LPDDR6 memory standard announced as DDR5 DRAM takes over
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The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association has announced the LPDDR6 memory standard, even as the memory market transitions from DDR4 to DDR5.
Last year, market analysts expected that the DDR5 memory standard for desktops and the LPDDR5 (low-power DDR5) memory standard for notebooks would be conflated, and that may be what has happened here. Officially, the new standard is known as the new JESD209-6 LPDDR6 standard, the organization said.
The standard operates “with a lower voltage and low power consumption capable VDD2 supply,” JEDEC said, without specifying more. (JEDEC charges $446 for the full specification.) LPDDR6 device density will vary, however, from 4 Gbits to 64 Gbits, it said.
JEDEC’s press release goes into more features of the specification, including that there are two sub-channels per die, with 12 signal lines. Tom’s Hardware, citing a 2024 Synopsys/JEDEC presentation issued before the specification was finalized, indicates that the LPDDR5 memory data rates could run from 10.667Gbps to 14.4Gbps, with bandwidth of 32GBps. Memory analysts TrendForce note that the current, slower LPDDR5X supports data rates from 6.7Gbps to 10.667Gbps — basically giving LPDDR6 another gear.
JEDEC’s announcement was supported by Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung, among others — the world’s top memory makers. TrendForce has said it expects DDR6 memory to be announced later in 2025 and possibly require the use of LPCAMM2 modules, in a break from previous generations.
Meanwhile, as DDR4 memory production winds down, DDR4 memory prices are beginning to soar. It looks like a DDR5 transition is imminent, and even then memory makers would like to see the industry migrate to the more expensive DDR6 standard as quickly as possible.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers’ News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.
