In brief: Companies like Apple have yet to adopt LPDDR5, which has only found its way into a handful of mobile devices so far. However, that won't stop Samsung from forging ahead with LPDDR5X memory, which is both faster and more energy efficient, and allows phone manufacturers to pack more RAM than ever into future mobile devices.

Back in August 2020, Samsung started mass producing 16 Gb LPDDR5 DRAM at the world's largest semiconductor line, opening the possibility of cramming up to 16 gigabytes of RAM in devices like phones and tablets. The company has been making quick leaps in performance, power efficiency, and memory density over the last few years --- with 8 Gb LPDDR5 chips in 2018, and 12 Gb chips in 2019.

This year, the South Korean tech giant is making yet another step in this journey with 16 Gb LPDDR5X DRAM, which is expected to be used in a variety of applications beyond smartphones. The new memory is 1.3 times faster than LPDDR5, meaning it is capable of data transfer speeds of up to 8.5 Gbps.

Samsung says its LPDDR5X chips are made using a 14 nm EUV process node and need 20 percent less power to operate when compared to LPDDR5 memory. But more importantly, the new 16 Gb LPDDR5X chip will allow mobile device manufacturers to pack up to 64 gigabytes per memory package.

We expect you'll see the new memory debut in actual devices sometime in the first half of 2023, as many manufacturers (including Apple) have yet to adopt the existing LPDDR5 technology. In the meantime, Samsung says it will "begin collaborating with global chipset manufacturers to establish a more viable framework for the expanding world of digital reality, with its LPDDR5X serving as a key part of that foundation."

In related news, Samsung's Exynos account on Instagram dropped a teaser for an upcoming Exynos chipset. The new mobile SoC will be unveiled on November 19, and while some expect it will be the Exynos 2200 with an AMD GPU, the timing suggests we'll likely see a mid-range chipset instead.