China’s CXMT has started mass production of LPDDR6. TrendForce reported the move on September 8, 2026. The first commercial phone listed in that piece is Xiaomi’s Xiaomi 18 Fold flagship foldable.
The memory race is not only Korean anymore. CXMT is putting a JEDEC LPDDR6 part into a shipping device while Apple-related partnership talk stays open and unconfirmed.
CXMT LPDDR6 reaches 12,800Mbps peak
CXMT’s internal testing claim, as carried by TrendForce, puts peak bandwidth up to 60% higher and power about 20% lower than LPDDR5X running at 10,667Mbps. Peak data rate is listed at 12,800Mbps. When the die is paired with a SoC, the part operates at 10,667Mbps.
The packaged chip is 16GB, built on 16Gb dies, JEDEC LPDDR6, in a 1,295-ball FBGA. TrendForce did not publish a wafer node name for this CXMT part in that article. The public claim is the rate, the power delta, and the package.
Photo: Apple
Global DRAM share moves to 9.5% in 2Q26
TrendForce puts CXMT’s global DRAM revenue share at 9.5% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 7.6% in the first quarter. That is fourth place. Samsung is listed at 39.4%, SK hynix at 24.9%, and Micron at 23.3%.
The same research house already revised 2026 phone production up to 1.07 billion on early component buys. More DRAM share for a fourth supplier does not erase the allocation squeeze smaller brands described in recent weeks, when memory allocation forced board redesigns at Fairphone, Jolla, and Framework.
Zhao Lun leaves Apple contract talk open
General Manager Zhao Lun spoke to 21st Century Business Herald around a September 7 investor briefing. He said CXMT products are competitive with leading international suppliers on performance, quality, and supply stability. He also said the company is open to exploring partnerships with high-quality customers worldwide.
He did not confirm an Apple contract. TrendForce did not publish unit allocations or a signed supply deal for Apple. The Apple angle in the piece is market speculation plus Zhao’s open-door line, not a confirmed design win.
Photo: Apple
Wccftech, citing the same TrendForce reporting, estimated Apple’s China-related memory demand at about 600 million GB, framed as 50 million units times 12GB per device. CXMT capacity is described as fully booked through 2027 at roughly 95% utilization. Even if talks progress, that math says CXMT cannot fully absorb Apple’s potential demand on its own.
SK hynix ships later; Samsung timeline blank
SK hynix said in March it had completed 16Gb LPDDR6 on its 1c process, with a 33% processing-speed gain over LPDDR5X and a default operating speed above 10.7Gbps. Mass-production prep was planned for the first half, with shipments in the second half, according to Yonhap via TrendForce.
Samsung showed LPDDR6 at CES 2026. The TrendForce article did not disclose a Samsung mass-production date. That leaves CXMT with a public shipping phone credit while the two Korean leaders are still in prep or showcase mode in that write-up.
Phone DRAM pricing pressure is already visible elsewhere. Samsung has been in 7–10% hike talks on phone DRAM and NAND, and Counterpoint’s earlier track still pointed to a roughly 14% smartphone shipment drop as memory costs bite. CXMT’s LPDDR6 launch sits inside that same tight market. It does not, by itself, fill Apple’s China demand or reset 2027 capacity.
Source: TrendForce News, Sep. 8, 2026; 21st Century Business Herald via TrendForce; Wccftech note on Apple China demand; Yonhap via TrendForce (SK hynix)
