Nice history lesson. Companies vary their approaches with their platforms. As you mentioned, Android supported a form of virtual memory early on, though as I understand it uses a different schema than, say, Windows. The idea that Samsung supported it alone and called it RAM Plus signals to me that Samsung made a business decision borne of fluctuating memory prices a decade ago or longer. Nothing wrong with that even though as a conglomerate Samsung makes processors, RAM, and flash.Android chips supported virtual memory right out of the gate. That’s why they could do such a thing, though note that Samsung is the only one that bothers to do so. That should tell you the feature isn’t exactly having people busting down doors to demand it. Apple used their A-series chips designed for iPhones in their iPads all the way up until 2021 when they introduced their M-series chips designed specifically for Macs. Apple’s tendency was to put only what they needed into their chips because they controlled the hardware and software. Qualcomm didn’t have that luxury so they built a more general purpose processor that could be used by unlimited vendors. The iPhone had a single tasking operating system, so virtual memory was totally unnecessary, nor was sufficient RAM put in those devices to run multiple apps without it. Apple naturally didn’t build such a controller into their A-series since it would be a waste of transistors, but because virtual memory was necessary for a desktop operating system, they built it into their M-series chips. This is the main reason they could not introduce significant multitasking into their iPads. They had only RAM to work with, typically limited to 3GB up to 6GB on most iPads. M-series chips started at 8GB.
On a parallel track 10 years ago desktop OSes were transitioning from 32-bit to 64-bit. Mac OS X started the process with the PowerPC G5 and mainstreamed it with Snow Leopard. But for a long time in the early 10's, many users happily ran 32-bit apps and didn't really need to access more RAM than 4 GB. That's why there are so many 4 GB MacBook Airs (like mine from 2013) and Surface Pros still chugging away, or sitting on shelves. Windows 10 was released in 2015 in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, a nod to Microsoft's legacy support leanings.
Mobile OSes evolved quickly as the cost of RAM and flash dropped. If your 2024 Android phone has 12 GB of RAM, why would you need virtual memory at all? Same could be said of 8 GB iOS devices. Now that Apple has opened the door to true(r) multitasking on the iPad it's a whole new ballgame. Curiously, Google didn't start requiring 64-bit apps until 2019, two years after Apple with iOS. What you emphasized, that never gets mentioned enough in these fantasy threads, is that resources are scarce and mobile OSes in particular have a tough time managing them. Mobile devices don't have RAM expansion or the ability to swap in new CPUs. They have to worry about heat and battery drain a lot more than a laptop, let alone a desktop.
I'm looking into getting a M3 iPad Air just to experience the full multitasking vision as Apple now sees it. I'm still drawn to the iPad mini because of its size and utility, though I am fully aware that its A17 Pro - the same as in my iPhone 15 Pro - doesn't have the same depth of multitasking or the extended display support. I might get both and do a Pepsi challenge, though it's crazy to me that the combined cost of the base iPad Air 11 and mini is the same as the iPad Pro.