Xiaomi to launch the world’s first smartphone with LPDDR6 memory

China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies has announced that it has begun mass production of LPDDR6 memory for a Xiaomi smartphone. With this move, CXMT has preceded official announcements from major Western memory manufacturers. The Xiaomi model in question will be the first smartphone to go on sale with LPDDR6 memory. The device’s name and launch date have not yet been announced.

Unlike the previous generation, LPDDR6 memory uses PAM3 signaling and encodes 3 bits of information within two symbols. The LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X standards used NRZ signaling. The data transfer rate has increased to 43.2 GT/s. Reducing the input and output width from 32 bits to 24 bits requires changes to both hardware and software.

CXMT reaching mass production of LPDDR6 at roughly the same time as Samsung, SK hynix and Micron is a major advance for China’s DRAM industry. In previous memory generations, Chinese manufacturers lagged significantly behind these companies. CXMT has now joined the early commercialization stage of the new standard. However, beginning production at the same time does not amount to full technological and manufacturing parity.

Nevertheless, the announcement currently covers only one smartphone model from one manufacturer. CXMT’s product must undergo separate compatibility testing before it can be used in other phones. Production efficiency, potential supply volume and the memory’s actual operating speed have not been disclosed. It is therefore still too early to say that CXMT has become the market’s new leader.