What is the phone's internal memory and how to use it. The smartphone's memory is dedicated to 32 GB of internal memory, but
How much RAM does a 2017 smartphone need? The answer is more difficult than it might seem at first glance, but it is quite possible. The optimal amount of RAM for a device depends on several variables, and I will try to give a clear and unambiguous answer in a simple and accessible form. I will not complicate the material with technical details, and therefore I apologize in advance to my fellow programmers for possible inaccuracies.
Smartphone RAM: what is important to us?
It’s probably worth mentioning some very simple things, but we won’t dwell on them for long. RAM is the link between the software and the processor. The operating system kernel, applications, service modules, games - all this is stored in internal memory files. The files themselves do not calculate anything, they only contain instructions (code), and the processor does all the calculations.
The smartphone's RAM provides instant communication between programs and the processor. This is a kind of buffer zone, a temporary storage of the information that is necessary for the operation of programs running on your smartphone, including the OS.
Conclusion: the optimal amount of RAM in a smartphone depends on how many applications, modules and services are running simultaneously. And on how much memory each application requires!
So, to calculate how much memory your smartphone needs, you need to evaluate the appetites of the OS, applications and games. This is what we will do.
How much RAM does the system consume?
The operating system - Android or iOS - takes up a decent chunk of RAM. Contrary to popular belief, Android is not much more power-hungry than iOS (applications are another matter). Yes, his piece of the pie is a little larger, but not by much, and for the user this difference is not too significant.
But branded shells like TouchWiz, MIUI or Flyme are a completely different story. They are very hungry for smartphone RAM, and feeding them is much more difficult. Now it's time to look at the hard numbers:
- Pure Android takes from 400 to 600 MB of RAM for its needs.
- Android with proprietary shells - from 1.0 to 1.5 GB.
The difference is significant. Moreover, the figure depends not only on the shell that is on the smart phone, but also on its class. For example, together with service modules and a graphical interface, the flagship Galaxy S7 will have 1.5 gigabytes of RAM, while the mid-range A3 will have 1.2 or even less. The exact numbers depend on the number of useful and not so useful services that are included in startup or enabled by default. Example: Camera module with eye tracking function.
How much memory does a smartphone need for applications?
It may seem that this question is much more difficult to answer, but it’s exactly the opposite. In most cases, the application needs 70-80 MB of RAM. For some, 10 MB is enough, for others, 30 MB is enough, for others, all 150 MB, but the figure rarely rises above 150 MB (with the exception of games, but more about them below in the text).
Smartphone RAM: how much memory do popular applications need (MB)?
Accordingly, you can easily calculate how much memory your smartphone needs for applications. If you rarely launch more than 5-10 applications (messengers, email clients, etc.) at a time, 500-600 MB will be enough for everything. Here we take into account that some of them will be in the background, in which the data is compressed and takes up a minimum of space, so 600 “meters” will be enough!
How much RAM does a 2017 smartphone need for gaming?
How much RAM does a 2017 smartphone need for gaming? And again the situation is the same as with applications. You might think that games take up a lot of RAM, but this is not the case. Even a cool “game” rarely goes beyond the limit of 500 MB - 1 GB, which is confirmed by the experiments of enthusiastic gamers who run up to five demanding games simultaneously.
There will be no lags or slowdowns on 4 GB, and all thanks to the transition of applications (which includes any game) to the background with data compression. The peak consumption of RAM for simple but very popular toys is even less. Numbers on the graph:
Smartphone RAM - how many gigabytes?
So, smartphone RAM - how many gigabytes do you need? I offer a simple calculation algorithm that you can use at any moment, even in a store when choosing a new handset:
- If you have pure Android, which, although rarely, comes across, we allocate about 700 MB for the operating system.
- If a proprietary shell is installed, the operating system will need from 1.2 GB to 1.5 GB, depending on the class of the smartphone and the proprietary shell. A device in the mid-price segment will need a little less, a flagship - all of one and a half gigabytes. We definitely take this into account.
- Now we count the applications. If you extremely rarely launch more than 10 applications at once, we add a maximum of 700 MB. In 99% of cases this is enough. Today we are not talking about cases when a smartphone is used for work.
- There are still games left. We'll give them 1-1.3 GB - that's generous, with plenty to spare!
We get... an Android operating system with proprietary shells + a dozen running applications + a game to boot - all this stuff will require 3-4 GB of RAM. More? Possible, but unlikely. Less? Two gigabytes today is still not enough. That is, for most users the choice is between these two amounts of RAM - 3 or 4 GB.
If so, why do manufacturers bundle devices with 5 GB and even 6 GB of RAM? Just marketing? Not only. Poor optimization of applications often leads to the fact that 4 GB becomes not enough. Memory also varies. The above figures are valid for LPDDR4, but for LPDDR3 they can be multiplied by two (a rough calculation, but simple and more or less true).
There are plenty of nuances, although they do not change our conclusions. I will talk about no less interesting issues - memory type, application optimization, the needs of branded shells, as well as other factors influencing the life cycle of your smartphone in new publications in the “Editor's Column” section. Stay with us.
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Let's go back ten years, when smartphones first appeared on the market. Cloud storage was never as widely available as it is now, which meant that users had to rely only on the internal memory of their phones to store music files, photos and videos. This is not very relevant now - most of us use the cloud to store everything there.
Although this has not stopped manufacturers from increasing the internal memory of their smartphones. We have completely forgotten about 16 GB flagships, and are in a situation where 32 GB, or even 64 GB, is the standard.
But, some people do not need such a large amount of memory. Although you don't see them that often, a good share gets by with eight GB of memory. Most use up to 16 GB without experiencing any problems.
To move away from rhetoric, of course, the required amount of memory is determined by what you want to fill it with. Therefore, please read this article before speaking with a sales consultant.
Typically, choosing the amount of memory depends on the amount you are willing to invest in the device. Let's compare prices for modifications of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro: the version with 16 GB costs 9,400 ₽, with 32 GB - 11,900 ₽, 64 - 13,600 ₽. The difference of 48 GB will cost 4,200 ₽.
But do you really need that much memory? 64GB is borderline absurd for a mobile device, considering you can make much more efficient use of that amount of memory on a laptop's hard drive. But, again, it all comes down to content. Let's try to determine the optimal amount of memory for your needs.
What do we store on our smartphone? The culprits.
One of the main problems in the smartphone experience is exceeding the memory limit when storing content, such as:
1. Photos
Everyone takes photos on their smartphone: children, animals, views from an airplane window, selfies, food, shopping, etc. The point is that it's so easy to take a photo now that we almost always overdo it. Plus, the quality of photos taken with a smartphone increases in quality, and you can see how their weight reaches 4 MB per photo.
If we use this as an average, then 1 GB will hold 256 photos:
16 GB = 4096 photos
32 GB = 8192 photos
64 GB = 16384 photos
128 GB = 32768 photos
Simply put, if you take ten photos a day, you'll fill up your 16GB in just over a year.
...but if you are a “photographer”
A word of warning to photography aficionados, Instagrammers, and new parents: the photos you take will fill up your memory space very quickly. If you occasionally clean your device, you may be able to survive with 16 GB.
But the cleaning is completely doesn't mean you have to delete all your photos(unless they failed), this means that you must transfer them to your computer, or better yet to the cloud - for security and access from anywhere.
Verdict: 16 GB or 32 GB, - this is quite enough to take high-quality photos on a smartphone. If this is your professional hobby, try switching to a digital camera.
2. Games and videos
Applications are also gaining weight with the development of this industry. These days, each of the highly rated games can weigh between 40 MB and more than 1 GB. Improved graphics, faster response time, more complex gameplay, storyline, etc. help attract a wide audience, and many of these games receive millions of downloads every year. But this is an aside. Here are the most popular games you're likely to find on a random tablet:
Angry Birds Star Wars 2 - 44.3 MB
Fruit Ninja HD - 49.3 MB
Asphalt 8: Airborne - 884 MB
FIFA14 – 1.17 GB
Infinity Blade 3 - 1.4 GB
...but if you're a parent from the 2010s
The iPad is a fantastic tool for keeping kids (and some adults) captivated and sitting in a chair in the corner for long periods of time. Parents know the effect that Angry Birds can have on a noisy child, and if you happen to be next to one on a road trip, you probably won't mind letting him immerse himself in the colorful and fun games until his destination.
Prepared parents also have video content on their tablets: children’s cartoons and an abundance of educational programs. Videos can take up a lot of memory (300 MB each), but multiple videos will provide hours of entertainment before it gets boring.
Your apps and video collection are constantly in need of updates, something you'll want to have with you at all times.
Verdict: 16 GB. It's not like photography, where a series of shots appear on a daily basis. But one heavy application can limit the capabilities of others for a very long time.
3. Music
Music can help pass the time on your daily commute and brighten up your leisure time when you're studying, running or even swimming. If you are one of those who cannot live a day without music, you must add music to your mobile device and need enough memory.
However, when it comes to the amount needed for four-minute songs on 5MB in the worst case, one gigabyte will give you two hundred tracks (most of which you'll miss), or 13 hours of continuous audio, or much more than your battery will allow you to hear.
...but if you are a music addict
You can listen to music on online radio or through streaming services. By transferring an unlimited collection to the cloud, you can listen to tracks to suit your mood. With such apps, you don't have to carry a full collection of tracks on your device, leaving room for other content.
If data transfer is an issue where you go, Orbios will soon let you create personalized playlists and listen offline. If you're one of the audiophiles who enjoys high-quality music more than anything else, you'll likely prefer the FLAC format, but even then, 32GB should be more than enough.
Verdict: 16 GB or 32 GB. Alternatively, you can always listen to music on the radio, like in the nineties, or from the cloud.
4. Documents and reading materials
People who prefer reading are lucky because text does not take up memory space. But as long as these are not comics or visually loaded materials. 1GB of free e-books is standard for a tablet or smartphone library.
...but if you always take work home
This is where the need for more memory may arise when the device needs to be filled with business-related applications, utilities and voluminous PDF manuals. 128 GB sounds like the right solution. (We're kidding, of course. All necessary documents can be uploaded to the cloud).
Verdict: 16 GB or 32 GB.
Cloud, cards and cables
The above are the culprits for running out of memory on your mobile device, but 32 GB is still more than enough for all of them. If you need more memory later, you can always count on cloud storage, microSD cards and OTG cables.
Cloud storage
We certainly recommend the Orbios app for your music, videos, e-books and documents, as Orbios has tools for viewing media and text files right in the browser. You can also connect your Google Drive to Orbios, work with files and with the most popular document tool, Google Docs.
microSD cards
Certain Android and Windows devices provide the option to expand memory by adding flash memory. This is a very inexpensive way to add another 32 GB (or sometimes 64 GB, if there is support); the card costs less than seven hundred rubles.
USB cables
OTG USB cables for Android and Windows devices allow the user to transfer data to and from the device to a flash drive, external drive, cloud or other memory. This is another form of expanding memory space and file access capabilities. Apple also has a photo upload kit. The device allows you to add space for new photos without the help of a computer.
Conclusion
If you are the owner of a smartphone with 16 GB or, most likely, 32 GB, then this will completely allow you to not limit yourself in any way in the short time that we spend on devices. More memory will allow you to save more files until spring cleaning, but if you are not a successful entrepreneur, then it is better to spend 2-6 thousand rubles on other things.
You, of course, understood that the main idea is that there are now many ways to optimize memory.
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If you think that €899 is too expensive, then the Chinese manufacturer has prepared for you another model that costs much more.
The Huawei Porsche Design Mate RS has all the features of the P20 Pro, plus a higher resolution display, dual fingerprint scanners (one in-display and one on the back) and up to 512GB of internal storage.
Prices for the device start at €1,695 (about $2,100) for the model with 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory. The model with 512 GB of internal memory sells for a whopping €2,095 (about $2,600).
Huawei Porsche Design Mate RS gets its name from Huawei's collaboration with Porsche Design to create the look and feel of its premium smartphones. In this case, that apparently means moving the triple camera setup from the left side of the smartphone to the center and having a thin top bezel instead of a notch.
The smartphone is equipped with a 6-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2880 x 1440 pixels and curved glass, a Kirin 970 processor, a USB Type-C port and support for two SIM cards.
Like the P20 Pro, the Porsche Design Mate RS has a 40-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x zoom, and a 20-megapixel monochrome camera.
Also on the front of the smartphone is a 24-megapixel front camera, and the device itself is powered by a 4000 mAh battery (with support for fast wireless charging).
Every person, when buying a new smartphone, asks the question: why should I pay more money for a smartphone with 32 GB of memory, if I can buy the basic model and use a MicroSD memory card? Of course, some smartphones do not support memory expansion, but most mobile devices offer this feature.
I was incredibly happy after I found out that the Samsung Galaxy S7 has a slot for MicroSD cards. I completely understand Samsung device lovers who were disappointed with the previous generation flagship, mainly due to the lack of MicroSD card support.
However, a MicroSD card is not able to solve all problems with smartphone memory. If you think that a 32 GB memory card is the equivalent of 32 GB of internal memory on a smartphone, we have to disappoint you. It would be too easy and cost-effective for users to use such a strategy. Now we will explain why 32 + 32 cannot be 64 when it comes to the internal and external memory of a smartphone.
It is worth noting that when you buy a 32 GB smartphone, you do not get the full memory, that is, all 32 GB, since system files take up quite a lot of space.
Smartphones with an operating system version no younger than Lollipop and Kitkat and support for MicroSD cards offer the ability to copy photos and other files to MicroSD memory. In this case, applications or games can only be installed in the internal memory of the mobile device.
The latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow allows you to use external MicroSD memory cards as part of the internal memory. However, this is a double-edged sword. Firstly, not all manufacturers allow you to use the new feature on their smartphones. Secondly, not all applications can be installed on a MicroSD card, and those applications that are lucky enough run much slower than applications on the smartphone’s internal memory.
For example, owners of the aforementioned Galaxy S7 do not have the option to use a MicroSD memory card as internal storage, even though the smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. So, Galaxy S7 users can store photos and videos on the MicroSD card, but not apps and games.
Another significant difference between MicroSD memory and internal memory is speed. MicroSD memory will never perform as fast as a device's internal memory, simply because a MicroSD memory card has 8 pin connectors, while internal memory offers more than twice as much.
A 16GB smartphone can be a good enough device for most people. However, if you like to take photos or record videos, you will need to take care of a MicroSD card. If you are a mobile gamer and install a large number of games, then you need a smartphone with a lot of built-in memory, at least 32 GB.
What do you think about it? Are you using a 16GB + 32GB MicroSD smartphone or another option? Share your opinion in the comments.