All is not well at Samsung’s semiconductor division. While its foundry business is already struggling with poor yields of advanced 3nm and 2nm processes, the company is also losing key memory customers — including its own smartphone division. In a surprising move, Samsung’s mobile unit has reportedly chosen Micron over its in-house semiconductor arm as the primary Galaxy S25 RAM supplier.
Micron becomes the primary RAM supplier for the Galaxy S25 series
Samsung has long been the world’s largest vendor of memory chips. However, its market dominance may be fading, if new reports from the Korean media are to be believed. Competitors have already outclassed it in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment for AI chips. Its low-power double data rate (LPDDR) mobile DRAM solutions might be losing their competitive edge too.
According to reports, Samsung’s smartphone division has picked Micron as the primary RAM supplier for the Galaxy S25 series. Samsung now supplies a smaller portion of the LPDDR5 chips for the upcoming flagships. It used to be the other way around before. For nearly a decade, Micron was the company’s secondary RAM supplier. This is a big shock but not completely unexpected, industry watchers suggest.
Micron’s 10nm-class fifth-generation (1b) process is now considered superior to Samsung’s competing process. This is something Samsung’s smartphone division allegedly admitted. It compared the price, performance, and other parameters before picking Micron as the primary supplier. The Korean firm’s 1b process has heating issues affecting efficiency, which is critical in the AI era.
The Korean media also hints at a rift between Samsung’s smartphone and semiconductor divisions (via @Jukanlosreve). Its mobile chief TM Roh reportedly protested against the chip unit, alleging unfair price hikes to offset its losses. The mobile unit may consider increasing the share of Micron and other external suppliers in the future for better price negotiations. The Galaxy S25 series is expected to go official on January 22, 2025.
