SK Hynix to Mass Produce LPDDR6 in Second Half of 2024, Xiaomi Expected as First Adopter

According to South Korea's Herald Economy, citing industry sources, SK Hynix (KR000660) (SKHY-US) plans to begin mass production of its next-generation low-power mobile memory LPDDR6 in the second half of this year. Xiaomi (01810-HK) is expected to be the first supply target, with the memory to be used in Xiaomi's next flagship smartphone.

In March this year, SK Hynix announced the completion of development verification for its 16Gb LPDDR6 based on the 1c process. Test data shows that the product's data transfer rate is 33% faster than LPDDR5X, with a base operating speed exceeding 10.7Gbps, and energy efficiency improved by over 20%.

By incorporating sub-channel architecture and Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) technology, LPDDR6 can adjust frequency and voltage in real time based on operating conditions, effectively improving battery life. This is crucial for smartphones running large-scale edge AI models such as image generation and real-time translation.

Although SK Hynix remains cautious about confirming customer collaboration details, the partnership with Xiaomi dates back to 2013.

Industry analysts believe that if LPDDR6 is successfully adopted, SK Hynix could use Xiaomi as a strategic entry point to expand its market share and strengthen its position in flagship devices from brands like OPPO and vivo.

However, memory market supply and demand challenges remain severe. Driven by AI demand, LPDDR prices have surged to levels comparable to those of general-purpose DRAM.

According to TrendForce, mobile DRAM revenue in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 64.5% quarter-on-quarter, setting a new historical high.

As major memory manufacturers shift production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server products, long-term supply constraints for consumer-grade LPDDR continue, placing significant cost pressure on smartphone manufacturers.

For example, Xiaomi's smartphone gross margin dropped from 12.4% in the same period last year to 10.1% in the first quarter of 2024, primarily due to rising key component costs.

As LPDDR6 becomes the next growth driver after HBM, price competition and supply chain integration in the memory market will continue to impact the profitability of the smartphone industry.