SK hynix starts production of 18-gigabyte LPDDR5 chip

SK hynix's 18-gigabyte low power double data rate 5 chip. [SK HYNIX]

SK hynix has begun mass-production of a mobile DRAM that offers the industry's largest capacity with enhanced data transmission speed.

The 18-gigabyte low-power double data rate 5, or LPDDR5, is in mass production and the first batch of the chip will go into Asus' gaming smartphone, the Republic of Gamers 5.

The semiconductor producer said its latest chip will be ideal for premium smartphones to support high-resolution games and videos. The company expects the application of the product to expand further, including in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

"This product will improve processing speed and image quality by expanding the data temporary storage space, as the capacity increases compared to the previous 16 gigabyte product," the company said.

Its latest DRAM runs at up to 6,400 megabits-per-second, about 20 percent faster than the mobile DRAM used for existing smartphones. The data speed is capable of transferring 10 5-gigabyte full-HD movies per second.

According to market researcher Omdia, the demand of LPDDR5 DRAM currently accounts for about 10 percent of the entire mobile DRAM market, but the share is estimated to increase to more than 50 percent by 2023.

SK hynix was the world's second-largest DRAM producer in the fourth quarter of 2020 with a market share of 29.5 percent, after racking up $5.2 billion in revenue. The company was behind Korean rival Samsung Electronics, which boasted a 42.1 percent share in the DRAM market, according to market tracker TrendForce.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]