6GB RAM in lower model found

[macduke]

I may be a old fuddy duddy but I prefer my RAM to be divisible by 4, so this 6 GB news does not faze me much

But still, quite curious why Apple would want to conceal this info in the first place? This can be used for marketing too you know

Some of us are starting to think that a good chunk of this additional RAM may be taken up already by the system to address the large 1TB drive. Users might not actually see much of a performance improvement from having 6GB of RAM, lol, which also explains why they didn't advertise it. It's all under the hood stuff.

Still pretty dumb to be selling expensive professional tablets with as much RAM as a phone in 2019 because this is essentially a 2019 model and will be sold all of next year.

 

[Saskat]

If extra ram is at least partly required for large storage, this ram to storage link may very well carry into future models.

Which means 2019/2020 iPads will also possibly come with say, 6gb and 8gb ram for 1tb and 2tb storage respectively.

 

[rui no onna]

Some of us are starting to think that a good chunk of this additional RAM may be taken up already by the system to address the large 1TB drive. Users might not actually see much of a performance improvement from having 6GB of RAM, lol, which also explains why they didn't advertise it. It's all under the hood stuff.

In fairness, they did mention on the keynote about needing to do extra work in order to support 1TB capacities. They just didn't specify what that something was.

If the extra 512MB was needed for 1TB models to store the block mapping in memory, that would have meant 1TB iPads effectively having less usable memory compared to lower capacities if they had kept it at 4GB. It certainly wouldn't look good if 512GB iPads could handle, say, more Photoshop layers compared to 1TB models.

 

[macdaddy1991]

In fairness, they did mention on the keynote about needing to do extra work in order to support 1TB capacities. They just didn't specify what that something was.

If the extra 512MB was needed for 1TB models to store the block mapping in memory, that would have meant 1TB iPads effectively having less usable memory compared to lower capacities if they have kept it at 4GB. It certainly wouldn't look good if 512GB iPads could handle, say, more Photoshop layers compared to 1TB models.

Yes but with that logic now they're 1.5GB more in regards to memory.

 

[Donka]

In fairness, they did mention on the keynote about needing to do extra work in order to support 1TB capacities. They just didn't specify what that something was.

If the extra 512MB was needed for 1TB models to store the block mapping in memory, that would have meant 1TB iPads effectively having less usable memory compared to lower capacities if they had kept it at 4GB. It certainly wouldn't look good if 512GB iPads could handle, say, more Photoshop layers compared to 1TB models.

This is the most compelling argument yet for me. Does make a lot of sense although strange the 64GB - 512GB models all share the same RAM then a sudden 50% jump for the 1TB.

 

[CB98]

I think this whole thing is a non-issue, but I understand the reactions that people are having. I would assume the RAM is higher for the larger size, but even if it isn’t and it’s just so the user gets more, how much more is that really? iOS RAM management really is good, and 4gb should be ample for the foreseeable future.

 

[rui no onna]

This is the most compelling argument yet for me. Does make a lot of sense although strange the 64GB - 512GB models all share the same RAM then a sudden 50% jump for the 1TB.

Probably has to do with supply. Is there anyone who manufactures 5GB RAM? Same as darkarn, I'm used to RAM in powers of two so even 3GB and 6GB already seem weird to me.

 

[Donka]

iOS is great at memory management and for the most part it is a non issue and invisible to the user. For those that like to open loads of tabs in Safari and jump between them, they will be familiar of the impact of running low on RAM. Aside from that though, some apps really benefit from more RAM and that has nothing to do with how efficient iOS as host system is. If you aware of this and really want to push what you can do in those apps, the desire for extra RAM is a real thing. If they offered a Pro model with an 8GB RAM option at a premium, I would already have ordered. We all have different needs when it comes to valuing an upgrade.

 

[macduke]

I think this whole thing is a non-issue, but I understand the reactions that people are having. I would assume the RAM is higher for the larger size, but even if it isn’t and it’s just so the user gets more, how much more is that really? iOS RAM management really is good, and 4gb should be ample for the foreseeable future.

Would have been nice if at least the 512GB capacity got it so that it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. The 512GB model is already pretty expensive though, but I'd consider upgrading from 256GB if they did this.

iOS is really efficient, but the problem is we're starting to see these pro level apps like Photoshop that can manage hundreds of layers. The other issue is I've heard rumors that Apple is working on some kind of a new tabbed/window interface hybrid for iOS 13 on the iPad Pro. This could allow more advanced multitasking. Those with higher RAM devices would have a distinct advantage. But I also wonder with how fast their flash storage is nowadays, if they can offload a lot of things that don't have focus to the SSD without much of a performance hit? Caching to disk used to be really slow back in the day on old mechanical drives, but I wonder to what extent iOS uses this today?

 

[Donka]

Probably has to do with supply. Is there anyone who manufactures 5GB RAM? Same as darkarn, I'm used to RAM in powers of two so even 3GB and 6GB already seem weird to me.

I imagine if they can source 3GB for the iPhone X, they could source 5GB. Not standard I appreciate but if they go to lengths to separate this out for capacity sizes, presumably for cost saving, they could potentially save more by implementing less RAM. All conjecture.

 

[techno-Zen]

What the hell can someone use 1TB of storage on an iPad?

 

[rui no onna]

I imagine if they can source 3GB for the iPhone X, they could source 5GB. Not standard I appreciate but if they go to lengths to separate this out for capacity sizes, presumably for cost saving, they could potentially save more by implementing less RAM. All conjecture.

3GB seems to be a standard size, though. I've seen Androids with 3GB and 6GB RAM. I've yet to see one with 5GB.

The only time it makes sense to get 5GB is if there's going to be a significant cost savings compared to 6GB. If there's not, might as well go 6GB.

 

[Rogifan]

Gotcha, may not be proven. Was just what apple told several journalists at the event. I wish, hope, that you are right. But I don't think you are.

Apple told journalists how much ram was in the iPads?

 

[macduke]

What the hell can someone use 1TB of storage on an iPad?

If Adobe allowed you to store your full resolution Lightroom photo library locally instead of in the cloud, then I might consider it. Even if it's a reduced version of my catalog, I could store my photos from the past year or two only and those are the ones that I need quick access to the most. Would be great to just dump straight off my a7R III using USB-C TO USB-C at 3.1 speeds (UHS-II SD card 300MB/s to SSD) and keep going. Otherwise the only thing I can think of is if more users are using them to edit videos for their YouTube channels, indie/student films, or if people want to load a ton of movies on it. But even 1TB is overkill for movie buffs considering how small iTunes movies are.

 

[BeatCrazy]

By the time something I use/need is constrained or impacted by "only" 4GB, I'll be itching for a new iPad, anyways.

 

[darkarn]

Some of us are starting to think that a good chunk of this additional RAM may be taken up already by the system to address the large 1TB drive. Users might not actually see much of a performance improvement from having 6GB of RAM, lol, which also explains why they didn't advertise it. It's all under the hood stuff.

Still pretty dumb to be selling expensive professional tablets with as much RAM as a phone in 2019 because this is essentially a 2019 model and will be sold all of next year.

Good point but I dont know if they are still going with the one and half year sale cycle or not
[doublepost=1541090456][/doublepost]

If Adobe allowed you to store your full resolution Lightroom photo library locally instead of in the cloud, then I might consider it. Even if it's a reduced version of my catalog, I could store my photos from the past year or two only and those are the ones that I need quick access to the most. Would be great to just dump straight off my a7R III using USB-C TO USB-C at 3.1 speeds (UHS-II SD card 300MB/s to SSD) and keep going. Otherwise the only thing I can think of is if more users are using them to edit videos for their YouTube channels, indie/student films, or if people want to load a ton of movies on it. But even 1TB is overkill for movie buffs considering how small iTunes movies are.

Problem is, it is one thing to dump the files to the iPad. But getting it out to your computer for future editing is tougher unless you are mentally prepared to use cloud services with your iPad from what I can gather

 

[aella]

Hope this is not true......

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9t1mnn/is_there_actually_any_official_info_regarding_the/

 

[NightWingz]

I imagine if they can source 3GB for the iPhone X, they could source 5GB. Not standard I appreciate but if they go to lengths to separate this out for capacity sizes, presumably for cost saving, they could potentially save more by implementing less RAM. All conjecture.

The iPhone X is also a higher volume product and a bigger “part” purchase gives Apple more headroom for price negotiation.

 

[Marzel]

Multitasking and heavy loads aside, I doubt Apple is going to exclude one model over the other in future iOS releases so the future proofness of all models should be the same. There is no way Apple says that iOS16 is only compatible with the 1TB versions.

 

[rui no onna]

Huh. Interesting reading about some DRAM-less SSDs:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dramless-ssd-roundup,4833.html

Unfortunately, DRAMless SSDs also have a sinister side. Updating the map directly on the flash requires small random writes, which takes a bite out of the SSD's endurance. This is a particularly vexing issue with low endurance planar 2D TLC NAND flash. At Computex last June, one SSD vendor told us about an OEM 2D TLC SSD that will burn through the rated endurance in a little over a year. The SSD has to last a year because of the notebook's one-year warranty, but anything beyond a year's worth of use is up to the user to fix. Tactics like that are the driving forces behind putting cheap DRAMless SSDs in $500 notebooks.

 

[DNichter]

I'm gonna trust Steve Troughton-Smith on this one. 6GB on the 1TB models only. My guess is no real tangible benefits, the extra 2GB is just to help manage the TB.

 

[Jimpilot]

I'm gonna trust Steve Troughton-Smith on this one. 6GB on the 1TB models only. My guess is no real tangible benefits, the extra 2GB is just to help manage the TB.

Makes the most sense. Otherwise seems like they would have marketed it.

 

[DaniJoy]

if you want to use photoshop 6gb is like bare bones minimum system requirements. Still not enough for my photoshop needs, but i wont be using ipad for work. i have faster tablets for that use.

4bg is enough for most uses.

 

[macduke]

Hope this is not true......

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9t1mnn/is_there_actually_any_official_info_regarding_the/

Yeah that's really strange. Any time I've tried to talk to Apple support about things like this in the past (such as how much RAM the iPhone 6 Plus had, which ended up being a measly 1GB on a 1080p device and I had frequent crashes and issues all the time with that device) they say they don't know that information. Weird.

It's probably all true though. Oh well. I'll be getting another one in 3 years I'm sure.

 

[MrGimper]

It would make more sense for all the 12.9" devices to have 6GB and all the 11" to have 4GB if the memory is shared between the CPU and the GPU due to the increased resolution. I don't know if it is shared, but just a view.