The iPhone 4S Appears to Have 512MB RAM

[lilo777]

To put thing in perspective...

Engadget just reported that Samsung Galaxy SIII (which will be released at the beginning of the next year) is expected to have 2GB of RAM and 1.8 GHz CPU. So technically SGSIII will be able to run four copies of iPhone 4S emulator at a time.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Price has nothing, zip, zero, nada, to do with cost. (Except when the cost is so high the company goes bankrupt, which is most certainly not true in Apple's case.) Price is set by the competitive market.

The competitions high-end price point is equally high, and the 4S is out-selling all of the competition's high-end devices. Why should a company take a lower profit if it is selling every one it can make, as well as beating any other product sold by the competition, plus winning the brand awareness wars?

Not to mention having the highest customer service satisfaction rating of any manufacturer of smart phones.

 

[andrewsd]

Management

Maybe their ram management is sufficient. I like others don't care about specs as long as it works. I don't care if it is I the form of a car engine to my computer to my "smart phone."

 

[yeah]

Engadget just reported that Samsung Galaxy SIII (which will be released at the beginning of the next year) is expected to have 2GB of RAM and 1.8 GHz CPU. So technically SGSIII will be able to run four copies of iPhone 4S emulator at a time.

Samsung thinks they can beat the iPhone. NEVER! First of all, a 1.8GHz chip will literally kill the battery in about say.... 3 hours? Second the ram. Who needs 2GB ram? I bet you it will still be slow on android with its power and memory-hungry apps (unlike the iPhone)!

 

[Taz Mangus]

Engadget just reported that Samsung Galaxy SIII (which will be released at the beginning of the next year) is expected to have 2GB of RAM and 1.8 GHz CPU. So technically SGSIII will be able to run four copies of iPhone 4S emulator at a time.

Yea, vaporware is so exciting. Well fancy that another Android flavor of the week is coming.

 

[marty11]

At the least, this infers the the worldwide response is a bit unwarranted, nearly bubble like. The iPhone 4s may be our century's tulips.

I cant imagine people are flocking in droves for Siri. At this point, I'm not sure many even know why they want the 4s today more than they wanted the 4 last month.

Regardless, I now see why they're charging $99 for the 8 gb iphone4 instead of giving it away for free. It is pretty much the same phone for the vast majority of users.

 

[lilo777]

Samsung thinks they can beat the iPhone. NEVER! First of all, a 1.8GHz chip will literally kill the battery in about say.... 3 hours? Second the ram. Who needs 2GB ram? I bet you it will still be slow on android with its power and memory-hungry apps (unlike the iPhone)!

It was reported that Samsung actually sold more smart phones in Q3 than Apple. So, they did beat iPhone in Q3 (but not for the year). And you are wrong about battery life too. For the latest version of their ARM CPU (Exynos 4212) Samsung uses more advanced 32nm tech process (as opposed to 45nm process used by A5) which means smaller transistors and much better power consumption. Same is true for RAM.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Samsung thinks they can beat the iPhone. NEVER! First of all, a 1.8GHz chip will literally kill the battery in about say.... 3 hours? Second the ram. Who needs 2GB ram? I bet you it will still be slow on android with its power and memory-hungry apps (unlike the iPhone)!

The Android phone manufacturers never cared about battery life in the first place. Ever noticed how the Anti-Apple haters can go on and on about vaporware products. It was pretty funny reading the comments about the Nexus Prime where they were getting all excited and could not agree what the hardware specs actaully were. Pretty insecure lot.

 

[Constable Odo]

The number doesn't matter. As long as it functions smoothly, that's all that matters.

Droidtards don't think so and that's why they say the iPhone is a multi-tasking whimp. Droidtards want to run 20 apps in the background to show that Android is a far more capable modern OS. If you can run 20 applications at once on a modern desktop OS, the a user should be able to run 20 apps at once on a modern smartphone OS. 512 RAM in an iPhone is perceived as a fatal weakness in specs that puts Android OS far ahead.

It's been proven that humans function better at task-switching rather than multi-tasking, but Android users are better than that. They need an OS that suits their mental multi-tasking ability. Ergo, the iPhone and iPhone users are definitely an inferior combo. See how well that works out for the superior Droidtards. My RAM memory is bigger than yours so Apple is cheating you.

 

[Taz Mangus]

It was reported that Samsung actually sold more smart phones in Q3 than Apple. So, they did beat iPhone in Q3 (but not for the year). And you are wrong about battery life too. For the latest version of their ARM CPU (Exynos 4212) Samsung uses more advanced 32nm tech process (as opposed to 45nm process used by A5) which means smaller transistors and much better power consumption. Same is true for RAM.

You keep counting those BOGO if it makes you feel better. As far as battery life, I use Android phones and iPhones and the iPhone always outlasts the Samsungs I have at work. Again if it makes you feel better to think the opposite.

 

[atomwork]

Apple has always been stingy with RAM--whether it's in their computers or iStuff. And when they have offered extra RAM on their computers they gouge for it. I have no idea why they do this or why they have such an aversion to increasing the memory capacity of their devices when the costs clearly drop every year while the necessity of the boost goes up every year.

This is just a guess but as a longtime apple user I think that they expect you to buy another product faster. RAM is very inexpensive nowadays. There is no real reason for me why not to give 1GB.

Back in the day's it was the megahertz myth between Motorola processors and Intel. Seems we might have to start defending the iPhone against the other products.

Personally I would do the same as the others....

 

[CalBoy]

At the least, this infers the the worldwide response is a bit unwarranted, nearly bubble like. The iPhone 4s may be our century's tulips.

I cant imagine people are flocking in droves for Siri. At this point, I'm not sure many even know why they want the 4s today more than they wanted the 4 last month.

Regardless, I now see why they're charging $99 for the 8 gb iphone4 instead of giving it away for free. It is pretty much the same phone for the vast majority of users.

Some of us didn't get the 4, so this represents a big jump from a 3g or 3gs.

Also, just because one feature hasn't been upgraded doesn't make the phone completely worthless as an upgrade. Some might want the fantastic camera (check the front page story on that), faster processor, CDMA/GSM combo, better talk time, or perhaps the option of a 64GB phone.

If there's a feature the iPhone 4s is lacking over its competitors, then maybe you'd have a point, but I don't see that at the moment and I doubt any competitor will be able to offer all of these features with the critical eye to design and aesthetics that Apple has.

 

[lukewind]

Ever Get The feeling......

Do you ever get the feeling that 90 percent of the people who complain about how an iPhone functions or feels have never even held one in their hands. Just seem like the whole interent is full of people who overuse other people's opinions to suit their own trolling needs.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Samsung thinks they can beat the iPhone. NEVER! First of all, a 1.8GHz chip will literally kill the battery in about say.... 3 hours? Second the ram. Who needs 2GB ram? I bet you it will still be slow on android with its power and memory-hungry apps (unlike the iPhone)!

Not sure why you are getting wrapped up in this pointless "yours is bigger than mine" or "my daddy can beat your daddy up" argument with the Anti-Apple haters.

 

[MacSince1990]

It's been known since the day after the announcement how much memory the iP4S had >_>

I feel like 768 MB would have been a perfect balance between cost and performance (as well as helping futureproof the phone)

Well I imagine with the A5 that speed will be noticeably improved anyway so 1GB probably wasn't necessary.

This isn't how it works. If the iPhone runs out of memory, it's going to have to hit the flash-based storage, which is much slower. That powerful dual-core A5 processor will be bandwidth starved and waiting dozens of cycles in between operations.

Apple has always been stingy with RAM--whether it's in their computers or iStuff. And when they have offered extra RAM on their computers they gouge for it. I have no idea why they do this or why they have such an aversion to increasing the memory capacity of their devices when the costs clearly drop every year while the necessity of the boost goes up every year.

This is true. My thought has always been that, given the fact that Apple has woefully small profit margins on their computers (at least, that was true during the PowerPC era, I assume it's still true...), they had to find some way to keep their base prices down, while offering options (i.e. RAM) that would make them money. Many people WILL upgrade from the Apple store, and buying $50 worth of RAM for $200 makes Apple a tidy profit without killing their sales the way boosting the base price of the machine would.

By the way.. the price gouge on *all* upgrades and accessories, and always have... notice you need to pay ~$300 for a 2TB HDD

As I have said before, I believe the RAM is limeted to help prolong battery performance.

Which isn't an issue if you simply use denser, 4-Gbit chips.

 

[booksacool1]

No more ram? Damn, that's disappointing. My GF's Touchpad is amazing with its windows-style multitasking (1GB ram). Just swipe to the next app which will be exactly in the state you left it in, no need to worry about multitasking 'support'.

This is compared to my 3GS which really sucks with its measly 256mb. I can fit about one large app (e.g. infinity blade, safari with multiple tabs) into the ram before it starts to chug.

I hoped apple would double it again, so we wouldn't need to worry about it.

 

[ivladster]

NO difference.

Ask anyone on the street how much RAM their phone has, most will ask "What's RAM?" Ordinary people don't care for such tech talk, they care for how it runs and what it does. People don't read rumor and tech blogs like we're here so they wouldn't know the difference.

 

[marty11]

Some of us didn't get the 4, so this represents a big jump from a 3g or 3gs.

Also, just because one feature hasn't been upgraded doesn't make the phone completely worthless as an upgrade. Some might want the fantastic camera (check the front page story on that), faster processor, CDMA/GSM combo, better talk time, or perhaps the option of a 64GB phone.

If there's a feature the iPhone 4s is lacking over its competitors, then maybe you'd have a point, but I don't see that at the moment and I doubt any competitor will be able to offer all of these features with the critical eye to design and aesthetics that Apple has.

It's not about what features it has above the competitors. Apple iPhone has and will be a better phone than the rest, and this will probably hold for years.

The point is for the majority of people, this is a trivial upgrade and therefore the rush to buy it is irrational.

And for those (like us) who keep notes, it's not "one feature". It's the form factor, it's the storage, and now it's the RAM that all remain unchanged. Call it pent up demand.

I estimate that Apple gets one more of these head fake freebies before they have to really innovate again.

----------

Ask anyone on the street how much RAM their phone has, most will ask "What's RAM?" Ordinary people don't care for such tech talk, they care for how it runs and what it does. People don't read rumor and tech blogs like we're here so they wouldn't know the difference.

Which raises my question, why do millions of people want this phone more than the one they were selling last month? Do they even know themselves?

It's a tulip.

 

[twilson]

So Siri will run on jailbroken iPhone 4's?

Seeing as it's reportedly only compiled for the A9 variant instruction set, chances are greatly against it. But should they get round that one, it should be good to go.

 

[Krauser]

Why do people insist on comparing RAM and memory management in iOS and Android... it's literally irrelevant. They both allocate, utilize, and share memory with applications in different ways, with Android utilizing Dalvik and Java, which is traditionally more reliant on greater banks of RAM to be used efficiently. iOS doesn't utilize Java or the Dalvik system for it's programming. To compare the RAM in strictly numbers for each operating system is like someone being mad that the Nissan GT-R only has a 3.6 Liter engine when they're Dodge Viper has a 6.0 Liter one... It's irrelevant and not even comparable, because the GT-R has more horsepower and is much faster around a track. Performance has little to do with numbers... it's how the OS handles what it is given. Android is RAM hungry, iOS is less so. With that said, would it have been nice to have more RAM? Of course, but it doesn't mean its inept to function at a good speed.

 

[wizard]

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Apple has always been stingy with RAM--whether it's in their computers or iStuff. And when they have offered extra RAM on their computers they gouge for it. I have no idea why they do this or why they have such an aversion to increasing the memory capacity of their devices when the costs clearly drop every year while the necessity of the boost goes up every year.

Send an E-Mail to Cook. It will likely be ignored but I suspect Tim has had the most influence on pricing.

There is one fly in the ointment though, the multi chip module does imply a greater cost to add more RAM.

 

[Skoal]

No one cares about androids. I know i don't.

A LOT of people care about Androids. I don't!

 

[D.T.]

To compare the RAM in strictly numbers for each operating system is like someone being mad that the Nissan GT-R only has a 3.6 Liter engine when they're Dodge Viper has a 6.0 Liter one... It's irrelevant and not even comparable, because the GT-R has more horsepower and is much faster around a track.

I largely agree with what you said, and I had to chuckle because I almost wrote something about the GT-R (i.e., V6 and 3700lbs doesn't translate into slow acceleration and poor handling).

That being said, and being a bit of a car nut, I did want to mention: the current R35 GT-R is 3.8L and the current Gen IV Viper is 8.4L, the ACR version of the Viper currently holds the Nurburgring [production car] record of ~7:12

 

[rcalderoni]

Let's keep in mind that the iPhone 4S base model also has 16 GB of Flash storage, and it doesn't take that much longer to page to SSD than RAM. It will use the RAM as it needs, and save things to the storage when not immediately in use. Basically, it won't be a very big deal. All in all the A5 should restore things from the SSD to the RAM faster too.

 

[The Phazer]

Link?

I'm running iOS 5 GM, and the only part of Infinity Blade that stutters is when you hold down the button to make cut scenes skip at double speed. In actual game play it's fine.

I'm running iOS5 GM, and it's virtually unplayable. Clearing out the app tray makes no difference. Not jailbroken.