China's DRAM maker Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is effectively in the final stage of developing LPDDR6, the next-generation mobile DRAM, accelerating its chase in the global memory market led by Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron.
China Business News reported on the 1st (local time), citing industry sources, that a core affiliate of CXMT has almost completed research and development (R&D) verification for LPDDR6 and has entered a key phase ahead of mass production.
LPDDR is a low-power DRAM standard mounted in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. It reduces power consumption through low-voltage operation, and before product release it goes through steps including chip (die) standalone verification, R&D verification, small-scale pilot production verification, and mass production.
Earlier in China's industry, there were indications that CXMT was actively pushing LPDDR6 development, supplying samples to major customers, and could unveil the product and begin mass production in the second half of this year.
China Business News said CXMT's LPDDR6 supports a maximum speed of 12.8 Gbps (gigabits per second) by design standard, and that key performance factors such as reliability (RAS) and maintainability have improved compared with LPDDR5X.
CXMT currently produces DDR5 and LPDDR5 as its main products. According to its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus, LPDDR5 entered mass production in 2023, DDR5 in 2024, and LPDDR5X in 2025. Last year, LPDDR accounted for 66.43% of revenue and DDR for 31.87%, with most results coming from commodity DRAM.
Global memory companies are also ramping up competition to preempt the next-generation LPDDR6 market.
SK hynix said in March that it succeeded in developing a 16Gb LPDDR6 DRAM using a 10-nanometer-class sixth-generation (1c) process. The company noted it would finish mass production preparation in the first half and begin supply in the second half to expand its lineup of commodity memory products optimized for the AI era.
Samsung Electronics unveiled LPDDR6 at CES 2026 in January this year but has not yet announced a specific mass production schedule. Micron also said on its earnings conference call in June that the center of DRAM demand is expected to shift from LPDDR5 and DDR5 to LPDDR6 and DDR6, but it did not disclose product development progress or mass production plans.
China is also paying attention to SK hynix's market-first strategy. Chinese outlets including 36Kr analyzed that SK hynix is moving up the LPDDR6 mass production timeline to keep a fast-growing CXMT in check, and aims to secure Chinese smartphone makers such as Xiaomi as early customers to seize leadership in the next-generation mobile memory market.
The interpretation is that it is a strategy to secure key customers first based on technological superiority, minimizing room for market entry even if CXMT begins a full-fledged chase. China Business News predicted, "If CXMT starts mass production of LPDDR6 in the second half of this year, it will compete directly with SK hynix in the next-generation mobile DRAM market."