Your next smartphone might feature Samsung's 12GB RAM chip

Depending on which Galaxy S10 you wanted to by, you could choose from as little as 6GB of RAM or as much as 12GB. While the latter option is currently only available for the most expensive Galaxy S10 Plus model, that high-capacity chip might end up in your next smartphone. Earlier today, Samsung announced that it is now mass producing its 12GB smartphone RAM module (via The Korea Times).

The company is using 1y-nm technology to reduce the size of the RAM module to 1.1-millimeter. The design allows Samsung to cut back on the chip’s power usage while not slowing down its data transfer rate.

Samsung explains how it is building these chips:

The 12GB capacity was achieved by combining six 16-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR4X chips based on the second-generation 10nm-class (1y-nm) process into a single package, providing more space for the smartphone battery. In addition, by using the company’s 1y-nm technology, the new 12GB mobile memory delivers a data transfer rate of 34.1GB per second while minimizing the increase in power consumption inevitably caused by a boost in DRAM capacity.

As Samsung sells its DRAM modules to competing smartphone manufacturers, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see these chips show up in third-party flagships later this year. The South Korean company states that the increased RAM will allow devices to “feature more than five cameras and ever-increasing display sizes as well as artificial intelligence and 5G capabilities.”

Do you think 12GB of RAM in a smartphone is too much? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!