China's CXMT beats Samsung, SK hynix to LPDDR6 mass production

China's chipmaker CXMT announces next-gen LPDDR6 memory production ahead of Samsung, SK hynix

Seoul, August 31

The announcement puts CXMT ahead of South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in publicly confirming both mass production and commercial smartphone deployment of LPDDR6 memory.

CXMT said on Saturday that its LPDDR6 memory had "officially entered mass production" and would be used in Xiaomi's 18 Fold.

Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun separately confirmed that the company's new Xring O3 processor would support CXMT's LPDDR6, making the foldable phone the first handset to use the combination.

LPDDR6 is a newer generation of low-power memory designed for mobile devices. It helps smartphones handle data more efficiently and supports the growing computing requirements of advanced processors and applications.

The development also highlights Xiaomi's efforts to reduce its dependence on overseas chip suppliers. The company has traditionally relied on Qualcomm and MediaTek for application processors, but is increasingly using its own processors while expanding cooperation with Chinese chip suppliers.

A local semiconductor industry official said the Xiaomi-CXMT partnership could give CXMT an early opportunity to test its LPDDR6 technology in a flagship smartphone.

"Xiaomi is effectively serving as an early test bed for CXMT by putting its own processor together with LPDDR6 in a flagship device," the official said, according to The Korea Herald.

However, the official cautioned that CXMT's mass-production announcement does not necessarily mean that it has technologically overtaken Samsung or SK hynix.

The Korea Herald also shared Xiaomi is targeting shipments of around 200,000 to 300,000 units for the 18 Fold. The relatively small expected volume means CXMT's actual production capacity and yields could still be lower than the mass-production announcement suggests, the official said.

"If CXMT is producing LPDDR6 mainly for that level of demand, its actual production capacity and yields could still be lower than the mass-production announcement might suggest," the official said.

Samsung and SK hynix have also developed LPDDR6 products. SK hynix said in March that it had completed development of a 16-gigabit LPDDR6 product based on its latest 1c DRAM process and planned to begin supplying customers in the second half of the year.

Korean media reported in July that Xiaomi was likely to be among SK hynix's first customers, although SK hynix did not confirm the reports.

Xiaomi has not said whether CXMT would be the sole LPDDR6 supplier for the 18 Fold.

Samsung unveiled its LPDDR6 technology before CES 2026 and said it had been working with major system-on-chip makers on early validation. However, it has not publicly disclosed a specific mass-production timetable or named a smartphone customer.

The CXMT announcement comes shortly after the Chinese memory maker raised 57.9 billion yuan (USD 8.6 billion) through its Shanghai initial public offering (IPO). The company plans to use part of the proceeds to expand production capacity and upgrade its technology.

CXMT subsequently reported first-half revenue of 150.3 billion yuan (about USD 22.4 billion), up 874 per cent year-on-year, while net profit stood at 77.6 billion yuan (about USD 11.6 billion).

— ANI