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maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
I've not noticed any issues with ram on my Mini - I believe for the most part its a non-issue
 

Fruit Cake

macrumors 6502a
Mar 31, 2012
597
20
Yeah you're right...None of the orginal iPads work now :rolleyes:

Sure they work.. Poorly at that. As time goes on, and websites become content rich, the ram becomes a major issue.


The saving grace with apples rather skinny specs is they don't need as much to run as the android equal.
 

SAIRUS

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2008
814
507
Tried getting it into a small bag, and it got rammed in there pretty good...


...okay it's fine.
 

T-Hawk

macrumors newbie
Apr 20, 2013
1
0
I am unable to listen to a discussion on YouTube while looking at any tabbed pages with too many pictures without the video cutting out. The web page then needs to reload, losing all progress in the video. 512 mb ram just doesn't cut it for me at all. Apple has lost $45 billion in market cap recently, so I know I am not the only one seeing through the hype associated with the name brand and actually comparing the hardware and software to the competition's offerings. It is still a nice device if you can overlook some of its worst features like the cheap screen which reflects the slightest light with a glare, or the very low amount of ram and CPU power.
 

Tubamajuba

macrumors 68020
Jun 8, 2011
2,184
2,442
here
I am unable to listen to a discussion on YouTube while looking at any tabbed pages with too many pictures without the video cutting out. The web page then needs to reload, losing all progress in the video. 512 mb ram just doesn't cut it for me at all. Apple has lost $45 billion in market cap recently, so I know I am not the only one seeing through the hype associated with the name brand and actually comparing the hardware and software to the competition's offerings. It is still a nice device if you can overlook some of its worst features like the cheap screen which reflects the slightest light with a glare, or the very low amount of ram and CPU power.

Correlating anecdotal evidence with the iPad mini to Apple's stock price which is driven by foolish analysts?

Well that escalated quickly.
 

AnorexicPig

macrumors 6502
Dec 12, 2012
378
31
Winnipeg,Canada
I am unable to listen to a discussion on YouTube while looking at any tabbed pages with too many pictures without the video cutting out. The web page then needs to reload, losing all progress in the video. 512 mb ram just doesn't cut it for me at all. Apple has lost $45 billion in market cap recently, so I know I am not the only one seeing through the hype associated with the name brand and actually comparing the hardware and software to the competition's offerings. It is still a nice device if you can overlook some of its worst features like the cheap screen which reflects the slightest light with a glare, or the very low amount of ram and CPU power.

Looks like you made an account to bitch about apple,low cpu power really ? Well,I never knew stock prices went down because of iPad mini's specs when sales have been estimated to be in millions !

Please tell me more-am all ears.
 

kamalds

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2010
243
91
Sure they work.. Poorly at that. As time goes on, and websites become content rich, the ram becomes a major issue.


The saving grace with apples rather skinny specs is they don't need as much to run as the android equal.

True. My mom's iPad 1 really crawls with iOS 5.2.1. iOS was not made available for it.
 

DMH3006

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2011
231
0
True. My mom's iPad 1 really crawls with iOS 5.2.1. iOS was not made available for it.

I don't think iOS 5.2.1 was made available to anyone :p

For a 2 year period the RAM on the iPad 1 was more than enough,obviously as time goes by devices are going to slow down and their specs will become an issue.
 

Fruit Cake

macrumors 6502a
Mar 31, 2012
597
20
I don't think iOS 5.2.1 was made available to anyone :p

For a 2 year period the RAM on the iPad 1 was more than enough,obviously as time goes by devices are going to slow down and their specs will become an issue.

No it wasn't, iPad had low ram from the get go. People put up with it because there was nothing else available. When the 2 came along, you had something to contrast with and could see the limitation right away on the iPad 1. The device is no faster or slower then the day you bought it, only faster and more capable devices emphasizes the predecessors limits.

Also remember the 512meg on the mini is for the entire device, not 512mb for safari but the entire OS, including the GPU. User available memory is more like 320mb after system boot up. The only reason apple increased the ram in iPad retina is the frame buffer is much larger so 512 would not suffice.

The iPad 3/4 has about 640mb or so available to for apps etc.
 

DMH3006

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2011
231
0
No it wasn't, iPad had low ram from the get go. People put up with it because there was nothing else available. When the 2 came along, you had something to contrast with and could see the limitation right away on the iPad 1. The device is no faster or slower then the day you bought it, only faster and more capable devices emphasizes the predecessors limits.

Also remember the 512meg on the mini is for the entire device, not 512mb for safari but the entire OS, including the GPU. User available memory is more like 320mb after system boot up. The only reason apple increased the ram in iPad retina is the frame buffer is much larger so 512 would not suffice.

The iPad 3/4 has about 640mb or so available to for apps etc.

People didn't put up with it when the first iPad launched everyone was saying how fast it was and how good it was for web browsing,even after the 2 was launched the recommendation was that if you had the first iPad there was no reason to upgrade unless you depended on the cameras features.

In fact if you go and check its always this way with Apple devices,when the 4S was launched everybody was saying that it was only slightly faster than the 4 and now everyone keeps saying that the 4S can almost keep up with the 5 and the 4 just gets destroyed.
 

Chocolatemilty

macrumors 6502a
May 17, 2009
653
113
Los Angeles, CA
This used to be an issue for me in hindsight, but I must admit that on my mini, RAM is rarely an issue. It's more of an issue on my 4S, believe it or not (since they have similar hardware). My mini is a workhorse and is routinely very fast as opening suspended apps and multitasking.
 

syafiqikram

macrumors newbie
Apr 24, 2013
1
0
Yup. I haven't thought about how much RAM my iPad mini has in all the months I've been using it. It works great so I don't question it.

Does'nt the RAM is a problem while running many tabs on one time using the iPad mini? Is there any stutter occurred?
 

Defender2010

Cancelled
Jun 6, 2010
3,131
1,097
It's actually quite annoying when you're filling out a form or some other text entry and you have to open a new tab and coming back to the old one and finding it have to reload, therefore losing everything. You'll stop laughing then.

If I was filling out a form I wouldn't be opening new tabs until I had completed the form first. Or if it was that important I would use my MacBook instead.
 

Roy G Biv

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2010
362
104
The Fools, All of you

The role of RAM management is sorely missing. Please, everyone, do yourself a favor and do an upward four-finger swipe on your iPad immediately.

See the multitude of apps depleting our precious memory? Close the ones you don't use routinely or whatever. Now prepare to be RAMmed in the face!
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,913
9,416
Atlanta, GA
If I was filling out a form I wouldn't be opening new tabs until I had completed the form first. Or if it was that important I would use my MacBook instead.

So your answer to whether the Mini has enough RAM is to use another computrer with enough RAM sums it up perfectly. People could happily buy iPad 1s because if they needs to do anything more demanding than what the first iPad can handle, well they could just use a computer.
 
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nickn

macrumors 6502
Jun 17, 2011
386
0
This is an interesting topic and you raise a great question...in fact Im happy with my iPad minis screen and A5 but the anemic RAM will be my reason to upgrade to next mini...Ive had a few app crashes, slow app loads and safari refreshes but its not a major problem...YET.

In my opinion the bare minimum 512 RAM is the weakest link of the ipad mini...
So you see how Apple screws the consumer, by using inadequate and old parts, but yet you will still be buying another Apple product. :confused: They pulled the same crap with my iPad 1, by only putting in 256MB RAM, that causes my IPad to crash every 10-15 minutes under iOS5. Because of that, I replaced my iPod Touch with an HTC Phone, my iPad with a Nexus 7, and my Mac Mini with a custom Linux box. I will never buy Apple again...

Yeah you're right...None of the orginal iPads work now :rolleyes:

Mine certainly doesn't. When I view pictures on Safari, the whole application force closes. When I open USA Today, it force closes. When I play music in the background, everything force closes. When I open the new YouTube app, it force closes every few minutes. When I play a new game such as GTA 3, it force closes every 10-15 minutes. The only thing that "works" is the home screen...

I don't think iOS 5.2.1 was made available to anyone :p

For a 2 year period the RAM on the iPad 1 was more than enough,obviously as time goes by devices are going to slow down and their specs will become an issue.

I didn't pay $500 for 2 years of use...
 
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darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,913
9,416
Atlanta, GA
...For a 2 year period the RAM on the iPad 1 was more than enough,obviously as time goes by devices are going to slow down and their specs will become an issue.

Read any review of the iPad 2 and it's obvious that the iPad 1's RAM was more than enough until the iPad 2 came out.
 

DMH3006

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2011
231
0
Read any review of the iPad 2 and it's obvious that the iPad 1's RAM was more than enough until the iPad 2 came out.

Go check the reviews then,was the iPad 2 better? Of course but lots of reviews didn't recommend upgrading to the 2 if you already had the 1(although after iOS5 launched i'm sure the performance went downhill). Thats like saying the 512MB of the 4/4S were enough until the 1GB's of the 5 came out,i think thats obvious.
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,913
9,416
Atlanta, GA
Go check the reviews then,was the iPad 2 better? Of course but lots of reviews didn't recommend upgrading to the 2 if you already had the 1(although after iOS5 launched i'm sure the performance went downhill). Thats like saying the 512MB of the 4/4S were enough until the 1GB's of the 5 came out,i think thats obvious.

Actually. Most of the reviews said that the 2 was good enough to warrant upgrading form the 1. Especially when the topic of tabs reloading and checkerboarding came into question.
 

DMH3006

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2011
231
0
Actually. Most of the reviews said that the 2 was good enough to warrant upgrading form the 1. Especially when the topic of tabs reloading and checkerboarding came into question.

"For owners of the previous generation, we don't think Apple's put a fire under you to upgrade. Unless you absolutely need cameras on your tablet, you've still got a solid piece of gear that reaps plenty of the benefits of the latest OS and apps."
from the engadget review
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,913
9,416
Atlanta, GA
TechCrunch
For existing iPad owners, things are a bit murkier. If you have the disposable income, it’s a no-brainer to upgrade. Again, this is everything you like about the iPad 1, but better.

Most reviews said that if you just bought one, don't upgrade, but if you want an iPad that's lighter and twice as fast upgrade.

On macrumors, most people asked if tabs reloaded and pages had checker boarding. Both of which are because of the iPad 1s low ram.
 

Max(IT)

Suspended
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
Is a tab reloading really a problem, for all the second it takes? This makes me laugh. Is time really so precious that a quick page refresh is a problem?
OP the ram is not something you will ever think about when using the mini. It's very fast. Forget the ram man!
No it's not a real problem but I can't understand how could they put such a low ram on a 300+ € device !!!!
C'mon this is ridiculous !

1 gb is just perfect for iOS ...

----------

That's what people said when the iPad 1 came out, it works fine.. Sure look at it now.

Ahem .... It is still working :p

----------

Does'nt the RAM is a problem while running many tabs on one time using the iPad mini? Is there any stutter occurred?
Absolutely not.
The problem occur when you have several (not only 2) tabs open or several heavy applications in use.

Still is a pity they put only 512 mb of ram in such an expensive device nowadays....
 
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