Windows PC makers are still offering plenty of computers with 4GB of RAM (or less). But soon you may be able to buy a smartphone with as much as 8GB of RAM.
We heard rumors last year that LeEco would launch a phone with that much memory. It didn’t happen.
But last week Asus unveiled a smartphone that will ship with 8GB of RAM. And it’s likely that other device makers will follow suit.
SK Hynix has announced the launch of an 8GB LPDDR4X mobile DRAM solution for use in smartphones. The company says not only does it offer more memory than you get in any current smartphones, but it’s also 20 percent more power efficient than LPDDR4.
Do you really need that much RAM in a smartphone? Maybe.
Most existing smartphone apps are optimized to run on devices with far less memory. But the more RAM you have, the better your device will be able to handle multitasking. And as phones with more memory hit the streets, we may start to see some apps take advantage of the option.
The upcoming Asus Zenfone AR seems like a good candidate for a phone that will be able to run resource-intensive apps. Not only will it have 8GB of RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, but the phone is also the first to support both Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform and Google’s Tango solution for creating and interacting with 3D maps of the environment around you.
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Is it true multi-tasking or just the ability to keep programs loaded in memory as new programs are started? My main issue with limited memory on Android phones has been in the car where I might have several program loaded (GPS, music, mileage tracking, etc.) and then when a phone call comes in Android closes out one of those apps. I’ve yet to have that type of issue with 4GB of memory.
That should be totally achievable today even at 1GB by raising the artificial limit on the amount of simultaneously running apps. Or pinning crucial apps somehow. Or, you know, not installing a hefty part of all that Google bloatware.
And amazingly a Windows Desktop experience is still not available on a phone sized device.
Of course it is.
Windows Desktop experience:
https://play.google.com/store/…
or
https://play.google.com/store/…
Soon. With the tech in the new 835 chip, it might be possible now to get a proper Windows OS phone. Or at least I hope.
Would buy that in a friggin’ heart beat.
We had it once: Windows Mobile through 6.x but the bathless .Net horde that has taken over Microsoft couldn’t have it and forever destroyed Microsoft’s mobile ambitions. Downhill ever since, and you can blame Anders Hejlsberg.
Now we just need more phones to use 32GB as the minimum storage option…
Unless you’re buying budget phones, most mid-rangers start or at least offer 32gb no?
Many still use only 16gb, like my moto maxx 2.
Also don’t get why tablets lag behind phones so much 😛