DDR5 Expected to Overtake DDR4 by 2023

The transition from DDR4 to DDR5 memory should be swift, according to a new report. Widespread DDR5 adoption should occur in 2022, starting with the server markets and enterprise world, according to a report by industry beancounter Yolle Developpement. Then in 2023, we will finally see widespread DDR5 adoption in the mainstream market, with phones, laptops, and PCs fully utilizing the technology. In fact, we should see more DDR5 ship in 2023 than DDR4, marking a fast transition between the two technologies. 

More specifically, estimates have it that we will see a 25% increase in DDR5 adoption in 2022 (thanks to the server market), then an even bigger jump in 2023 to over 50% of market share. Finally, through 2024-2026 we should expect the rest of the market to follow suit with DDR5 adoption, leaving DDR4 at barely 5% of the market.

This move to DDR5 should be accelerated by tremendous demand, which has come back significantly (despite the oversupply issues in 2019). In fact, the firm predicts a record-high value of $120B for the DRAM market and $68B for the NAND market. This trend should continue well into 2026 where the memory market should reach over $200 billion in value.

DDR5 is a significant upgrade from the current DDR4 memory architecture. DDR5 will have double the bandwidth of DDR4, as well as quadrupled die densities. That will allow for significantly higher-capacity DIMMS, all while running at a lower operating voltage. DDR5 also has built-in ECC support for improved reliability, but that comes as a die-level technology that doesn't fit the requirements for full-fledged ECC memory techniques that protect data in transit. As such, we'll see both standard and ECC flavors of DDR5 memory, too.