How much RAM do you need for your next phone?

Last time we talked about what SoC or System-on-Chip and its difference to a CPU. For this article, we will talk about RAM. Yes, I know that you are familiar with RAM and what it does. You might say that as long as you have 2GB, 3GB, and so on and so forth, your phone will perform fine. But are you actually getting the value out of your phone when buying 4gigs or 6gigs of RAM, do you even need that extra RAM or are you even using those RAM?

• What is SoC or System-on-Chip

What is RAM

First things first, what is RAM. RAM stands for Random Access Memory. According to webopedia, “a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly”. Okay, did that make sense to you?

Some might say yes but to explain further, RAM is found in every computer, desktops, laptops, mobile devices and such and provides a temporary storage in order to be quickly accessed by the processor.

How RAM works

Getting the idea now? Here’s a scenario. Your operating system uses RAM in order to be kept running in the foreground, you might notice that the available RAM is reduced because a part of it is reserved already for the OS. Now the RAM allows for you to multi-task – opening multiple applications and allowing you to quickly go back or access previously opened apps.

RAM is not only utilized by the OS or application but also the smallest details that you can see on your smartphone. From on-click animations to bloatware, all of these requires RAM and a good example here would be the ASUS Zen UI and Samsung’s TouchWiz. This is why most people prefer stock android UI due to its speed, add to it the simplicity of the design but still offers the same functionality. Less graphic only means more RAM available for use.

How much RAM do you need

Now we know what is RAM and how it works? Let’s tackle now how much RAM do you need, particularly in a smartphone.

Smartphones are commonly packed with 1GB, 2GB, 3GB, 4GB up to 6GB RAM. Here’s a breakdown for each one of them.

1GB of RAM is aimed for users who wants to experience a basic smartphone. You can watch a video, take photos, send a message, and surf the net. Don’t expect to run casual games since it will struggle to achieve smooth gameplay or it might not be able to maintain the application running due to insufficient memory. If you want a feature-like phone but with Android capabilities, 1GB is enough for you.

2GB of RAM can already provide you enough for doing basic tasks, playing casual to mid range games, a few running tabs in Google Chrome and at least two apps running in the background. This is perfect for users who wants an all around smartphone device without breaking your budget.

3GB of RAM is the sweetest spot for your mid-range needs as it is already enough to handle demanding tasks. You can even leave your game running in the background when you switch to another application. This should be good enough as your daily driver for a year.

4GB of RAM is mostly found on high-end devices and current leading flagship phones. Memory hog applications and games will benefit mostly to this spacious storage and will keep your device running smoothly even though with several applications running in the background. Best performance lands in this category for a hefty price tag.

6GB of RAM is overkilling for a smartphone. Mobile apps cannot even use 5GB. Well, the main point here is future-proofing. OS for mobile devices are annually updated and the more features that they add to it, the more memory is allocated for it. Another factor here would be virtual reality. Smartphones are already supporting virtual reality so running and maintaining this kind of application will eat a lot of resources. This is a good choice for you should you wish to stick with your phone for at least the next 2 years.

That’s about it for this article, if you think we’ve missed out something or if you want to share your thoughts feel free to leave them in the comment section. We hope we were able to provide you some information.