The year 2020 has seen a number of high-end smartphone launches. 8GB RAM was among the top features that drew significant consumer attention. With all the hype around new smartphones featuring 8GB RAM, the question begs, do you really need that much RAM?
Does an 8GB RAM smartphone necessarily offer more advantages than, say, a phone with 6GB RAM? And if the answer to that question is yes, how does it translate to everyday usage.
To answer these and many more questions surrounding adequate memory capacities and their practical usage, we delve deeper into the latest phones and how they are used. At the end of the article, you will be able to discern if an 8GB RAM fits your requirements, or if it is money that is best saved for other purposes.
The Evolutions of RAM
The history of RAM is not a very long one. Smartphone consumers weren’t always this focused on RAM usage. Take a quick look at phones before 2015, and you will seldom find phones being sold on the basis of their RAM size. So how did RAM become such an important smartphone component with respect to buyer’s preferences?
In the last couple of years, there has been a significant jump from 2GB RAM to modern phones offering as much as 8GB RAM on budget smartphones. Take, for example, the OnePlus Nord, which offers 8GB RAM in one of its variants. Though OnePlus Nord is a budget smartphone, nonetheless, OnePlus decided to offer 8GB RAM in its phone which costs less than Rs. 30,000.
Latest Applications
The need for high RAM size primarily stems from the user’s online preferences. Today, a large number of apps like Uber, Amazon, YouTube, and WhatsApp are known to consume a significant amount of RAM. A test conducted by YouTube channel, Linus Tech Tips, showed how Google Chrome used up to 1.3GBs RAM.
This number increased by .3GBs for every tab opened. When you consider that this is not taking into account other opened apps and tools being used simultaneously, you’d be surprised at just how much RAM your phone consumes at any given moment.
Although new apps and programs are becoming increasingly more intuitive, interactive, and just simple fun, this has resulted in a demand for memory like never before. Your smartphone is having to work hard executing multiple instructions simultaneously; lower RAM under these circumstances will either result in lags, feel not very smooth, or be prone to system freezes.
Processing Power
The generally held belief that more RAM equals more processing power is only partially true. Your phone’s processor plays an important role in how smooth and snappy your phone feels to the touch. Thankfully, most of the best mobiles under 30000 are powered by the latest multicore processors. This is where RAM capacity comes into play. When mated to sufficient RAM, your high-speed processor can function optimally.
It would be a pity to have a multicore processor powering your smartphone only to be let down by the RAM. This concept of underperforming smartphone hardware is also known as bottlenecking. This slowdown you experience on your phone is due to inadequate memory, which is a pity because it’s not making the most of your smartphone’s full capacity. It is therefore advised to get higher RAM to ensure you are never short of memory.
Future Proofing
As stated earlier, the difference between 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM is hardly noticeable on most modern smartphones. When looking at today’s application demands, you could argue that 6GB is sufficiently adequate.
However, whether that would be the case a year from today seems very unlikely. With applications moving in the direction that they are, there may come a time when even 8GB RAM will become obsolete (although not happening anytime soon). Therefore, it makes sense for your phone to be future-ready when that happens.
8GB RAM may seem like an overkill today; however, one look at the mobile trends over the last year will tell you that it’s a prudent move. Moreover, 8GB RAM smartphones are more affordable than ever, with the best mobiles under 30000, offering a whole host of features.
