Haven't followed this thread: someone please tell me how many sarcastic "I thought 1GB of RAM was enough" comments I've missed so far...
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Video Shows Benefits of 2GB RAM in iPhone 6s
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While that is something we don't know, and he could have done everything right in that respect, there is another systematic error that makes this comparison less impressive than it could have been: He is re-activating the tabs on both phones in the order they were originally loaded. The problem with that is that it only demonstrates that the 6s can hold one more tab in memory. For all we know, the '6' could have kept 9 out 10 tabs in memory and as tab 1 was reloaded, tab 2 was pushed out of memory. We know that this is unlikely given all the other evidence available on the web about how good or bad the '6' is or was.
The demonstration showed that the 6s could hold all the tabs in memory. It doesn't show us how many the '6' could, except that it was at least one less than the 6s.
That wasn't my point, my point was that I don't think that a $1 to $2 cost was the only reason Apple did not put 2 GB RAM into its phones earlier. I don't deny that $1 to $2 of extra cost for a noticeable improvement on $700 device (with a gross margin of 40+%) should be a no brainer. Which is exactly why I think there were additional reasons (they might have been only $5 or $10 reasons but something a bit more weighty than $1).
We think we know everything, but really- until Apple states exactly why they didn't put more RAM in the 6 or 6 Plus (not likely to happen), we can't say for sure. Of course it could very well be that they indeed were trying to shave a dollar or two off the bill of materials, but again- we just don't know.
Of course, it's great that they moved to at least 2 GB across their entire line. Here's to hoping we get 4 GB in the 7s!
Of course, it's great that they moved to at least 2 GB across their entire line. Here's to hoping we get 4 GB in the 7s!
I think that 64-bit was mainly just a code word for more omph than the competition. And if I look at the split-screen mode on the iPad, I think more omph can have bigger impact than RAM alone (sure the split-screen mode also needs more RAM but that is something they could put in whenever they wanted, the 64-bit thing is not something you can decide a few months before launch).
It will be another 5 years before an apple phone has more than 2gb of ram.
I was curious, so I opened up 9 Safari tabs on my 6 Plus. None of them reloaded when I switched back and forth. Got out, played a game, went back, and 4 of the 9 reloaded. But they didn't go white like on the video, they stayed populated but the refresh blue bar showed up. (Full disclosure: I do have an ad blocker installed).
So, I'm excited about the upgrade (my phone comes tomorrow) but I in no way feel that I was cheated with my 6 Plus. It's still an awesome phone.
So, I'm excited about the upgrade (my phone comes tomorrow) but I in no way feel that I was cheated with my 6 Plus. It's still an awesome phone.
So what was the reason? It's not space since larger memory uses the same package size, it's not power, it's not a software compatibility reason.
Right now you can buy memory retail for about $4 a GB. Normal wholesale would be about half of that, and with Apple's purchasing power and aggressive bargaining they very likely pay not much more than $1 a GB.
So the only reason I can think of is greed.
They didn't do it to save a dollar on the iPHone 6, they did it to make the iPHone 6 become obsolete a year sooner than it needed to so they can sell you an iPhone 7 or 7S down the line.
I don't see why you would need more than 8GB of ram in iOS device. By all means work on trying to be right.
"640K should be enough for anyone..."
But I guess if you don't see it, then no-one could possibly have a reason to have more power and capacity in their device. Also no software could possibly be written that would require that much memory, if you can't see it.
Good point. They always leave something out on each device they make so they have something to "fix" on the next one.
Apple Marketing Strategy 101.
Apple are leading edge "innovators" with a huge amount of capital and very clever staff, which means they can't fit 2GB into their $700 phone, until now.
Uh, OK!
I'm no engineer or play one on tv, but maybe the egos of the Apple engineers always thought they didn't need the extra RAM and play the specs game vs Android.
Imagine the performance of Android today on a 1gb iPhone. Yuck. States volumes on behalf of the design of iOS and the iPhone.
This video has really helped me understand this problem. My phone does this with just two tabs open. I thought all along this was an AT&T problem and I was very close to switching carriers. Now I know it's an Apple problem, but I won't be upgrading my iPhone 6. I'm kind of bitter right now. Just picked up my second replacement device today. I'm guessing they'll keep 2gb of RAM for another 4 years.
I had wireless charging with my Palm Pre in 2009-2010. When I upgraded to an iPhone 4 I didn't really miss it at all.
Yeah it's nice to be able to just drop the phone on the charger, but it's not something earth shattering. It doesn't even figure into my choice of phone.
I don't know why precisely except that I've read it has to do with the larger 64-bit registers. Anand did a review on the iPad Air 1 and mentioned the 20-30% impact when doing his testing. He was later hired by Apple. You can read the review I'm referencing here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7460/apple-ipad-air-review/9
I also know that when AMD first brought about 64-bit, I think it was actually 48-bit and therefore the transition wasn't as bad. Not sure exactly what Intel did. Also we need to remember that ARM is an entirely different architecture that isn't quite as efficient at really performance intensive stuff compared to desktop Intel processors. Intel may have found a way to help mitigate it in their architecture?
It was/is. I'd like to see a comparison showing how much faster the battery is drained because of the extra RAM. Then we'd know if the increase to 2GB was worth it. Unfortunately, because many other components changed along with the RAM, that would be very difficult analysis.
Source for that info is here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7460/apple-ipad-air-review/9
"In general you’re looking at a 20 - 30% increase in memory footprint when dealing with an all 64-bit environment"
And if you think the author of that article is some no name guy, he was hired by Apple.