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iPhone 4 Confirmed to Have 512MB of RAM (Twice the iPad and 3GS)

$MacUser$ said:
Okay, so I read the blurb on the front page today about the iPhone having 512 MB RAM, and the iPad only 256. It was a little grating, given I haven't taken my iPad out of the box yet...but I digress.

For those of you with iPads, has the 256 been a hinderance? Any slowdowns, etc? I'm thinking the use of flash memory will cancel out any negatives from less RAM, but who knows?
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I've had no problems, it's been extremely fast with current hardware. The only issue I have seen is from safari "tabs" having to reload if they were in the background, however this may be a software issue as 3rd party browsers like atomic browser can seemingly keep 5 or 6 pages backgrounded without issue.

My only concern is with future software. If iPad 2 has 512 ram, then there might be iPad 2 specific apps we can't run. If apple implemented disk caching or virtual memory in iOS it'd help at least bridge the gap between successive generations of devices but it would also kill the flash ram.

-kap
 
deconstruct60 said:
Extremely unlikely. There have been 300+ppi 2 inches displays previously. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_displays_by_pixel_density#Devices_sorted_by_size) Apple's display is not the first one shipped at over 300+ ppi, nor was it the first to be that range and be at least 3.0 inches. It is the first one shipped in quantity at 3.5 inches and over 300+ ppi. It has taken a long time to jump from 3.0 to 3.5 inches and still be affordable.

No way display tech is suddenly going to jump to 9.7 inches ( an almost 3x jump in diagonal size.). The LCD panel itself would cost more than the iPad.

The current iPad screen is 132 ppi. If doubled that it would be 265 ppi. You'd have to triple the density to get it up over 300+ ppi. Not going to happen next year. Also, typically going to use the iPad farther away than iPhone screen. Perhaps that lets you slide with 265 ppi but that is a huge leap in density over a much larger area with acceptably few errors in manufacturing.
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Keep in mind that people generally hold an iPad further from their eyes than they do with an iPhone. So you get "retina" resolution at a lower ppi (somewhere around mid-200's).
 
mdatwood said:
Well he has a point. The iMovie app is exactly what could be cool on the iPad, but since the iPad is so short RAM it can't run on it from a technical stand point. 256MB ram was and is really too low for the iPad.
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No one said iMovie requires 256MB ram, that is speculation. Maybe it requires iOS 4 features and since the iPad won't have iOS 4 until fall, they are doing the typical Apple thing and not announcing future products.

-kap
 
Why charge for iMovie?

If iMovie can only work on the iPhone 4 why bother making people pay for it? Surely Apple could have built the $4.99 price into the phone's overall cost and then have another great selling point for the phone?
 
ddolde said:
This is why I took my iPad back after a week. The iPhone 4 only is missing a large display over the iPad but the retinal display should make up for a lot of the lost screen size.
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I can't think of many use cases for the iPad (document or book reading, web browsing, watching movies, playing games that are just too small on a tiny screen because your finger is only so small) that are somehow usurped by the iPhone 4. I can't think of any app that would be better on the iPhone 4 honestly, except one that specifically needed lots of RAM to function.
 
Hawkeye411 said:
Anyone have an idea why they wouldn't just stick a couple GB in it instead of 512MB? Isn't RAM relatively cheap??
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I assume RAM at that size is quite a bit more expensive than your average desktop RAM, plus the heat generated by 2GB of RAM compared to 512MB would probably be a factor as well. But I'm not sure about that last part, not sure if more RAM equates to more power consumption as well, if so that would be a huge factor to Apple.
 
kas23 said:
Don't worry iPad owners, who needs 512 GB RAM when you got magic!
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Yea the iphone 4 specs just killed the ipad magic. Well hopefully there is cameras on the ipad that is preferably better than the iphone. I do not know if anyone noticed that sj had to hold the phone closely zoomed into his face so that you do not notice the lack of image stabilization. Almost looks like an earthquake when you see it demoed. Thought i was getting sea sickness.
Do not want to put the cameraso close to my face so you can see every skin dimple. Please image stabilization before you put that on the ipad sj.
 
timotheezz said:
My iPad's 256MB RAM and non-Retina Display make it seem ... ugh.
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Yeap. And to me, it was actually pretty apparent before all of the iPhone 4 stats even came out. Apple eventually makes amazing products, but whether or not they're intentionally stifling the technology to stretch the dollar further, it sure takes them a long time. The 3GS upgrade last year was so underwhelming that it was obvious to hold out for the next one. When I was in the store looking at the iPad after launch, the biggest thing that jumped out at me was how low-res it was. When people get used to the 326 ppi (sorry, not calling it the "retina display") on the iPhone 4, the display on every other device that is designed to be held in relative close proximity to your face is going to seem paltry by comparison.

My guess is that in 3 or 4 years, we'll have a truly unbelievable iPad. Much higher pixel density. Cameras galore. More RAM. You know, everything we want it to have now. It will probably even be a true laptop replacement unless you're doing the most hardcore of content creation. Until then, enjoy trickled down updates until they decide it's time to take their game to the next level or competition forces them to.
 
great, i though apple would have at least created the ipad so it wouldn't be dwarfed in 2 months. iphone 4 already has double the ram of the ipad. the better make the ipad 2 a bit more future proof.
 
Small White Car said:
I love all the "but the iPad has..." complaints.

As if all future Apple products must stay the same as past products. Things improve as time moves forward. That's just the way it works.

Yeah, it sucks. I own that one Macbook Pro model that doesn't have firewire 800. The version before had it and the version after had it, but mine doesn't. Part of the whole "Intel Switch." Oh well, things work that way sometimes.
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Exactly. Im still using a first generation white macbook thats 4 years old! might not be the fastest or most powerful mac out there but its still solid!!!!

Got a 2 year old 3G iphone time to replace it I think. I like noticing the difference if you wait long enough. Its gonna be rapid!
 
I cant think of anything I dont like on the new iphone... now if only i can manage to find one instock on pay as you go in the orange store on thursday the 24th. To be honest i dont expect I will get my hands on a pay as you go one for a good few weeks after the release date but a guy can hope ey.
 
also... is it normal for information about the release to be as limited as it is? ive asked at so many different orange shops and even phoned them but no one seems to have a clue as to what orange will be offering on release date.
 
Macdicted said:
Now Apple confirms that the iPhone indeed has 512mb of ram.

Seems to me the iPad got screwed , first the display is superior now we have half the ram too. All this with just a 2 month window of release. Seems to me there should have been some shared r&d over at Apple.

Anyone that said the iPad is just a big iPhone was wrong.....

The iPhone is much more advanced now , just 2 months latter ... :confused:
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People got to realize cost is a factor.

a 16 gig iPhone 4 costs more than a 16 gig iPad.

Apple was trying to hit price points with the iPad. So it has less memory. As others noted, without the need for movies, multi-tasking or other features at the time, the extra memory was not necessary.

The full retail price of a 16 gig iPhone 4 is $599 right? It is $100 more than the 16 gig iPad WiFi.
 
Is it possible to replace the 256 mb V ram chip with the 512 could this be done in either the 3gs or iPad?
 
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