Discuss what factors are accelerating mobile device manufacturers' memory and storage challenges

In this era of "high definition" and even "ultra-clear", consumer expectations for mobile devices are constantly being refreshed. For manufacturers, the rapid development of high-quality imaging technology has made the system-on-chip performance of mobile phones face a severe test. To ensure that each system can keep up with this development speed, the memory and storage of mobile devices play an indispensable role. Gino Skulick, vice president of marketing for Micron's Mobile Products Group , recently accepted an interview with EECatalog to explore what factors are accelerating mobile device manufacturers' memory and storage challenges.

â–  EECatalog : What challenges does the consumer's requirements for mobile devices pose for memory and storage?

â–  Skulick : Consumers are increasingly expecting smartphones to perform more complex computing tasks and create and store all personal content. Whenever a new generation of smartphones is launched, consumers will have some expectations: extended battery life, slimmer phone models, and more realistic screen displays. All of these expectations pose a huge challenge for mobile device manufacturers: they must ensure that they have enough system memory to support these complex applications and have enough storage to accommodate the exponential growth of related content.

â–  EECatalog : In these challenges to mobile device memory and storage, have we not thought about it just a year ago?

â–  Skulick : In recent years, with the continuous development of mobile imaging technology, the imaging quality of dual-camera and three-camera systems has been increasing, and image processing applications have become more and more intelligent. For example, the front camera was once thought to be used only for low-resolution "self-portraits", but now it is equipped with a full-resolution sensor, a high-quality lens and a two-color flash system. In terms of image processing, manufacturers now offer advanced features such as image stabilization, phase detection autofocus and full-time HDR. The rapid development of high-quality imaging technology has put the system-on-chip performance of mobile phones to a severe test. To ensure that each system can keep up with this development speed, the amount of RAM is crucial. In addition, the richer the content, the larger the file and the higher the demand for local storage.

â–  EECatalog : What changes will happen to the technology landscape after the AR transformation is successful?

â–  Skulick: Everyone seems to be rushing to the AR revolution, and everyone wants to get a slice of it. There are various predictions about what AR can bring, but one thing is clear: this change requires additional hardware as support. Whether it's a smartphone-only AR application or an AR experience with a hybrid reality headset, a lot of new AR technology and hardware will emerge in the next few years. Regardless of the method (smartphone, smartphone + headset or stand-alone headset), the processing, memory and storage density requirements will continue to grow.

We still believe that tailored heterogeneous memory and storage solutions can solve various challenges. Emerging memory technologies will be an important part of these solutions.

â–  EECatalog : What preparations does Micron Technology do in order to adopt innovative approaches to the mobile memory and storage challenges? To ensure continuous innovation, what kind of "first chicken or egg first" problem needs to be solved?

â–  Skulick: Micron Technology will continue to transform from a pure component supplier to a solution provider. To achieve this transformation, we must significantly expand our system-level knowledge. Deliver more innovative and impactful solutions by developing product solutions from a system perspective.

â–  EECatalog : What memory and storage challenges are worth paying attention to?

â–  Skulick: The current problem is not that the memory and storage challenges that deserve attention have not caught the attention of people, but which of the most serious memory and storage challenges have not yet been resolved. In the mobile world, people have become accustomed to using multiple applications of mobile devices at the same time, so the parallel workload is increasing. For example, people may find a contact when they call, then send the contact information to the caller via SMS, and may also browse or use the map to select the appropriate meeting place and so on . The large number of simultaneous operations in the handset will drive an increase in demand for reduced storage latency and increased IOPS.

â–  EECatalog : Do you think that the mobile ecosystem will change from one to more as the degree of specialization required to meet specific requirements increases? If so, how should developers be prepared?

â–  Skulick: Compatibility issues still limit the number of mobile ecosystems. As cost and verification resources increase, developers are reluctant to create multiple versions of the same application to support more mobile platforms. We fully believe that the mobile ecosystem will move forward, but we also believe that it will develop in a universal way, and people do not need to write applications for multiple ecosystems.