JEDEC LPDDR flash and LPDDR2-NVM phase-change memory
Support for memory chips that sat on the LPDDR bus of early-2010s mobile and embedded devices: JEDEC-style LPDDR command-set flash and Micron's LPDDR2-NVM phase-change memory, which Micron announced for phones in 2012 as a way to combine non-volatile storage with low-power DRAM signalling.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting as legacy, because the hardware was a niche early-2010s mobile and embedded technology that vendors no longer sell new — Micron's current LPDDR catalogue is all modern LPDDR5X parts. The code is not abandoned, though: it was touched as recently as 2023 and 2024 as part of routine MTD API cleanups, so there is no removal effort underway and a few existing devices may still rely on it.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
The directory still receives upstream maintenance touches; lpddr2_nvm.c was included in a 2024 MTD API conversion series rather than a removal series.
- lore.kernel.org
There was a driver-specific cleanup patch for lpddr2_nvm in 2023, indicating the code is not entirely abandoned upstream.
- investors.micron.com
Micron announced LPDDR2-attached PCM for mobile devices in 2012, showing the hardware class existed commercially in the early-2010s mobile market.
- micron.com
Micron's current LPDDR product page surfaces modern LPDDR5X-based offerings, with no current LPDDR2 or LPDDR2-NVM products visible, supporting that this hardware is no longer a new-market product in 2025.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Lore evidence came from `lore_file_timeline` on `drivers/mtd/lpddr/lpddr2_nvm.c`; it showed recent 2023-2024 maintenance patches and no removal activity. Local `Kconfig` inspection via shell identified the scope as LPDDR flash and LPDDR2-NVM PCM. Market evidence came from web search results on Micron: 2012 press material shows the product family's commercial era, while Micron's current LPDDR page shows only modern LPDDR5X-era products. Conclusion: legacy embedded/mobile hardware with low present deployment, no clear replacement driver, so keep the driver but annotate it as legacy rather than deprecate/remove.