iPad iPad Air RAM test: Safari Tabs

[pocketpenguin]

... I wonder how much more a 2 GB module would have cost Apple, maybe $3 ? On a $500 item, that's less than a 1% hit to gross profit...

Actually, the RAM is embedded on the SOC - system on a chip, that is to say the main CPU. So adding more RAM is more complicated than just soldering on a different chip on the motherboard. I've no doubt that the RAM was cut short to reduce die size and thus space, heat, and power consumption. That more people were probably complaining about overall size and weight and not about a lack of RAM was probably the primary reason for sticking with 1 gig.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Apple; just pointing out that there are trade offs for each decision.

I would sell my air in an instant and buy an air version b if it had more RAM.

As pointed out below, I am wrong about the RAM being located on the A7 chip, it is not.

 

[cababah]

I would sell my air in an instant and buy an air version b if it had more RAM.

The next iPad Air already has your money then. That's how Apple rolls.

 

[calvol]

Actually, the RAM is embedded on the SOC - system on a chip, that is to say the main CPU.

I don't think so... according to Wikipedia, the Air's variant of the A7 uses chip-on-board RAM, adjacent to the A7 >>>

Apple uses the APL5698 variant of the A7 chip in the iPad Air. Its die is identical in size and layout to that of the first A7 and is manufactured by Samsung.[23] However, unlike the first version of the A7, the A7 used in the iPad Air is not a package-on-package (PoP), having no stacked RAM. Instead it uses a chip-on-board mounting, immediately adjacent DRAM, and is covered by a metallic heat spreader, similar to the Apple A5X and A6X.

Wonder if a 2GB RAM module would be the same size? If so, could directly substitute a 2 gig module under the heat spreader. Otherwise, would have to change the board layout... hoping for a silent upgrade about March!

 

[pocketpenguin]

I don't think so... according to Wikipedia, the Air's variant of the A7 uses chip-on-board RAM, adjacent to the A7 >>>...

I just looked on the anandtech photo and...
You are right. The ram on chip is SRAM not DRAM. Cache not main memory.

I've got some posts to correct. Of course as I was posting this the first time, I wrote my reply, switched tabs to check anandtech's photo one last time, came back to the Mac forums tab, and the -:!&&@!? thing refreshed and I lost my whole reply.

Safari sucks! I wish my ipad had 2gig of RAM!

 

[007p]

hoping for a silent upgrade about March!

That's never going to happen lol. At best iPad pro. There is no way they would silently upgrade the RAM to 2gb of the iPad air in March. Going by what everyone is saying on here, that might as well be their biggest selling point for the iPad air 2 next October/November. Any reason for them not to put 2gb in it at launch still stands for them not putting it in in March >.<

 

[MikhailT]

Looks like good news so far on iOS 7.1 beta 2 about the low memory causing crashes in Safari.

 

[NeoiPad]

I can confirm you that Apple has fixed this issue in iOS 7.1 Beta 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mabaker]

The issue now is quite okay even on the first generation iPad mini. Of course you must not have any apps open beside Safari then the browsing experience will be just fine.

 

[s2mikey]

The issue now is quite okay even on the first generation iPad mini. Of course you must not have any apps open beside Safari then the browsing experience will be just fine.

Mines been fine even with a few other apps running. Granted, I rarely have more than a few tabs open but my use case and probably many others simply are NOT affected by this reload problem. I still think it's more a safari problem than a RAM problem but I'm in the minority on that.