Ready for mass production, Micron’s uMCP5 allows smartphones to handle data-intensive 5G workloads with dramatically increased speed and power efficiency. The multichip package uses Micron’s LPDDR5 memory, high-reliability NAND and leading-edge UFS 3.1 controller to power advanced mobile features previously only seen in flagship devices using discrete products, such as stand-alone memory and storage.
This means things like image recognition, advanced artificial intelligence (AI), multicamera support, augmented reality (AR) and high-resolution displays are becoming accessible to more consumers.
Raj Talluri, senior vice president and general manager of Micron’s Mobile Business Unit said: “Moving 5G’s potential from hype to reality will require smartphones that can support the immense volumes of data flowing through the network and next-gen applications. Our uMCP5 combines the fastest memory and storage in a single package, unleashing new possibilities for 5G’s disruptive, data-rich technologies right at consumers’ fingertips.”
This launch builds on Micron’s March announcement of its sampling of uMCP5 and sets a new standard for the mobile market as the first multichip package to use the latest generations of UFS NAND storage and low-power DRAM. The vast volumes of data that smartphones must store and process today are pushing memory bandwidth to its limits with LPDDR4-based midtier chipsets. The result is lowered video resolution, frustrating lags and limited features.
With LPDDR5, Micron has increased memory bandwidth from 3,733 to 6,400 megabits per second (Mb/s), enabling seamless, instant experiences for mobile users, even when using data-heavy features.
Ziad Asghar, vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, said: “We're excited that uMCP5 is now available, bringing memory on par with 5G speeds to a new generation of phones and enabling best-in-class gaming, differentiated camera and AI experiences, and ultrafast file transfers.”
Micron uMCP5 features include:
• Dramatically extended battery life: Building on its success with uMCP4, Micron taps LPDDR5 memory for uMCP5 to enable complete utilization of 5G networks, providing a nearly 20% power efficiency boost compared to LPDDR4. In addition, Micron’s UFS 3.1 consumes about 40% less power than Micron’s UFS 2.1 predecessor. For smartphone users, this means extended battery life — even when consuming power-draining multimedia applications or data-intensive features such as AI, AR, image recognition, gaming, immersive entertainment and more.
• Fast download speeds: Unlocking the full potential of 5G performance, Micron’s uMCP5 provides users with 20 per cent faster sustained download speeds, as compared to Micron’s previous UFS 2.1-based solutions.
• Boosted endurance: Micron’s uMCP5 NAND boasts an improved endurance by around 66% to 5,000 program/erase cycles, exponentially increasing the cycles and volume of data that devices can program and erase without degrading device performance — extending a smartphone’s life span even for the heaviest of users.
• Better bandwidth: Devices with uMCP5 will support a maximum DRAM bandwidth of up to 6,400 Mb/s, a 50 per cent increase compared to the previous LPDDR4x generation, which runs at a bandwidth of 4,266 Mb/s. This allows mobile users to multitask on many applications without diminishing experience. The increased bandwidth also enables higher-quality image processing for AI-powered computational photography in smartphones, putting professional photography capabilities in users’ hands. Micron is the first vendor in the industry to support full-speed LPDDR5.
• Latest flash performance: Micron’s uMCP5 also draws on the fastest UFS 3.1-based storage interface, providing twice the sequential read performance and 20% faster write speeds compared to Micron’s previous generation of UFS 2.1 products.
• Tight, space-saving design: Micron designed uMCP5 in the most compact form factor possible, using its multichip package expertise and known manufacturing and packaging techniques — enabling slimmer, more agile smartphone designs. Devices using Micron’s package can save 55 per cent of printed circuit board space compared to discrete solutions, meaning stand-alone versions of LPDDR5 and UFS. This space savings enables phone manufacturers to maximize battery size or add features, such as cameras, gesture devices or sensors. Micron offers a broad range of capacity configurations up to 12 gigabytes (GB) of LPDDR5 and 512 GB NAND.
uMCP5 is available in four distinct density configurations: 128+8 GB, 128+12 GB, 256+8 GB and 256+12 GB.