagship series. A delay would not be prudent for Samsung as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the firm's top-of-the-line handset, could lose sales to a strong challenger in the OnePlus 13.

Micron's 12nm LPDDR5X RAM chip will be used on the Galaxy S25 flagship series. | Image credit-Micron

Besides replacing itself as a supplier for the RAM chips on the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung is not using its 3nm Exynos 2500 application processor on the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ as it normally would do in most areas of the world. This happened because Samsung Foundry's unacceptable yield on 3nm production meant that the quantity of Exynos 2500 chips required for the flagship line could not be produced by Samsung on time. Thus, in 2025 Samsung will equip every Galaxy S25 series model with the powerful but expensive Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy AP. Samsung is expected to debut the Exynos 2500 during the summer on the Galaxy Z Flip FE.

From its overheating RAM chips to Samsung Foundry's low yields for its 3nm production, Samsung shot itself in the foot and will have to pay for its mistakes literally. Most likely, Samsung will be compelled to hike prices for the Galaxy S25 flagship line. As a result, Galaxy S25 buyers might notice that their wallets are a little lighter.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.