A problem with the Samsung Galaxy S25’s manufacturing may in fact have a silver lining for users, according to reporting by ETNews in Korea.
The Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra will reportedly feature RAM built on a smaller process (12-nanometer rather than 13nm) than planned, due to heat generation issues with Samsung-made RAM modules.
As a result of the issues, Samsung has apparently had to move to the smaller-process version RAM manfufactured by Micron, at least in some S25 devices, and at least for the first batch of phones produced.
The new RAM, like the original Samsung wanted to use, is built on the LPDDR5X standard, the latest for mobile RAM. But by moving to the smaller 12nm process, the RAM should run cooler and need less power than the 13nm version. So Samsung's loss is the user's gain.
A silicon silver lining
With better memory, the Galaxy S25 series should run multiple apps or Galaxy AI on-device features more smoothly. It’ll compliment the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip tipped for these phones nicely, although perhaps not from Samsung’s perspective. Since the Snapdragon is built by Qualcomm, rather than a Samsung-made Exynos chip, it is a further indication of the issues that Samsung's semiconductor manufacturing arm has been facing.
With better memory, the Galaxy S25 series should run multiple apps or on-device Galaxy AI features more smoothly.
That may not be an end to the RAM upgrades coming to the Galaxy S25 series, as the S25 Ultra is believed to come in a 16GB RAM edition in some markets. Sadly, the rumors suggest we in the U.S., U.K. and Australia will be stuck with 12GB on all models.
The next Galaxy Unpacked event is happening in just over a week on January 22nd, and is the logical place for Samsung to show off the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Ultra. We're expecting lots of new features to be announced on stage, including a new curvier design, new Galaxy AI abilities and updated cameras on the Ultra. There are also rumors that we could see a Galaxy S25 Slim, a brand new model that focuses on being thin and lightweight — but it may be just a tease at this event.
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