iPhone SE (2016) Will 3GB of memory still be enough in the next 2 to 3 years on the iPhone SE 2020

[Ixon2001]

I personally think Apple should have put 4GB in the SE 2020 rather than 3GB here why.

This years iPhone 12 are rumoured to have 6GB of memory, next couple of years we could see that bumped upto 8 or even 10GB by 2023, the SE "if they don't update it every year" could still possibly be the only iPhone still being sold in 2023 with just 3GB which could potentially hinder performance on iOS 3 years from now.

If you look back to when the original iPhone SE was launched it came with 2GB same as the 6S, this same 2GB was used right upto the iPhone 8, today there has only been a 2GB bump upto the iPhone 11 series in 4 years this being one of the reasons why iOS 13 still runs great on the original iPhone SE.

In the old days Apple would have stuck with just 4GB for the next couple of iPhone releases before updating it again, but it now looks like they now gone on a yearly update cycle with memory it was 3GB 2018 with the XR & XS, 4GB last year with the 11 series & possibly 6GB this year with the 12 series it maybe 8GB with the 13 series & 10GB with the 14 series.

So if you look at it this way the 2020 SE might not have the same great longevity as the original iPhone SE has had, so those that like to keep their phone's longer than 2 years might start seeing a performance hit by iOS 16.

Which leads me to believe Apple could have purposely gimped the SE 2020, to get people to upgrade in the next couple of years to whatever new SE they have out by then which will more likely have either 4GB or more likely 6GB of memory.

Thoughts.

 

[majkom]

nope, apple went cheap on ram, again...

 

[Ixon2001]

I think this Apple new way of planned obsolescence by upping the memory yearly, rather than every other year or so as they once did.

 

[joeblow7777]

10GB by 2023? I don’t think so.

3GB will be fine for at least a few more years. All current iPads except the Pro line still have 3GB, and iPadOS is built for actual splitscreen multitasking and more demanding productivity apps than a phone.

 

[oVerboost]

3GB RAM is more than enough.

And I cannot see Apple just throwing in more ram unless it is needed. Maybe the Pro models, but if they get that far ahead of the other devices they’ll probably have their own Pro OS separate from iOS.

There’s still no proof what the SE will have 100% until it’s opened up and inspected. Could be 3GB could be 4GB.

Apple don’t plan for a device to go obsolete just to make people buy a new one, the original SE is still fast, secure, reliable albeit with not the best battery life for most but that’s nothing to do with RAM, where it has no real struggles. It will also more than likely get iOS 14 to leave the device on a stable software update so it can continue to run fine. Even my old 5s recently got a security update and is running fine!

 

[imp3rator]

6s has plenty of power for basic usage of common people for next 2 years. Don't worry about RAM, only if you want keep 50-100 tabs of Safari / Chrome in memory.

 

[majkom]

Anyone saying 3gb is plenty and that even 2gb iphones work niw just fine can not be using iphone fore more than calling, messaging and occasional web surfing... 2gigs makes ios devices crippled, any heavy usage is being killed by aggressive ram management, all that just because apple is being cheap on ram.. in 3 years? 3gb iphone will be ****** as 2gb iphones are right now...

 

[imp3rator]

Absolutely disagree

 

[oVerboost]

Anyone saying 3gb is plenty and that even 2gb iphones work niw just fine can not be using iphone fore more than calling, messaging and occasional web surfing... 2gigs makes ios devices crippled, any heavy usage is being killed by aggressive ram management, all that just because apple is being cheap on ram.. in 3 years? 3gb iphone will be ****** as 2gb iphones are right now...

On my original SE I can have YouTube streaming video to my chrome cast in another room, Spotify playing music in the background, taking pictures, opening safari tabs to browse the internet, playing light games or browsing Facebook etc and it has no issues. No crashes, no lag, nothing. And that's got 2GB RAM with software that isn't even optimised for use on it really.

 

[majkom]

than your se must be epic magical one

 

[oVerboost]

than your se must be epic magical one

Everyone knows the SE’s are magic

Or maybe not every device has an issue with RAM management as I’ve said before! Start a poll and see how many people actually have issues... if it was as bad as you say there would be posts popping up daily!

 

[majkom]

would it help?

 

[Glideslope]

I personally think Apple should have put 4GB in the SE 2020 rather than 3GB here why.

This years iPhone 12 are rumoured to have 6GB of memory, next couple of years we could see that bumped upto 8 or even 10GB by 2023, the SE "if they don't update it every year" could still possibly be the only iPhone still being sold in 2023 with just 3GB which could potentially hinder performance on iOS 3 years from now.

If you look back to when the original iPhone SE was launched it came with 2GB same as the 6S, this same 2GB was used right upto the iPhone 8, today there has only been a 2GB bump upto the iPhone 11 series in 4 years this being one of the reasons why iOS 13 still runs great on the original iPhone SE.

In the old days Apple would have stuck with just 4GB for the next couple of iPhone releases before updating it again, but it now looks like they now gone on a yearly update cycle with memory it was 3GB 2018 with the XR & XS, 4GB last year with the 11 series & possibly 6GB this year with the 12 series it maybe 8GB with the 13 series & 10GB with the 14 series.

So if you look at it this way the 2020 SE might not have the same great longevity as the original iPhone SE has had, so those that like to keep their phone's longer than 2 years might start seeing a performance hit by iOS 16.

Which leads me to believe Apple could have purposely gimped the SE 2020, to get people to upgrade in the next couple of years to whatever new SE they have out by then which will more likely have either 4GB or more likely 6GB of memory.

Thoughts.

Given the "realistic" target consumer for the SE, yes, I think 3g will be fine through iOS 14. Let's be honest in here, ok? Just what percentage of SE users are going to be Power Users? Small IMO.

The target demographic will be the phone, text, email, Facebook, Instagram, Tic Tok group. Kids first phones, and older adults that are able to use that small of a screen.

The SE IMO, was primarily developed for the Asian Market. Even with it's higher price overseas it will sell like wildfire from in China and especially in India as that is it's point of origin. "Made at Home" is a huge factor in purchases in India's 1.123 Billion population.

So, yes, 3g will be fine. It's target is in a different universe than an iPhone 12 Pro user.

 

[minimo3]

iOS aggressive memory management that unloads apps from memory if they sit in the background for just a few minutes (introduced in 13) means 4GB is way overkill. Even 2GB is enough assuming they continue with this approach.

 

[azentropy]

3GB is plenty for years to come. It is the most memory Apple has offered with a screen this size ever at the lowest price ever. It is an incredible value at $399. Anyone who really need more than that shouldn’t be buying the budget iPhone because that is really what it is. The specs of the rumored 5.4" iPhone 12 will fill the smaller/powerful iPhone category IMO. I'll be getting the SE now, but will get the 5.4" if the specs pan out.

 

[Kiririn]

Why is everyone trusting the numbers originally from China Telecom (same battery as the 8, 3GB RAM)?

Considering the way ram chips are fitted in iphones, and the fact that there are no 3GB A13 devices on the market, I think 4GB is more likely

 

[JSRinUK]

I sometimes wonder if Apple puts more RAM in the expensive iPhones because they know people will expect it, not because the phone actually needs it. If a phone only needs 2GB of RAM, and Apple want to sell a phone for $1000+ they know that no one will buy it unless it has 4GB of RAM. Or 6GB. Even if the phone doesn’t need it, people expect it.

And if Apple adds $50 worth of RAM into a phone that doesn't need it, but sell that phone for $200 more because of it, they've made more money so they may as well do it.

The target demographic will be the phone, text, email, Facebook, Instagram, Tic Tok group. Kids first phones, and older adults that are able to use that small of a screen.

I think the target and primary demographic for the SE is nothing more than "those who can't afford any other iPhone". That certainly describes me. Either Apple bring out a phone that people like me can afford, or else people like me don't buy iPhones. It's as simple as that.

 

[achappy]

I sometimes wonder if Apple puts more RAM in the expensive iPhones because they know people will expect it, not because the phone actually needs it. If a phone only needs 2GB of RAM, and Apple want to sell a phone for $1000+ they know that no one will buy it unless it has 4GB of RAM. Or 6GB. Even if the phone doesn’t need it, people expect it.

And if Apple adds $50 worth of RAM into a phone that doesn't need it, but sell that phone for $200 more because of it, they've made more money so they may as well do it.


I think the target and primary demographic for the SE is nothing more than "those who can't afford any other iPhone". That certainly describes me. Either Apple bring out a phone that people like me can afford, or else people like me don't buy iPhones. It's as simple as that.

I think you nailed it. It's scary how people have become fascinated with RAM by using anecdotal reasons why they think a phone needs more RAM. My wife has a 7+ (2GB) and it works perfectly fine. My X only has 3GB and that thing flies. I switch quickly between multiple apps (Twitter, Safari, Facebook, IG, Reddit, iMessages) and have no problems. Apps that reload often do it on purpose to "force" you to stay in the app and has nothing to do with RAM. Facebook is known for this.

The new iPad Pros have 6GB I think because Apple felt like they had to to differentiate it more from the 2018 model, not because they needed it. My iPP 10.5" with 4GB flies on iPadOS.

 

[Aika]

2 or 3 years? It will be good for the next 5.

 

[rui no onna]

Personally, yes. Should actually be good for at least 3-5 years.
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Why is everyone trusting the numbers originally from China Telecom (same RAM and battery as the 8)?

Considering the way ram chips are fitted in iphones, and the fact that there are no 3GB A13 devices on the market, I think 4GB is more likely

It seems entirely plausible to me that China Telecom just copy+pasted 8 specs...

Iirc, iPhone 8 has 2GB RAM. It's the 8 Plus and X that have 3GB.

 

[majkom]

Why is everyone trusting the numbers originally from China Telecom (same RAM and battery as the 8)?

Considering the way ram chips are fitted in iphones, and the fact that there are no 3GB A13 devices on the market, I think 4GB is more likely

It seems entirely plausible to me that China Telecom just copy+pasted 8 specs...

8 had 2 gigs, mate

 

[now i see it]

I bet if an iPhone had 32GB or ram built into it, (for the sake of argument) iOS would still aggressively kill apps in the background after a couple minutes.
App reload I believe will always be a part of the iPhone experience no matter how much ram the phone has.

 

[Kiririn]

8 had 2 gigs, mate

Good point, thinking of the plus..., guess the china telecom specs may be more plausible then, updated my post

 

[JPack]

The iPhone SE had a 2.5 year life on the market. The SE2 will likely have the same target. Apple will take it off the market by September 2022.

3GB RAM is plenty for 2.5 years of life.

 

[d5aqoëp]

LMAO OP... even 1 or 2 GB would be ok. Just that you have to face more app refreshes and go easy on post processing of camera. 3 GB is the correct balance (According to Apple) to make you upgrade to next iPhone SE which will have 4 GB.
This is called "polished planned obsolescence".