When purchasing a new smartphone, RAM (Random Access Memory) is a crucial specification that many buyers consider, expecting it to directly influence the device’s multitasking capabilities and overall smoothness. However, confusion can arise when the advertised RAM seems higher than what you see on your device.
Here’s what you need to know about actual versus expandable RAM to avoid surprises and understand exactly what you’re buying.
The Difference Between Actual RAM and Expandable RAM
- Actual RAM:
- This is the physical memory that comes built into your smartphone. It’s the foundational memory that runs your operating system, apps, and processes your current data.
- Actual RAM is what you’ll commonly find listed in the phone’s basic specifications on the box or the manufacturer’s website.
- Expandable RAM (Virtual RAM):
- Some smartphones feature the option to expand their RAM using a portion of the phone’s internal storage (ROM). This is often referred to as “virtual RAM.”
- Expandable RAM is essentially a marketing term that indicates the phone can simulate having more RAM than physically present by allocating part of the storage to handle overflow data usually managed by actual RAM.
How Manufacturers Present RAM
Manufacturers may advertise both the actual and the expandable RAM to showcase the maximum potential memory capacity. For example, a phone might come with 4 GB of actual RAM but can be expanded to 8 GB using the virtual RAM feature. This can lead to misunderstandings if not clearly stated.
How to Verify Your Phone’s RAM
- Check the Specifications: Always look at the detailed specifications on the official product website. Here, manufacturers will specify the amount of actual RAM and if the phone supports virtual RAM expansion.
- Device Settings: You can also check your device’s settings under ‘About phone’ or similar sections to see the actual RAM installed.
Activating Expandable RAM
If your device supports RAM expansion, you can activate this feature to increase your device’s operating memory, albeit at the cost of internal storage space. Here’s how you might do it, though the exact path can vary by device:
- Open Settings.
- Navigate to Additional settings or Battery and device care.
- Find and select Memory Extension or a similarly named option.
- Toggle the feature on and choose how much storage you want to allocate to RAM.
Remember, using storage as RAM is not as fast or efficient as actual RAM. It’s useful for light multitasking improvements but might not be suitable for intensive tasks.
Considerations Before Using Expandable RAM
- Storage Space: Using part of your storage as RAM reduces the total available space for apps, media, and other data.
- Performance: Virtual RAM can help with multitasking but don’t expect it to match the performance of physical RAM, especially for high-demand applications like gaming or high-resolution video editing.
- Device Health: Overusing virtual RAM can lead to more wear and tear on the phone’s storage over time.
Conclusion
When choosing a new smartphone, understanding the difference between actual RAM and expandable RAM is crucial. Manufacturers may advertise the combined total to highlight the device’s capabilities, but it’s important to recognize the limitations and trade-offs. Always check the actual specifications and consider how the expandable RAM feature aligns with your needs and usage patterns.
