Samsung, a major name in the memory market, has reportedly stopped taking new orders and halted production for LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X RAM. These memory chips have been the backbone of mid-range smartphones and tablets for nearly a decade. However, the industry is now facing a mandatory transition toward the faster, more profitable LPDDR5 standard, and Samsung wants to be there to meet that demand mainly driven by AI.
The LPDDR4 era is over: Samsung focuses on high-profit LPDDR5 memory
According to a report from The Elec, Samsung will fulfill existing orders through the end of the year before shifting its production lines in early 2026. This decision aims to maximize profits during a global memory crisis fueled by the massive demand for AI-capable hardware.
The shift makes the logistical scenario more difficult for major chip players like Qualcomm and MediaTek. Many of their existing mid-range chipsets work specifically with the older, cheaper LPDDR4X memory. Now, manufacturers need to redesign their future hardware or pay a premium for LPDDR5 components.
The most visible impact, however, will be visible in the low-to-mid-range smartphone market. Devices like the Galaxy A17 typically rely on older RAM to keep prices accessible. If Samsung switches these models to LPDDR5, new batches of the same phone could suddenly become 50% faster in memory bandwidth. While that sounds like a win, it comes with a catch: the price tag. This will likely increase to cover the cost of the more advanced technology.
Current phone models could get a “forced” memory speed boost?
Samsung’s new strategy creates a potentially awkward situation for consumers. Early buyers of a specific model might end up with a slower device than people who buy it a few months later. Meanwhile, latecomers might find themselves paying more for a phone that was originally marketed as a budget-friendly option. It is a “less than ideal” scenario where the AI boom is effectively squeezing the remaining life out of older, affordable components.
As Samsung retools its facilities to focus on high-performance memory, the “end of life” for LPDDR4 marks the end of an era.
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