CXMT's LPDDR6 module. [Captured from CXMT website]
CXMT's LPDDR6 module. [Captured from CXMT website]

China's largest DRAM maker, CXMT, has been closing the technology gap with South Korean chipmakers faster than expected and is now considered to have reached near-parity with them.

CXMT's latest low-power DRAM chip, the LPDDR6, has been confirmed for inclusion in Xiaomi's newest smartphones. SK hynix is also expected to begin mass-producing LPDDR6 chips of the same specification in the second half of this year. The two companies appear set to compete as dual suppliers for Xiaomi's flagship smartphone lineup.

According to Chinese media outlets including the Beijing News, CXMT's LPDDR6 will be used for the first time in the XRING O3 — the application processor powering Xiaomi's next-generation flagship smartphone. Reuters reported that the XRING O3 will feature in Xiaomi's upcoming flagship foldable phone, with a target shipment volume of 200,000 to 300,000 units.

LPDDR chips are memory components primarily used in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. The LPDDR6 is the latest generation of the standard; both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have completed development and are moving into full-scale mass production in the second half of the year, with a leadership race now underway.

SK hynix completed development of its LPDDR6 in March and plans to supply it to Xiaomi smartphones for the first time in the second half of this year.

Chinese media have also observed that SK hynix, holding a technological edge, is trying to preempt the next-generation memory market by prioritizing supply of its latest LPDDR6 to Chinese customers such as Xiaomi — in part to check CXMT's rapid rise.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix currently lead the mobile DRAM market. In China's smartphone sector, domestic memory chips from companies such as CXMT have been used in budget-tier lineups, but flagship models requiring higher performance have relied on South Korean memory.

With CXMT products now entering flagship models as well, SK hynix and CXMT appear to have become dual vendors in Xiaomi's supply chain.

The Beijing News said CXMT's LPDDR6 had been supplied as samples to key customers since March, with validation nearing completion in August. "Starting from technological catch-up, it has made a pivotal leap to competing on equal footing with global giants," the outlet said.

It added that CXMT's LPDDR6 being adopted in Xiaomi's XRING O3 marks "the first instance of China seizing a global first-mover advantage in the advanced low-power memory race."

Chinese media have also analyzed that while CXMT is forming a structure of direct competition with SK hynix, the various restrictions facing Samsung Electronics and Micron in their China businesses are opening growth opportunities for CXMT. They suggest the development could shift the existing dynamic in which overseas giants have led cutting-edge memory technology development.

However, analysts say CXMT's LPDDR6 still lags behind South Korean products in performance. The Beijing News reported that CXMT's chip has a single-die capacity of 16 gigabits and a package chip capacity of 16 gigabytes, with operating speeds of at least 10.7 gigabits per second and a maximum of 12.8 Gbps.

While the 16Gb die capacity matches that of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two South Korean companies achieve a maximum data transfer speed of 14.4 Gbps — the top speed under JEDEC standards — compared with CXMT's 12.8 Gbps, a gap of roughly 11 percent.

In terms of packaging, CXMT's chip uses a package-on-package format with 1,295 solder balls on the underside — a method that stacks DRAM vertically on top of a mobile application processor — which is similar to the packaging specifications used by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, suggesting the external product form factor has been largely aligned.

"LPDDR is a general-purpose DRAM, so it is not as difficult to manufacture as HBM, and it remains to be seen how well it meets JEDEC standards," one industry official said. "Still, the fact that they have caught up even to the latest LPDDR6 is something we need to take seriously."


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