Samsung has now officially ended production of its older LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X memory, marking a clear shift away from legacy mobile DRAM and toward newer, higher-demand technologies. On Samsung’s own product listings, both LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X are now labeled as discontinued, confirming what industry watchers have been hearing for some time.
The reason is straightforward: the memory market has been reshaped by the explosive growth of AI infrastructure. Modern AI systems, especially the wave of “agentic AI” workloads, are consuming enormous volumes of advanced memory. Samsung is redirecting manufacturing capacity to products with stronger demand and higher profitability, including LPDDR5, LPDDR5X, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), all of which are heavily used in AI servers and next-generation computing platforms.
Even with this pivot, Samsung is warning that supply may not keep up. During a recent earnings call, the company indicated that the memory shortage picture could get even tougher in 2027. Based on orders already being discussed with AI-focused customers, Samsung expects the gap between supply and demand in 2027 to widen beyond what the industry anticipates for 2026. In other words, even after reallocating capacity away from older memory standards, the surge in AI-driven demand is still outpacing how quickly manufacturers can scale production.
That demand is also showing up in Samsung’s financial results. The company reported a dramatic year-over-year profit jump in Q1 2026, underscoring just how much pricing power and volume growth has returned to the memory business as AI datacenters ramp spending. This isn’t happening in isolation—other major memory makers have also been seeing strong revenue growth and improved margins as the market tightens and advanced memory becomes more valuable.
Samsung is planning an aggressive expansion of its DRAM manufacturing capabilities to help meet this rising demand. At the same time, it has also been moving on from other older technologies, including ending production of MLC-based NAND flash storage. When a major supplier steps away from legacy products, it often creates opportunities for smaller or more cost-focused vendors to step in and fill the gap—particularly in entry-level segments where price sensitivity is highest.
However, there’s another variable that could impact near-term supply: labor disruptions. Samsung is facing the possibility of an extended strike that could stretch from several weeks into a month if employee concerns aren’t resolved. Estimates suggest this could cause roughly a 4% disruption across Samsung’s DRAM and NAND output, and even after operations resume, it may take weeks for production to fully return to normal.
For buyers and manufacturers that still rely on LPDDR4 or LPDDR4X—especially in cost-conscious devices—this discontinuation is a meaningful development. As Samsung doubles down on LPDDR5/LPDDR5X and HBM to serve AI and premium markets, the broader industry may continue feeling pressure on supply, pricing, and long-term availability of older memory standards well into 2027.
