Here is why the iPhone 6/6 Plus didn't get more RAM.

[Meister]

CPU benchmarks have nothing to do with ram. That's thread performance.

It's pretty simple. Has nothing to do with android.

This is the correct answer to this thread.
OP does obviously not know what RAM does.

But there is in fact some real reasons why keeps the RAM in their devices low.
These reasons are not profit related since the price difference between 1gb and 2gb is neglectable.

 

[Valkyre]

The amount of ignorance in the OP is unreal.

Funny thing he dissappeared when he was called out for.

It is simple enough. 1gb of RAM bottlenecks the apple "experience" , not the speed of the phone. Some people can get enough with 3-4 safari tabs, orher people who use their devises heavily keep seeing reloading. And that aint cool in 2014. From a 1,000$ phone.

 

[matttye]

Tl;dr OP is full of nonsense.

Yes the fact that Apple designs the chip and the software gives them an advantage over other companies. No that does not mean they have magical powers that means 1GB of RAM is still okay for an ever more resource hungry OS.

Websites need more and more memory to load properly as time goes by. This is not something Apple can control.

I've switched away from filling in a form in Safari to get some info out of my notes app, then gone back to the form only to have it reload and have to start over.

You know how POOR that is? The unified hardware and software doesn't comfort me when I'm filling out a form all over again just because Apple can't get memory right.

You know that instead of reloading tabs they could just save all of the tabs to disk, and it might take slightly longer to switch between tabs but at least they wouldn't reload. That's got to be far preferable right?

So yes, the OP is full of nonsense because unified hardware and software doesn't magically solve some very real issues.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Every browser on iOS uses the Safari wrapper. That wouldn't make a difference...

Ahem not really, they use the webkit rendering engine, they can then put their user interface, include persistent storage, or do what ever they want to do and build around it...Or simply put they can choose what ever they want to do during the events that are triggered for application close, application suspend, application resume, application forced close, you name it...And not just that, developers have plenty of opportunity on how they want to run and manage their objects.

Sure keeping everything in RAM all the time is quick and instant accessible, however you never have enough. An increase in RAM could help for some as a temporary patch. There is nothing stopping any one to write the current memory state to disc, and upon resume load it from disk opposed to the internet. However don't forget websites also update their data, so which pages do you want to store/cache and which do you want to have reloaded? And what about those that will force a reload anyway when you have 16GB of RAM in your device?

I get that some may find it an annoyance, but think a bit more about the implications and what is already possible.....

 

[matttye]

This is the correct answer to this thread.

OP does obviously not know what RAM does.



But there is in fact some real reasons why keeps the RAM in their devices low.

These reasons are not profit related since the price difference between 1gb and 2gb is neglectable.

I think it's so they can keep running their 'we're not about the specs' line.

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Ahem not really, they use the webkit rendering engine, they can then put their user interface, include persistent storage, or do what ever they want to do and build around it...Or simply put they can choose what ever they want to do during the events that are triggered for application close, application suspend, application resume, application forced close, you name it...And not just that, developers have plenty of opportunity on how they want to run and manage their objects.



Sure keeping everything in RAM all the time is quick and instant accessible, however you never have enough. An increase in RAM could help for some as a temporary patch. There is nothing stopping any one to write the current memory state to disc, and upon resume load it from disk opposed to the internet. However don't forget websites also update their data, so which pages do you want to store/cache and which do you want to have reloaded? And what about those that will force a reload anyway when you have 16GB of RAM in your device?



I get that some may find it an annoyance, but think a bit more about the implications and what is already possible.....

They could, at the very least, save form data to disk and then reload it.

I've typed out large forum posts and then lost them.

I've figure out a solution to the problem myself but i shouldn't have to: I copy large boxes of text to my clipboard before switching away.

 

[Meister]

I think it's so they can keep running their 'we're not about the specs' line.

It's about backwards compatability.
Once 2gb are available devs will make apps that require that much.
Only 1gb will force them to work around it.
Because of this s products have a high resale value and a good reputation.
The ipad 2 is still running strong as ever with 512mb ram.

Most customers won't notice the lower amount of ram, but they would notice new apps not running.

 

[matttye]

It's about backwards compatability.

Once 2gb are available devs will make apps that require that much.

Only 1gb will force them to work around it.

Because of this s products have a high resale value and a good reputation.

The ipad 2 is still running strong as ever with 512mb ram.



Most customers won't notice the lower amount of ram, but they would notice new apps not running.

I understand that and it's a very good point. It just means they need to come up with some other solution. Hell why not have a page file and reserve some space on the disk? Maybe even a user configurable amount of space.

 

[MagicBoy]

OP is ignorant. LOL.

More RAM = More power used. Unlike flash memory, RAM requires a constant supply of power to maintain the contents. Apple fit enough RAM for 99% of the users and everyone benefits with better battery life.

Simples.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I think it's so they can keep running their 'we're not about the specs' line.

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They could, at the very least, save form data to disk and then reload it.

I've typed out large forum posts and then lost them.

I've figure out a solution to the problem myself but i shouldn't have to: I copy large boxes of text to my clipboard before switching away.

Yes they could, but they don't....It is not how Safari works...As ZBoater has said, if that is what you want then you could use a different browser.

I mean let's define the requirement, how would you like it to operate during each of the states an application can have?
- Non running
- Inactive
- Active
- Background
- Suspended

It is easily possible to handle each of those events both on enter and exit on what will happen with the data within. Is there any agreement on that? Or is it just a case of give us enough RAM that it will always be there? How much is enough? And doesn't enough depend on what you do with the other apps? And what about a website that provides streaming information like with the launch events? When should that reload?

Just asking? And if I was to create such a thing with common agreement on how it should work, how much are you willing to pay for it?

 

[matttye]

Yes they could, but they don't....It is not how Safari works...As ZBoater has said, if that is what you want then you could use a different browser.



I mean let's define the requirement, how would you like it to operate during each of the states an application can have?

- Non running

- Inactive

- Active

- Background

- Suspended



It is easily possible to handle each of those events both on enter and exit on what will happen with the data within. Is there any agreement on that? Or is it just a case of give us enough RAM that it will always be there? How much is enough? And doesn't enough depend on what you do with the other apps? And what about a website that provides streaming information like with the launch events? When should that reload?



Just asking? And if I was to create such a thing with common agreement on how it should work, how much are you willing to pay for it?

I agree that more RAM is not necessarily the best long term solution, but simply leaving apps to reload and lose all data is so poor for the user experience. Nobody likes having to redo work!

I think more RAM would help a lot of people but there would still be those who hit the 2GB or even 3/4GB ceiling. I think a page file would help a lot, and allow the user to set the size of it.

 

[MagicBoy]

It's a smartphone, not a Mac Pro.

 

[matttye]

It's a smartphone, not a Mac Pro.

What's your point? Apple gives us the option of multitasking on the iPhone so they should at least make sure it works properly.

Smartphones can do today what desktops could do years ago so your argument is poor.

 

[Ries]

They should add a test where they try to allocate 1 GB of textures and then mark it failed.

 

[MagicBoy]

Smartphones can do today what desktops could do years ago so your argument is poor.

It's a statement of fact, not an argument.

Give feedback to Apple (https://www.apple.com/feedback) don't expect them to come looking in forums on the off chance.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

Cpu power is not an issue.. The A8 scores higher in geekbench than my 2010 Macbook pro.

Considering these devices are now as powerful as laptops just a few years ago, why not treat them as computers?? How awesome would it be to be able to BTO an iPhone with 2 or 4 gb of ram?

 

[matttye]

It's a statement of fact, not an argument.

Give feedback to Apple (https://www.apple.com/feedback) don't expect them to come looking in forums on the off chance.

You were obviously implying that because the iPhone is a smartphone then it doesn't need a lot of RAM. I simply said that smartphones today are as capable as previous desktops. Who is to say that future smartphones won't be as capable as today's desktops?

I've left feedback dozens of times and I get the impression that either a hell of a lot of users have to request something or it must already have been on Apples road map anyway.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I agree that more RAM is not necessarily the best long term solution, but simply leaving apps to reload and lose all data is so poor for the user experience. Nobody likes having to redo work!

I think more RAM would help a lot of people but there would still be those who hit the 2GB or even 3/4GB ceiling. I think a page file would help a lot, and allow the user to set the size of it.

Ok and what is the page file supposed to do when say watching the live apple event? If you move away to do something else. The tab content gets committed to disk. Then you return and it gets read from disk so surely first thing it should do is reload to get the latest content? Or what about that form that you didn't complete and the web site session management has expired, what should happen then? Or what about the other scenarios and states I have highlighted before. What should happen for each other those scenarios compatible with anything that is possible on the Internet?

It is very easy to say these things, but let's break them down and why not design how the browser should work and cater for all. Including the server side of things.

 

[vgamedude]

Ok and what is the page file supposed to do when say watching the live apple event? If you move away to do something else. The tab content gets committed to disk. Then you return and it gets read from disk so surely first thing it should do is reload to get the latest content? Or what about that form that you didn't complete and the web site session management has expired, what should happen then? Or what about the other scenarios and states I have highlighted before. What should happen for each other those scenarios compatible with anything that is possible on the Internet?

It is very easy to say these things, but let's break them down and why not design how the browser should work and cater for all. Including the server side of things.

Dude what in the hell are you talking about? Page files, swap partitions, all these kind of things already exist on computers.

 

[matttye]

Ok and what is the page file supposed to do when say watching the live apple event? If you move away to do something else. The tab content gets committed to disk. Then you return and it gets read from disk so surely first thing it should do is reload to get the latest content? Or what about that form that you didn't complete and the web site session management has expired, what should happen then? Or what about the other scenarios and states I have highlighted before. What should happen for each other those scenarios compatible with anything that is possible on the Internet?

It is very easy to say these things, but let's break them down and why not design how the browser should work and cater for all. Including the server side of things.

How about letting us use the cached page and then the website can tell us if the page has expired, rather than just dumping the entire form regardless?

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Dude what in the hell are you talking about? Page files, swap partitions, all these kind of things already exist on computers.

Where do I say that they don't already exist? Dude, I'm old enough that I had to write the memory overlay files and swap them in and out myself...That is not the point. I'm merely asking what the experience is that is expected...You know this old fashioned thing where the user comes up with the requirement opposed to the solution

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How about letting us use the cached page and then the website can tell us if the page has expired, rather than just dumping the entire form regardless?

So the net result and user experience will be the same, it will reload the tab...Just like the experience is today, sometimes it shows you the page, sometimes it reloads the page....How would you want to be able to tell the difference?

 

[matttye]

Where do I say that they don't already exist? Dude, I'm old enough that I had to write the memory overlay files and swap them in and out myself...That is not the point. I'm merely asking what the experience is that is expected...You know this old fashioned thing where the user comes up with the requirement opposed to the solution

----------



So the net result and user experience will be the same, it will reload the tab...Just like the experience is today, sometimes it shows you the page, sometimes it reloads the page....How would you want to be able to tell the difference?

No, I'm saying it should always load the cached tab, and when submitting the form the web page can let us know if the page has expired.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

No, I'm saying it should always load the cached tab, and when submitting the form the web page can let us know if the page has expired.

Ok, fair enough. That is clear...

And what about the other scenarios?

 

[sunking101]

There are a hell of a lot of apologists here.
1GB of RAM on a late 2014 premium smartphone is PATHETIC, whether it reloads tabs or not. The fact that we've been experiencing tab reloads for *years* and that the problem has become MUCH worse since iOS7 seems to point to software becoming too powerful for the hardware. Now all these apologists bring out the techno diatribe as to why 1GB of RAM is perfect, but it obviously isn't. My Android tablet with 1.5GB of RAM doesn't reload tabs. Current premium Android smartphones have 3GB of RAM and they have the best battery life of any smartphone out there, slaying the i6 battery life comfortably. So if RAM drains batteries so much to make adding more unfeasible, how do Samsung et al manage to not only stay in the same ballpark as Apple when it comes to battery life, but to actually come out victorious?

 

[matttye]

Ok, fair enough. That is clear...

And what about the other scenarios?

I think that would cover all scenarios.

Cache the tabs to disk, erase caches only when Safari is closed in the multitasking tray or force closed, or when iOS shuts down.

At the very least it should cache the form data so that the form can be repopulated once the tab reloads. That is probably preferable to caching the entire page, in fact, as it ensures a current version of the page is used and doesn't result in data loss.

 

[dmccloud]

There are a hell of a lot of apologists here.
1GB of RAM on a late 2014 premium smartphone is PATHETIC, whether it reloads tabs or not. The fact that we've been experiencing tab reloads for *years* and that the problem has become MUCH worse since iOS7 seems to point to software becoming too powerful for the hardware. Now all these apologists bring out the techno diatribe as to why 1GB of RAM is perfect, but it obviously isn't. My Android tablet with 1.5GB of RAM doesn't reload tabs. Current premium Android smartphones have 3GB of RAM and they have the best battery life of any smartphone out there, slaying the i6 battery life comfortably. So if RAM drains batteries so much to make adding more unfeasible, how do Samsung et al manage to not only stay in the same ballpark as Apple when it comes to battery life, but to actually come out victorious?

Funny, reviews are showing both the 6 and 6+ to be among the best phones out there for battery life. That kinda kills your argument there...