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New Photo Claims to Show 2GB Elpida RAM Chips for iPad Air 2
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Cue in the "I want 4GB of RAM?" statements
Why not. It is time to move forward and it is crazy that the standard memory on the iPad is only 16g (or every was).
IMO the RAM should be 4gb and 64 gb memory standard.
So you must believe the chicken came before the egg, right?
But seriously, I love how you just completely ignore what the iPhone 4, 5 and 6 brought to the table. So you see, it really is a chicken/egg argument.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Anyone at any of the Asian companies that can produce piles of 2GB RAM want a big pot of money from Apple? Anyone?
These ideas that supply constraints is keeping 2GB out of iDevices are funny. If you think them through, it means there's nobody interested in building out the capacity to fulfill the 2GB RAM orders, basically turning money away.
I know some will say it's not a "not interested" but an "unable" situation but how can it be unable for so long? Here's a big pile of money Apple wants to give someone who can build them this thing. It seems someone would want the money bad enough to add the capacity. That's how supply & demand works. When demand > supply and there is profitable dollars behind the greater demand, the suppliers find a way to take the money. Other than maybe in the very short-term, they don't just shrug off taking a big pile of money as if making 2GB RAM chips is impossible.
I disagree about the chicken or the egg analogy. I've always notice that the non "S" models are used as a beta release and then Apple adds the new features to create a better experience with the "S" releases.
I've been waiting for iPhone 6 plus for a while now since I originally wanted a Samsung Note but I'm in no hurry and will wait for 6S for sure. Apple is carefully listening of what the first adopters of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus are saying and will probably add the 2GB of RAM, fix the weak screw area portion that is causing bendgate issues, and other new features in the 6S.
I've learned my lesson since the iPhone 3G, the exact same thing happened when 3GS was released.
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This is hilarious. I do indeed hope it ends up being 1 GB still. Just for kicks. Magically, my iPad Air works just fine with 1 GB.
The best part is that NO ONE will have any idea until they go on sale, and start getting delivered, and someone runs a Geekbench.
The best part is that NO ONE will have any idea until they go on sale, and start getting delivered, and someone runs a Geekbench.
I think the even funnier part is that most iPad Air users that are saying that they wont upgrade will probably end up dumping their Air on eBay once October 16 comes. 2GB RAM and some new multitasking feature along with the Touch ID as well as doubling of CPU/GPU power. All speculation of upgrades of course.
Which is why I won't order until someone runs a Geekbench. I doubt the Air 2 is going to be anywhere near as impossible to get as the iPhone 6+, so no need to order it the second it goes up for sale, and if it turns out that it only has 1GB of RAM, I'll just return Apple the favor by replacing my iPad 4 with a Surface Pro 3 instead
I think this may be a rare case where apple gives ram specs, especially since they're rumored to have split screen multitasking. They'll be like "look guys, this had 2 GB of ram and here's what you can do with it!"
Which is why I won't order until someone runs a Geekbench. I doubt the Air 2 is going to be anywhere near as impossible to get as the iPhone 6+, so no need to order it the second it goes up for sale, and if it turns out that it only has 1GB of RAM, I'll just return Apple the favor by replacing my iPad 4 with a Surface Pro 3 instead
Right, because that makes any sense at all. Cool.
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No, they won't. In fact, it won't even get 2 GB of RAM unless this "split screen multitasking thing" actually pans out to be true. It doesn't need 2 GB of RAM to run iOS 8 as is. Two apps at the same time however, yeah it will definitely need double the memory to do double the work....thats a no brainer.
What will be REALLY funny is the placebo effect it has on bloggers who think the rest of their iPad is suddenly faster because of the 2 GB of RAM.
Which is why I won't order until someone runs a Geekbench. I doubt the Air 2 is going to be anywhere near as impossible to get as the iPhone 6+, so no need to order it the second it goes up for sale, and if it turns out that it only has 1GB of RAM, I'll just return Apple the favor by replacing my iPad 4 with a Surface Pro 3 instead
I noticed a lot of people are still hanging onto their iPad 4 including myself. I also noticed that the iPad 4 is the iPad3S and the iPad Air 2 is the "S" model.
Normally, I'd pick up the iPad Air at a discount (Microcenter has them already for $399 right now) but since I upgrade every couple of years I'll just pick up the Air 2 with 2GB of RAM.
Well at least it's fairly safe to assume that if the iPad gets 2GB of RAM, the iPhone 6S should also get 2GB of RAM. It's going to be really interesting to see how this impacts the whole tab reloading/page error issue that plagues 64-bit devices. Too bad I can't pop open my Retina iPad Mini and iPhone 6 Plus and upgrade the RAM myself.
Would it really be much of a logistics issue for Apple to include Pro models for iPhones and iPads? Say, for $150 more you can get double the RAM, a little bit faster CPU/GPU, and a higher capacity battery (assuming a higher capacity one exists that fits). Given the known cost of existing components, all of those things combined would probably cost Apple $50 or less. Everyone from geeks (small market), to people who MUST have the best phone (small to moderate sized market), to people who have too much money (small market) would buy it. That's three small to moderate markets that probably have a certain degree of overlap, but would an extra $200-400M in profit would be worth the trouble of having two tiers? The iPad has two tiers with WiFi only and LTE+GPS models and that seems to have worked well.
Would it really be much of a logistics issue for Apple to include Pro models for iPhones and iPads? Say, for $150 more you can get double the RAM, a little bit faster CPU/GPU, and a higher capacity battery (assuming a higher capacity one exists that fits). Given the known cost of existing components, all of those things combined would probably cost Apple $50 or less. Everyone from geeks (small market), to people who MUST have the best phone (small to moderate sized market), to people who have too much money (small market) would buy it. That's three small to moderate markets that probably have a certain degree of overlap, but would an extra $200-400M in profit would be worth the trouble of having two tiers? The iPad has two tiers with WiFi only and LTE+GPS models and that seems to have worked well.
Well, it will be an overall faster experience due to the 2GB of RAM as applications will have more memory allocated. IMHO, I think the iPad air should have 4GB of RAM (and no I'm not complaining about the alleged 2GB of RAM).
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I've seen this posted a few times now in several threads. What doesn't tend to come with it is the alternate theory about what else can be the cause of tab reloading other than lack of more RAM. We have Safari tabs on our Macs too. Our Macs tend to have much more RAM than our iOS devices. We don't experience the page reloading problem on our Macs. Sure, Safari on Macs could be coded differently than Safari on iDevices as it pertains to this issue, but I'll ask: what ELSE is as reasonable counterpoint (theory) to explain the page reloading issue if it is not insufficient RAM?
If you're on a Mac, go into "utility" folder and open "Activity Monitor". Click the "Memory" Tab. How much memory is "Safari" and "Safari Web Content" taking? Right now, I have only this one Safari window open (no tabs) and this one, relatively simple (not many images) MacRumors web page opened. It shows 117.8MB for "Safari" and 87MB for "Safari Web Content". I'll grant that Safari on iDevices might be a little leaner than 117.8MB, but even if we cut that to- say- 100MB, it plus one tab of this page is conceptually eating up 187MB of RAM (and note there are other Safari entries in the memory allocation list too- for example, "Safari Networking" at 30.7MB on my machine right now).
If that would be reasonably representative of RAM demand on an iDevice, Safari + about 4 tabbed (simple) pages like this one would eat up all available RAM in a 512K iDevice. But what if we loaded a more elaborate page like- say- CNN: http://www.cnn.com. Now I've got 2 tabs open: "Safari" continues to show about 115MB, "Safari Web Content" has jumped up to 108MB + 76MB. The CNN page has some streaming media and there are some added RAM-hungry items in the Activity Monitor list reflecting that added demand on RAM. There's basically 2 tabs eating a LOT of RAM. If an iDevice user would open- say- 4 tabs like these: 100MB for a more compact Safari + 108MB times 2 + 76MB times 2 + some related RAM needs for certain media on those pages. Ta-dah. 512K probably exceeded, much of the free RAM in a 1GB pool probably allocated. Now run a few other apps on that iDevice that need their own blocks of RAM.
Because they're coded to what the hardware can handle now. Each App maker knows they have RAM up to the net total available within 1GB. Since they want to maximize their revenues, many (most?) will probably target 512K so they can also sell (or advertise) to the crowd still hanging on to older iDevices that lack 1GB. They are not going to code their apps such that they must have more than 1GB (or probably 512K) such that their apps won't work with current iDevices.
The problem is not any ONE app (though Safari may be considered the exception for some) but in multitasking several apps, each hungry for a chunk of RAM while the total pool is hard-capped. If the average app maker targets- say- 256K max RAM usage on some concept of taking up to 50% of the 512K of RAM in older iDevices, if a user gets 3 of those running when they each need 256K, they'll cap out almost all available RAM in 1GB iDevices.
Safari tabs can be like running multiple RAM-hungry apps within one program. Each tab can have a fair amount of RAM needs to hold all the content of each page in memory. 256K is not a LOT of memory for modern, image-heavy web pages. Thus, get a few tabs open in Safari and the RAM is going to be consumed. It has to be flushed for other things (or other tabs) to run.
More RAM resolves much of that problem. The RAM flushing will not be as urgent as there would be more RAM in which to persist the content of a web page (and/or run other apps that need chunks of RAM).
If iDevices were single-tasking devices (and let's face it, they almost are in many ways), 1GB or maybe even 512K can be plenty. But multitasking begs for the hardware to support the "multi" part of that. We have more than 1 core, 64 bit, etc but the crucial RAM remains tight.
Some try to spin the idea that more RAM would lead to lazier programming but that's mostly spin. If Apple believed that, they could still cap max RAM for any one App at some arbitrary (tight) level to mitigate the lazy, so that the free RAM would be there for those multitasking needs such as multiple Safari tabs. For example, Apple could set a hard cap on any one App as if the available RAM was still maxed out at 1GB or 512K. Then the surplus RAM of a 2GB iDevice would be available to better serve the multitasking need.
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What phone with 2GB RAM sells better than the iPhone?
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But his point was simply phones with 2GB RAM
The iPad 3, 4 and Air all have 1 GB RAM. If the Air 2 goes to 2GB, that will curtail the viability of iOS and app upgrades in the future for these devices. The iPad 3 and 4 are already 2+ years old and therefore users should not be complaining. iPad Air users may take it in the shorts, by losing support (relatively) sooner than their predecessor models - maybe like the original iPad.
I wonder if it's directly related to the rumored side-by-side mode, and if Apple will strictly limit the RAM usage per app just as before. Safari is an Apple app so it's feasible they could allow it to have more RAM usage.
Actually there is a max RAM cap per app. It depends on the iOS version and the device but from my memory it was around 600MB for the devices with 1GB of RAM, and if an app goes beyond that the OS will kill it. Sometimes it's a good idea to do some research before making complaints.
I noticed a lot of people are still hanging onto their iPad 4 including myself. I also noticed that the iPad 4 is the iPad3S and the iPad Air 2 is the "S" model.
Normally, I'd pick up the iPad Air at a discount (Microcenter has them already for $399 right now) but since I upgrade every couple of years I'll just pick up the Air 2 with 2GB of RAM.
Well, I can only speak for myself really. I'm holding on to my iPad 4 because the screen is absolutely perfect and I use it as a stationary secondary monitor/system alongside with my custom built overclocked Windows gaming PC. I find the speed of the iPad 4 to be plenty fine and weight is a non-issue since it's stationary. The only thing that really impacts my experience in a negative way is the lack of RAM. That's why I'm hoping the Air 2 will come with 2GB. If not, then the Surface Pro 3 would be a nice companion for my specific use, which I admit, is not quite how most people use their iPads. Then I'd be able to get the full PC experience without turning on my desktop PC which idles at 140w and can't go to sleep because that makes the overclock unstable. But it's a more expensive solution than getting an Air 2. For the honest to God lean back on the couch and use the device as an actual tablet, I have the iPad mini w/retina display and where that is concerned, 1GB is OK for time being.
This is a question for the true engineers out there. At what point would it make sense to get rid of the flash and go to 64gig of RAM?
Now to caveat my question, I get that if you run out of battery you essentially lose everything. Is that the only real issue here? Does RAM consume so much more energy as to make this not doable?
I am trying to better understand the engineering restrictions that might cause Apple to hesitate on adding more RAM, so I am pushing the question to the extreme in order to make things clear.
Thanks for any info that helps me educate myself on this issue.
Now to caveat my question, I get that if you run out of battery you essentially lose everything. Is that the only real issue here? Does RAM consume so much more energy as to make this not doable?
I am trying to better understand the engineering restrictions that might cause Apple to hesitate on adding more RAM, so I am pushing the question to the extreme in order to make things clear.
Thanks for any info that helps me educate myself on this issue.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I'm not making complaints; I'm countering apologist spin. I figured there was some RAM cap per app but that point was to head off the oft-lobbed, "lazy programmer" spin as another reason Apple should NOT increase RAM. The point (again): if Apple was worried about the lazy programmers scenario, they could hard cap individual apps as if the RAM remained at 512K or 1GB. Programmers couldn't be lazy and yet the additional RAM for multitasking could be added.
You confirming that there is already such a cap should crush the lazy programmer spin but it won't. It's a plausible argument against more RAM for those that wouldn't think it through. Lazy is bad so more RAM encouraging lazy is bad. Of course, if Apple actually adds more RAM in a few more days, they won't be called out as bad or stupid for encouraging such laziness. Instead, the herd will shift in praise of the added RAM and such spin against adding RAM will be dismissed as if it was never stated.
Dude, but why? iOS and the hardware are so in tuned with each other that they can utilize the minimum amount of RAM and feel "silky smooth". My 6 runs great even with it's 1GB of RAM.
I doubt it and I say it based on the history of this forum. I don't recall too many praising the iPhone 4, the iPad 2, the Phone 5 or the iPad 3 for doubling the RAM from the previous generation. If anything "the herd" will be the ones who complain about shortcomings of the new iPad. It happened every time. The 1GB RAM is criticized now because it's an easy complaint to make even though for many users it's a legitimate complaint.
When the RAM issue is gone, there'll be other issues perpetuated by "the herd" and Macrumors will be filled by threads discussing how terrible the new iPad is because it has new problems, just like all those devices I've mentioned above.