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All iPads iPad Air and Mini has 1 GB RAM

redman042

redman042

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 13, 2008
3,051
1,629
We all want more RAM (and I see a ton of posts asking this) but it's not in the cards, unless I'm reading this wrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A7

Most important part:

The A7 processor package also incorporates 1 GB of LPDDR3 DRAM with a 64-bit wide memory interface.​

In other words, the RAM is integrated into the CPU, and the A7 has 1 GB, which we already knew because that's what the iPhone 5 has.

Apple said yesterday the new tablets have an A7 chip. Not A7X or whatever.

I still expect the new devices to perform great. iOS runs pretty lean. Flash memory bandwidth will be better, so that should help. iOS 7 Safari runs better and reloads tabs less often. Yeah, more RAM is better but it is what it is. I'm still getting an Air.
 
R

RLesko

macrumors member
Jul 21, 2011
93
1
Wait for the teardown. Until someone gets their hands on it, its pure speculation.
 
A

akm3

macrumors 68020
Nov 15, 2007
2,252
279
RLesko said:
Wait for the teardown. Until someone gets their hands on it, its pure speculation.
Click to expand...

It is pure speculation, but that's a pretty educated guess. It is highly likely to be 1gb, but we don't know FOR SURE yet.
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,133
19,658
So what? The iPad A4 had 256MB, the iPod Touch A4 had 256MB, the Apple TV A4 had 256MB. But the iPhone 4 A4 had 512MB. This was also when iPads released about 6 months before iPhones, but it goes to show that things don't always line up evenly.

Now consider this: The iPad 2 A5 was claimed to be 9x faster than the A4 chip in the original iPad:

20110302-10192298--img4520.jpg


But the iPhone A5 was only 7x faster:

iPhone-4S-Specs-A5-Dual-Core-e1317752345411.jpeg


So same, "non-X" A5 chip, but clearly had different specs.

Taking it one step further, the A6 and A6X both had the same amount of ram: 1GB. But the A5 had 512MB and the A5X had 1GB. There isn't a clear pattern that has been established. Apple does whatever they want.

The fact remains that Apple claims 2X GPU performance in the iPad A7 over the A6X in the previous generation. The A7 in the iPhone 5S has never benched anywhere near that—and Apple's claims are usually pretty accurate. So if that is different, then other things could be too! It doesn't mean more ram, but it does mean different packages.
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
macduke said:
Now consider this: The iPad 2 A5 was claimed to be 9x faster than the A4 chip in the original iPad:

But the iPhone A5 was only 7x faster:

So same, "non-X" A5 chip, but clearly had different specs.

Taking it one step further, the A6 and A6X both had the same amount of ram: 1GB. But the A5 had 512MB and the A5X had 1GB. There isn't a clear pattern that has been established. Apple does whatever they want.

The fact remains that Apple claims 2X GPU performance in the iPad A7 over the A6X in the previous generation. The A7 in the iPhone 5S has never benched anywhere near that—and Apple's claims are usually pretty accurate. So if that is different, then other things could be too! It doesn't mean more ram, but it does mean different packages.
Click to expand...

In the iPad 1, the A4 chip was vastly underpowered. The iPhone 4's and iPod Touch 4G's A4 was more powerful, even though they were clocked at a slower speed. Most of this increased power came from the GPU not having to push as many pixels and being able to use more ram or having more ram. That's where the iPad 2's A5 is 9x faster than the iPad 1's A4, but the iPhone 4S' A5 is only 7x.
 
F

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
Why is it so hard to imagine that the new iPads don't have lots of RAM? The rMBP starts with 4GB of RAM, and that's for a "pro" laptop. 2GB of RAM will be the draw for the next iPad. :rolleyes: FWIW, my iPad 4 wasn't noticeably faster than my Mini. For me, it boils down to getting the job done smoothly and quickly. If the new iPads can do that, it's good. Spec watchers might not like it, but I don't use my tablets for bench mark scoring.
 
S

saback

macrumors member
Mar 22, 2011
41
1
Sorry to ask, but...
What is the difference between 1 Gb and 2 Gb at the iPad for the end user? :cool:
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,133
19,658
saback said:
Sorry to ask, but...
What is the difference between 1 Gb and 2 Gb at the iPad for the end user? :cool:
Click to expand...

Being able to upgrade to iOS 9.

Seriously. My iPad 2 with 512MB does not run iOS 7 well. App crashes, and lagging especially with the keyboard are common.

Being able to run pro apps well. You know they're coming. Adobe is actively working on Lightroom for iPad as we speak.

It might not matter today, but in two or three years it will—which is how long I intend to wait before upgrading again.

Lack of ram is the reason the first iPad has so many app crashing issues and the reason the 3GS, which was being sold as of only a year ago, didn't get iOS 7. It's the reason your tabs close when you switch and come back. It's the reason you have to wait for your iPad to reload everything when you multitask swipe to another app. And if you work with editing large files, it's often the reason your app crashes.
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
saback said:
I don't really think that it is a RAM problem. If the system needs more RAM it will use a SWAP space in flash disk, what means that the system may slow down, but it will not crash or loose your spot in a game.
Click to expand...

iOS doesn't have swap. Everything must live in the ram.
 
W

whtrbt7

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2011
1,015
73
I was one of the first to ask about RAM. At 512MB of RAM, iOS7 pretty much fills the entire cache with about 400MB of RAM usage for basic functions. That's a pretty heavy OS. For Safari users, that means probably about 2-3 websites not in need of refresh when tapped. At 1GB of RAM, it's much better on an iPhone 5S. If the iPad Air or iPad mini w/ Retina have 1GB or more of RAM, it means that it will run more smoothly. Another thing I have noticed is that if the app you're using can't access enough RAM, it will just open and crash/close. With 2GB of RAM, the devices will be future-proofed longer and will be able to support more documents/apps being open at once without paging RAM.
 
redman042

redman042

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 13, 2008
3,051
1,629
macduke said:
So what? The iPad A4 had 256MB, the iPod Touch A4 had 256MB, the Apple TV A4 had 256MB. But the iPhone 4 A4 had 512MB. This was also when iPads released about 6 months before iPhones, but it goes to show that things don't always line up evenly.
Click to expand...

The A4 was different in that it did not have the RAM on board the CPU. So it was not hard for Apple to vary the RAM config between devices when they were on that version of the CPU. It was like any other computer. Source.

In newer CPU designs, Apple has incorporated the RAM. So if they want to have varying RAM configurations now, they would need different CPU fabrication lines. That's more costly. I just don't see them doing it this time around. iOS 7 runs beautifully in an iPhone 5s with 1 GB. As for the future (iOS 9, etc.), well, they'll be happy to sell you an iPad 7 :p
 
G

g35

macrumors 6502a
Dec 13, 2007
665
151
whtrbt7 said:
I was one of the first to ask about RAM. At 512MB of RAM, iOS7 pretty much fills the entire cache with about 400MB of RAM usage for basic functions. That's a pretty heavy OS. For Safari users, that means probably about 2-3 websites not in need of refresh when tapped.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's necessarily true, I could have 6-8 in Safari on my iPhone 4S without refreshing if I didn't leave the app and I think that was pretty typical webpages. If you leave the app though I could see it being 2-3. That's on iOS 6 though
 
Vanilla35

Vanilla35

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2013
3,344
1,453
Washington D.C.
redman042 said:
As for the future (iOS 9, etc.), well, they'll be happy to sell you an iPad 7 :p
Click to expand...

Yep, I don't see why people are surprised by this. Apple likes to bone their customers. The only way you can get a more future proof device is by buying a new one. Apple doesn't make their devices to be future proof. They make them to survive great for one year. Well for the second year. Ok for the third year. And shiity after that. iPhone 4's can't run iOS7 well. The 4S can run it OK. The 5 runs it well (enough). The 5s runs it "great". If they were to put more RAM in then necessary this cycle might change, but don't expect Apple to do that, because they won't. If 1GB barely handles iOS7 now, then expect 2GB next year, for iOS8. But don't expect it now
 
B

bossxii

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2008
1,754
0
Kansas City
When you build the hardware specific to the software and vice versa how much or little doesn't matter. It runs fast and smooth. The tablets that need more ram to run bloat ware and crappy inefficient software so they pack in ram to offset poor code design. More is not always better if it's wasted space, or in a tablets case wasted hardware sucking down battery life when it's not needed.
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,133
19,658
redman042 said:
As for the future (iOS 9, etc.), well, they'll be happy to sell you an iPad 7 :p
Click to expand...

And maybe I'll be happy to kick my foot up their …

:mad:

Just seems wasteful. My wife is pregnant now, and by then our little girl will be a toddler. What if I want to put some educational games on there for her to use? What if the apps say "requires iOS 9.0 or later" when I try to install? It's just dumb to have to upgrade so frequently, and especially to make older hardware obsolete so quickly. And that's coming from a technology geek. Though you would think since they're still selling the iPad 2 that they would support lower amounts of ram—but given how poorly the iPad 2 I just sold on CL ran iOS 7, I doubt it. :(
 
TacticalDesire

TacticalDesire

macrumors 68020
Mar 19, 2012
2,286
23
Michigan
macduke said:
So what? The iPad A4 had 256MB, the iPod Touch A4 had 256MB, the Apple TV A4 had 256MB. But the iPhone 4 A4 had 512MB. This was also when iPads released about 6 months before iPhones, but it goes to show that things don't always line up evenly.

Now consider this: The iPad 2 A5 was claimed to be 9x faster than the A4 chip in the original iPad:

Image

But the iPhone A5 was only 7x faster:

Image

So same, "non-X" A5 chip, but clearly had different specs.

Taking it one step further, the A6 and A6X both had the same amount of ram: 1GB. But the A5 had 512MB and the A5X had 1GB. There isn't a clear pattern that has been established. Apple does whatever they want.

The fact remains that Apple claims 2X GPU performance in the iPad A7 over the A6X in the previous generation. The A7 in the iPhone 5S has never benched anywhere near that—and Apple's claims are usually pretty accurate. So if that is different, then other things could be too! It doesn't mean more ram, but it does mean different packages.
Click to expand...
The iPads A5 is clocked at 1ghz vs the iPhones which is 800mhz. That's where the difference comes in
 
jamesjingyi

jamesjingyi

macrumors 6502a
Dec 20, 2011
841
144
UK
macduke said:
And maybe I'll be happy to kick my foot up their …

:mad:

Just seems wasteful. My wife is pregnant now, and by then our little girl will be a toddler. What if I want to put some educational games on there for her to use? What if the apps say "requires iOS 9.0 or later" when I try to install? It's just dumb to have to upgrade so frequently, and especially to make older hardware obsolete so quickly. And that's coming from a technology geek. Though you would think since they're still selling the iPad 2 that they would support lower amounts of ram—but given how poorly the iPad 2 I just sold on CL ran iOS 7, I doubt it. :(
Click to expand...

Apple allows that downloading of old Apps thing so start shopping around for the Apps you want :p
 
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