Skip to main content

Samsung unveils faster RAM that will help phones compete with PCs

samsung galaxy s4 base macro

Samsung has announced that it’s already begun manufacturing faster new RAM (Random Access Memory) for its smartphones, Hot Hardware reports. The chips represent the industry’s first ultra high-speed, 4GB, LPDDR3 Mobile Memory built on a 20nm-class technology. Or, more plainly, it’s 30 percent faster than current RAM, 10nm smaller, and offers a 20 percent power conservation boost. In practice, that translates to roughly 17Gb per second transfer speeds.

How fast is 17Gb per second? In one second, you could transfer roughly half of any of the Lord of the Rings extended edition Blu-ray movies through the RAM and memory of a phone. Downloading a file at such speed is impossible unless you live in a data center, of course. But if you do, maybe you’ll want to own a future Samsung phone?

The new mobile chips offer comparable speed and performance to the standard DRAM tech found in desktop computers and laptops. They’re clocked at data transfer speeds up to 2,133 megabits per second, per pin – more than double the 8000MBps LPDDR2 tech – though that won’t mean much to those of you who aren’t engineers.

Young-Hyun Jun, Samsung’s executive vice president for memory sales and marketing, told media, “By providing the most efficient next-generation mobile memory with a very large data capacity, we are now enabling OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] to introduce even more innovative designs in the marketplace… Our 20nm-class four gigabit mobile DRAM provides another example of our ability to deliver well-differentiated, high-performance, high-density memory to customers in a timely manner.”

Best of all, the new chips won’t necessitate any upgrade in the size of Samsung’s products. The company says manufacturers can have a 2GB package with four of their new chips in a single package that meets the memory package height of 0.8mm. 

Saul Berenbaum
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Saul Berenbaum has been writing film and gaming reviews since college. Recently, he contributed to HardcoreDroid. Now he…
I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps
The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

Read more
The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far
Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Read more
Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.

Read more