Beyond the iPhone vs. Android endless fight, If you notice genuinely, iPhone performs well with the limited hardware capacity. High-End Models like Pro or Max in the iPhone can outperform any of the Android Mobile. How are they doing this? If you have 8 or 12 GB RAM Android Mobile with the flagship-level processor, It should perform better than iPhone, Right?. But, the results are different. Below We are going to discuss How iPhone Performing Better with Less RAM. If you notice the benchmark results, You can understand the performance theoretically. Don’t trust the benchmark results. They can be easily manipulated. But they can be used to understand basic number things.
Anyone who has a smartphone with at least 4 GB of RAM or planning to buy is the right choice. Apple is traditionally reluctant to increase the memory size of iPhones, and with good reason: The iOS operating system comes with much less RAM than Android. They can handle any apps with their hardware capacity. But, Smartphone manufacturers who rely on Android to do the same app’s process need high hardware capacity; therefore, they need to equip their devices with more memory to perform several functions at the same time.
How much of RAM does Android using?
The Android operating system alone can claim as much as 1.1-2.8 GB of RAM, which, of course, leaves little room for apps to load their content into the coveted cache. Therefore, Android devices with low RAM often have to struggle with handling apps. You can always view the RAM usage by OS in Developer Options. You can enable the Developer Options If you can’t find it in the settings. To do this; go to settings >>> about >>> Tap on the “Build Number” 7-10 times consistently to enable “Developer Options.
New launchers, Graphics animations, and Custom Skins are used on more and more smartphones in recent years, have significantly increased the need for RAM. These features are, in most cases, reserved for high-end devices, as 2 GB are no longer sufficient. Even Apple equips newer iPhones with 4 GB. For Android smartphones, however, 4 GB RAM has become the minimum standard.
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Devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note series and OnePlus have six, eight, or even 12 GB of RAM. They are future proof. If you bought High RAM, you can use the mobile without changing for a few years, compare with fewer RAM users. The RAM Consumption can vary between Stock Android and Custom Skin OS.
Google Pixel devices can handle a lot of applications with 4 GB of RAM. When you have more RAM, most of the background apps will not hibernate by OS. 4 GB RAM is enough for regular usage. 6 GB RAM is good for gaming. 8 GB RAM is future proof. 12 GB RAM is unnecessary unless you are going to use your mobile as a Desktop version like Samsung Link to Windows or Samsung Dex. You can also refer- How much RAM you need?
How Android handling RAM when using Apps?
Android devices are working based on the Virtual machine concepts. What does the virtual machine do? Well, exercise a necessary layer function. The developers write and compile Android in Java, and it is this virtual machine that is responsible for rewriting it to be able to run on the device we use, regardless of the hardware you are using and the one that was used to write it.
This effectively means a loss of performance, since the virtual machine we talked about before consumes a lot of RAM and other resources. For this trick to work better, the virtual machine always runs with priority over all other processes, and this means that other applications and system processes that are moving in the background are still less priority than the optimal operation of the machine.
To all this, we must add those applications that have their notification system, which requires that they continue to operate in the background. We talk about apps like Telegram or maybe WhatsApp; Who keeps managing all this so that it goes smoothly? Well, the RAM, in which all the instructions executed by the central processing unit (processor) and other computer units are loaded. I Can explain with some scenarios, so, you can better understand the process.
Scenario 1- Your Friend does not receive a message If the threads are not running
You send a message to your friend using the messaging App. If your friend is message app is not running in the background, He/She Will not receive the messages in actual time. They can read the message only when they opened the app. The messaging app can’t push the message in notifications. But, If we can hibernate all apps in the background like that, Android Can use less RAM.
Scenario 2- Your Friend have running background app so he/she will receive a message
You send a message to your friend using the messaging App. Your friend has the app that is running in the Background, So he/she can receive the message on time. So, It is necessary to leave the app threads to be running in the background. Or Else you will not receive messages on time.
iPhone Needs Less RAM than Android. Why?
Since the beginning of iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system was compiled and executed natively. That is, it only ran on devices with the logo of the bitten apple. It is the opposite case of Android, which was thought from its origin so that it could work with virtually any type of hardware. This case is somewhat complicated since it was impossible to configure compilers for each processor that was going to run Android. The answer to be able to do this is a Java virtual machine (JVM).
Knowing how these processes work, we can understand the reason why an iPhone will need less RAM to operate than an Android device. If we go back to the case of iOS 11, we see how the system could be managed correctly with just 1GB of RAM while an Android device required at least three or 4GB to start working correctly.
iPhone has complete Hardware and Software coupled
Yes, they have In-house Chips and Special Software teams. The hardware and Software team know what they do and what they have to do. They know each other works compatibility. The officials only know things. The hardware is coupled perfectly with software. To understand this, Consider Gaming Consoles and Gaming PCs. In the gaming console, you don’t have to worry about the Game Compatibility with the hardware. You buy the game, and you can play it. But, In Gaming PC, It is sturdy, But, You should configure the Hardware accordingly. Sometimes due to the non-compatibility issues, Games can utilize a lot of hardware resources.
Apple never compromises on the hardware. They always go one step further, because they don’t have to sell the chip to third parties to make a profit. They will use their chips only in their products. So, they add more silicon and other materials to reduce heat and increase performance. In Android, there is a wide variety of hardware. Thus, Software Developers can’t dive into every possibility. They provide General Support Apps. Also, Qualcomm does not produce mobiles. They only sell processors. There is a gap between the hardware and software. Android Manufacturers can’t get the full limit of the chips.
iOS With Proper Management Of RAM Than Android
Another point that Apple with iOS wins to Google with Android lies in the excellent management of this RAM, which allows applications to reserve a particular part of memory to function when they reopen after being in a second flat. In Android, this is managed by the operating system itself, and here no reservation is worth it because the apps are using RAM by piece.
If you read the Android scenario examples, You can easily understand the iOS concept. Here your iPhone and Apple Server have Always Live connection. So, Even If the iOS hibernate your message app, The App will send a message to Apple Server, It can send the message to your mobile and wake the hibernated app. So, It can allocate a lot of RAM to currently using apps without completely closing the messages app. This method is not only a limited message app. Most of the stream required apps can use this method.
In the past, the system allowed apps to crash when there was no more RAM available, but now they close directly when they have not been used for a while. This whole system is much more complex and even exciting to see, but it serves as a little explanation to understand what is the reason that an iPhone needs less RAM than an Android device.
For each, we leave the explanation about whether this is an advantage or disadvantage. However, on a personal basis, I think it is a disadvantage for Android that should take a similar course to iOS if they want to have the same performance.
Why Google Can’t do the Same Push Notification process As Apple?
They are already doing this with their Pixel phones. That’s why they utilize Less RAM. But not like Apple. Not all apps are doing the process with Google. Only Google-based apps like Gmail, Google Drive can work with the same process. Also In China, Google can’t do this too. That’s why most of the Chinese region mobiles have High RAM capacity.
More Memory Is Not Necessarily Better
RAM management is everything. Some app’s owners do not design their apps to use RAM correctly. Whether it is full of data up to the top or empty, the RAM always consumes power. This not only means that it does not necessarily make sense to buy a smartphone with a vast memory, which can never be filled anyway. 8 GB RAM with poor management can’t beat the device with 4GB RAM with perfect RAM management.
It also means that one should avoid releasing memory. Unlike in the days when computers had to work or operate with ridiculously small memory, emptying the memory in smartphones is no longer necessary. On the contrary: Removing inactive apps from memory requires them to be reloaded when used again.
What is the main difference in handling RAM between iOS and Android?
The main difference between both operating systems is found in the threads of execution they use. In the case of iOS, the app threads are separated by priority in real-time. In Android, everything happens in the main thread. Some applications use tremendous resources such as the processor and RAM. These result in a delay in the fluidity of some terminals. Lastly, Apple only produces iPhones once per year in the Mobile category. They Optimize their mobiles in both hardware and software as much as possible.
Conclusion
So it’s true that Android terminals need higher amounts of RAM, and Android devices with little RAM often have to struggle with charging breaks, as mentioned earlier. That’s why Android OS versions run out with new features, and to improve the performance of the android terminal, sometimes the apps do not accompany in the best way. So the answer to why iPhone utilizes Less RAM Compare with Android Devices is clear, iOS consumes less RAM than Android. If you have low memory Android phones, you can use Less RAM consuming Android Apps.
Android manufacturers are pushing a lot of hardware improvements like UFS 3.1 Storage to load apps quickly. But, everything depends on the OS and the Apps. So, Hardware improvements can be a part. But, they can’t play the primary role. Does your question is solved? Can Android beat the iPhone in the future in terms of RAM Management? What are your thoughts? Comment below.
Selva Ganesh is the Chief Editor of this Blog. He is a Computer Science Engineer, An experienced Android Developer, Professional Blogger with 8+ years in the field. He completed courses about Google News Initiative. He runs Android Infotech which offers Problem Solving Articles around the globe.
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