I don't care what the RAM is. It's a spec number--a marketing point.
I care how well the device performs, and what battery life it gets.
More RAM helps performance (in some cases: reloading stuff into RAM less) but software efficiency to NEED less RAM can achieve the same kinds of benefit.
More RAM hurts battery life (all other things being equal) but software efficiency to NEED less battery can help.
There's a balance: the most efficient OS, tools to make 3rd party apps the most efficient, the least power-hungry hardware, and just the right amount of RAM.
Where is that balance?
I won't pretend to know. But I also won't assume that other phone makers have the ideal balance (they can't even do what Apple can with the OS).
I hope Apple has found a good balance for each device. Only tests will tell us: how well does this device perform? What battery life does it get?
THAT is what matters. Not a number alone.
I wasn't aware of that. Then i wonder why the iPad Air's can't hold more than one or two Safari tabs. (I don't own one, but many on this forum complain about it).
I'll add my anecdote: my Air has never had a problem keeping all my tabs. More than one or two for sure. (I'll also add that I wouldn't much care if it DID have that limit: I occasionally use tons of tabs to "save something for later" in a lazy/easy way. I don't care if one of those old tabs takes 1 second to refresh when I finally get back to it. The number of tabs I'm actually using NOW, at a given moment, switching back and forth, is more like 2 to 4.)
That said, the iPad has battery to spare, so why not go for more RAM there? I don't object to 1GB on the phone, but I'll support those who complain if the iPad doesn't get more. I'll be surprised if it doesn't.
EDIT: I also can see merit in the future-proofing argument—giving us MORE RAM than most people need could well be a benefit some future day. However:
- You still suffer the reduced battery life now, and forever. There's no free lunch. Less RAM = more battery time. (I'd be curious to know how much, but am led to believe from tech podcasts that it's a significant drain from some phones.)
- Some developers will be "lazy" about USING more RAM (even if not really needed) and then you're right back where you started. It could help them (which isn't all bad) more than it helps you the user.
- If people are comparing Apple RAM to other companies' RAM... then they'd better not bring up future-proofing because Android devices get abandoned before you're done with your 2-year contract! We can say iOS 9 or 10 would probably benefit from some RAM "elbow room." We can't say that your new Android phone will see much benefit from 2 to 3 major releases of Android into the future: you probably won't ever get it!