DDR6 memory is officially in development – 2028-2029 launch planned

DDR6 memory is officially in development

All major memory manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, have reportedly started developing DDR6 memory. Alongside substrate manufacturers, “joint development” for the standard has reportedly begun. According to The Elec, this happens “more than two years before product launch”, placing DDR6’s launch in a 2028-2029 timeframe.

JEDEC has not unveiled its DDR6 standard. However, LPDDR6 has already been unveiled. With DDR6, users can expect substantial gains in memory bandwidth over DDR5. Doubled memory speeds are expected, with baseline DDR6 speeds being expected in the upper DDR5 range. As such, speeds of 8.4 Gbps – 17.6 Gbps are expected from the new standard.

Memory companies and substrate manufacturers typically proceed with joint development more than two years before product launch,” said an official from the substrate industry. “Initial development of DDR6 has recently begun.

– Source – The Elec

It is currently unknown what changes will be made to the DDR memory standard with its next iteration. It will undoubtedly deliver higher speeds and greater power efficiency than DDR5. That said, it remains to be seen whether factors like latency will be addressed. Typically, new DDR memory standards focus on raw bandwidth rather than latency, leaving memory manufacturers to refine their manufacturing processes to produce lower-latency modules for high-end PC users.

When this new memory standard launches, it will likely be more expensive than DDR5. Hopefully, the ongoing memory supply crisis will be over by the time DDR6 launches. If not, we could see per-GB memory prices reach even greater heights.

You can join the discussion on DDR6’s development on the OC3D Forums.