Samsung’s LPDDR5X Memory Is Validated for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon: What Does this Mean for Next-Generation Smartphones?

If you’re like the majority of people on this planet, there’s a smartphone in your pocket. In 2022, Statista reported that over 6.6 Billion people¹ – or nearly 84% of the world’s population – have a smartphone, and 74% of us say we’re uncomfortable² when it’s not within reach. Our reliance on smartphones has grown as they become increasingly intelligent, with cutting-edge mobile applications and AI-driven capabilities:

● Smartphones are quickly becoming the preferred choice³ for snapping photos to traditional cameras, with more innovative features such as AI-powered personalization, high-res sensors and continuous optical zoom. ● Smartphone games account for nearly half of video gaming revenue⁴ worldwide – and mobile games are expected to surpass 100 billion in revenue by 2023. Smartphones now offer cinema-quality graphics, powerful audio and smooth game play, along with the convenience of mobility. According to recent research, the mobile gaming market is the fastest growing market segment⁵, dwarfing the markets for gaming consoles and PC gaming. ● Smartphones leverage on-device AI/ML and intelligent edge computing to deliver enhanced features, such as speech and audio recognition, biometrics and continuous awareness – capabilities that enable users to track their fitness stats, talk to text, use digital assistance and more. Additionally, the introduction of 5G to mobile technology can make smartphones up to 100 times faster, while increasing connection reliability.

Among the key smartphone components that enable all of this incredible functionality, memory is one of the most critical. Without high-performance memory solutions, smartphones would not be able to process and store the vast amounts of data necessary to power today’s advanced mobile applications. What kind of memory is required? The kind that enables lightning-fast processing speeds while minimizing power consumption. High-performance, Low-power Memory Makes It All Possible To that end, Samsung has been working closely with Qualcomm Technologies to validate and optimize its 14nm-based 16Gb, 7.5Gps LPDDR5X solution for use with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Mobile Platforms. Samsung’s 7.5Gps LPDDR5X solutions deliver approximately 1.2X faster speed than previous iterations, such as the 6.4Gbps LPDDR5 deployed in today’s premium smartphones. What’s more, Samsung’s LPDDR5X solution leverages advanced circuit designs as well as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) to lower power consumption by about 20%.

Announced on March 3 this year, the successful validation of the LPDDR5X for Snapdragon will enable the LPDDR5X solution to be used to boost the performance of a number of next-generation features in smartphones that run on the Snapdragon Mobile Platform. With Samsung’s LPDDR5X on-board, Snapdragon can deliver advanced image recognition and visual effects, and provide DSLR-quality photography. On-device machine intelligence and cognitive capabilities enable a phone’s applications to leverage cognitive capabilities, such as visual perception, speech and audio recognition, and always-on awareness – features that enhance the user experience with modern mobile gaming and other cutting-edge mobile apps. According to Ziad Asghar, Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Enablement of LPDDR5X on Snapdragon platforms will enhance user experiences with new features and improved performance for gaming, camera, and applications using our latest AI Engine across various Qualcomm Technologies’ product lines.” Innovation beyond Smartphones Qualcomm’s validation of the LPDDR5X for Snapdragon is testament to Samsung’s market leadership in DRAM technology. Beyond smartphones, the LPDDR5X will provide a high-performance, ultra low-power solution for applications in the data center, on PCs and in the automotive arena, enabling advanced features and capabilities along with increased efficiency. What will those applications look like? Only time will tell. Samsung continues to push the boundaries of innovation for low-power DRAM solutions to deliver even greater performance and capacity, to support tomorrow’s systems and applications – the likes of which we may only dream of today.

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_{¹ The number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to grow by several hundred million in the next few years. ² Reviews.org found that 74% of us can’t leave our cell phones at home without feeling uneasy. ³ In 2021, smartphones began to feature multiple lenses, improved sensor size and resolution, and AI algorithms, and more changes are expected in 2022. ⁴ In 2020, smartphone games accounted for almost 50% of video gaming revenue worldwide, and mobile games revenue in the U.S. reached a record $10.73 billion. ⁵ Newzoo predicts mobile’s revenue growth will reach $116.1 billion by 2024, continuing to outpace growth of PC and console.}