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Lack of more RAM starting to show on 6 Plus.

B

BigMar89

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 15, 2013
332
42
Seattle, WA
Lag and stuttering are starting to take a toll on my 6 Plus and with the same setup I had on my 5. I have about only 4 apps open (Spotify with no music playing, Settings, Instagram, and SysStats lite) and the device is left with only about 100 MB of memory left. The stuttering and lag is downright bad when swiping up Control Center while on Instagram and Spotify. On my 5 i could run a lot more apps in the background and ill still be left with about 450 MB of RAM with absolutely no Control Center stuttering in any of my apps.

I am in no way bashing the 6 Plus as i have been thoroughly enjoying the improved camera, amazing battery life, and HD screen but after a few days the performance compared to my 5 is rather disappointing. Im seriosuly considering exchanging it for a regular 6 and just wait when the specs are up to par for such a massive device.
 
If you're getting lag in control center with 4 apps open, you should return it and replace it. That's not normal, that sounds like a manufacturing or software error.
 
i have zero issues - the RAM FUD is back again.

I have maybe 4 at most tabs in safari, can switch back and forth between asphalt 7 and other apps instantly without any lag or refreshing in safari.

People we need to stop these threads that spew FUD. the 1GB ram is perfect or else apple would not of put it in my i6+
 
VasectomyLove said:
i have zero issues - the RAM FUD is back again.

I have maybe 4 at most tabs in safari, can switch back and forth between asphalt 7 and other apps instantly without any lag or refreshing in safari.

People we need to stop these threads that spew FUD. the 1GB ram is perfect or else apple would not of put it in my i6+
Click to expand...


i might just have a faulty device but im not kidding when i have those 4 apps i posted up and look into SysStats to monitor my RAM usage its always running in the low 100s and even dipping under 100. Ill record with my 5 and post a vid later when i get home from work to show the nasty stuttering Control Center does when swiped up when Instagram or Spotify are the apps currently opened.

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jav6454 said:
Considering there is much more needed graphics buffer due to the more pixels in the screen, I am not surprised.
Click to expand...

this is exactly what im thinking and why its being said that regular 6 performs better than the 6 Plus in some areas. My 5 would be running about 10 apps in the background and it would still be just using up half of the RAM. The screen size and upgraded processor are too big for just 1GB ram and i have no doubt in my mind the 6S will include 2GB of ram next year.
 
Now its running with an abysmal 53.5 available RAM. No games, no videos, just music, Instagram, and Messenger in the background. Pretty pathetic to be honest. Never had my 5 run this low. Hoepfully its just a iOS 8 thing but i doubt it.
 
The RAM anxiety is stupid. iOS is lean and efficient and does not need tons of RAM just to run smoothly, like that other mobile OS....
 
poematik13 said:
The RAM anxiety is stupid. iOS is lean and efficient and does not need tons of RAM just to run smoothly, like that other mobile OS....
Click to expand...

K ill show you the video of my 6 Plus performance when i get home and you decide if all the stuttering and lag is stupid or not

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sholzer said:
return it and go buy a note 4. no one is forcing you to keep it
Click to expand...

no thanks im just getting a regular 6. Just putting it out there that at least my unit is not running smooth at all at this point. Not bashing iOS or Apple for that matter.
 
BigMar89 said:
i might just have a faulty device but im not kidding when i have those 4 apps i posted up and look into SysStats to monitor my RAM usage its always running in the low 100s and even dipping under 100. Ill record with my 5 and post a vid later when i get home from work to show the nasty stuttering Control Center does when swiped up when Instagram or Spotify are the apps currently opened.

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this is exactly what im thinking and why its being said that regular 6 performs better than the 6 Plus in some areas. My 5 would be running about 10 apps in the background and it would still be just using up half of the RAM. The screen size and upgraded processor are too big for just 1GB ram and i have no doubt in my mind the 6S will include 2GB of ram next year.
Click to expand...

You aren't running apps in the background. That is not how iOS works. It does not multitask like a desktop OS. Only active threads from background apps stay in memory. And what is with the obsession with free RAM? Both OS X and iOS will do their best to use all the RAM that is available to them. Free RAM is a useless metric with modern memory management.

I don't doubt that animations on the 6+ may look a bit less smooth than they do on a 5S or a 6, because the phone is pushing so many more pixels, and on top of that it's downscaling from an even higher resolution. It's like the issues the first retina MBP models had: the GPU will sometimes struggle to push that many pixels.
 
Angriff said:
You aren't running apps in the background. That is not how iOS works. It does not multitask like a desktop OS. Only active threads from background apps stay in memory. And what is with the obsession with free RAM? Both OS X and iOS will do their best to use all the RAM that is available to them. Free RAM is a useless metric with modern memory management.

I don't doubt that animations on the 6+ may look a bit less smooth than they do on a 5S or a 6, because the phone is pushing so many more pixels, and on top of that it's downscaling from an even higher resolution. It's like the issues the first retina MBP models had: the GPU will sometimes struggle to push that many pixels.
Click to expand...

Gotcha so its more of a GPU issue than anything? So am I SOL when it comes to smooth animations and performance for this Plus model until the next updated Plus comes out with better specs?
 
Do you have background app refresh going? I haven't seen any of this with my co workers that have them.
 
golfdude said:
Do you have background app refresh going? I haven't seen any of this with my co workers that have them.
Click to expand...

Yes, didnt cripple my phone by turning any default features off and like i said I have it set up the same way my 5 was set up. As 2 posters have already mentioned its a GPU issues since the higher resolution is much more demanding compared to the 5, 5s, and 6 so therefore performance and animations can take a hit. I cant wait to get home to show you guys how bad the stuttering is, not very iOS like.
 
BigMar89 said:
Gotcha so its more of a GPU issue than anything? So am I SOL when it comes to smooth animations and performance for this Plus model until the next updated Plus comes out with better specs?
Click to expand...

Sell it.

No, you aren't SOL until the next updated plus comes out with better specs. You're SOL until the next software update comes out.

Your new toy's animations aren't perfect. You don't understand why. Must be ram.
 
iregret said:
Sell it.

No, you aren't SOL until the next updated plus comes out with better specs. You're SOL until the next software update comes out.

Your new toy's animations aren't perfect. You don't understand why. Must be ram.
Click to expand...

I hope youre right and that this can all be fixed with a software update.

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tigres said:
Your username sounds ironic. :cool:
OP. Post the vid when you have a chance.
Click to expand...

will do
 
BigMar89 said:
I hope youre right and that this can all be fixed with a software update.

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will do
Click to expand...

Seriously. This is a new device with a new operating system. There will be growing pains. It's the nature of the beast unfortunately.


If you're seriously concerned, trade it for the other one if you think you'll be happier with it.
 
To try and duplicate your problem, I opened 10 apps and went back to home screen. Safari has 4 tabs open.

I then held the phone with two hands and proceeded to spin the phone left, right, 360 degrees, 180 degrees, and like 90 degrees back and forth, al very quickly.

Not once did the phone have a problem smooth transitioning to the expected stopping point. At some points while I was spinning the phone, the screen actually stayed visually stationary like a gyroscope was connected to it.
 
My phone doesn't have that issue either. You do realize, stuttering could be the CPU trying to catch up rather then low memory...
 
Steve686 said:
To try and duplicate your problem, I opened 10 apps and went back to home screen. Safari has 4 tabs open.

I then held the phone with two hands and proceeded to spin the phone left, right, 360 degrees, 180 degrees, and like 90 degrees back and forth, al very quickly.

Not once did the phone have a problem smooth transitioning to the expected stopping point. At some points while I was spinning the phone, the screen actually stayed visually stationary like a gyroscope was connected to it.
Click to expand...

Transitions havent been an issue just swiping Notification Center and Control center up and down. Try having an app that has pictures or graphics then slide up Control Center, thats where i can 100% duplicate my stuttering issue. Stay tuned.

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pdxmatts said:
Can I ask if you set up the phone as new with a clean slate?
Click to expand...

clean slate
 
This is only the beginning, if it's lagging now...in three months it will be barely functional ;)
 
BigMar89 said:
Transitions havent been an issue just swiping Notification Center and Control center up and down. Try having an app that has pictures or graphics then slide up Control Center, thats where i can 100% duplicate my stuttering issue. Stay tuned.

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clean slate
Click to expand...

Specifics help for a baseline test.

What apps, exactly, are you basing from to notifications and control center?
 
poematik13 said:
The RAM anxiety is stupid. iOS is lean and efficient and does not need tons of RAM just to run smoothly, like that other mobile OS....
Click to expand...

Yes it does. I remember when Apple users were saying they don't need bigger phone than 4 inches. Now look what you have. Bigger phone needs more RAM, end of story. You'll eat your own words when Apple gives you 2GB RAM next year.
 
Steve686 said:
Specifics help for a baseline test.

What apps, exactly, are you basing from to notifications and control center?
Click to expand...

For example im basing from Instagram (pages of nothing but photos) and Spotify (music controls with Album artwork) i notice it more on Spotify when the huge album artwork is on display within app in the background and then Control Center is pulled in front of it.
 
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