The Android ecosystem has always been more memory intensive than iOS or Windows. However, that seems to be taken to newer heights with the advent of handsets such as the OnePlus 3 that flaunts a mighty 6 GB of RAM. If that sounds enough, LeEco is believed to preparing what might be called Le Max 2 Pro featuring an even more exceedingly 8 GB RAM.
Hence, the question that naturally arises is whether this marks the start of a new trend where the race for the top Android handset would be determined by the amount of RAM it flaunts. Interestingly, that seems to be the game that a clutch of Chinese manufacturers have committed themselves to at the moment, even though the real world results of it aren’t too encouraging, to say the least.
For instance, with 6 GB of RAM under its hood, the OnePlus 3 should have the Galaxy S7 covered so far as far as the performance is concerned. That is even more applicable considering the latter comes with just 4 GB RAM and a QHD display even though both feature the same Snapdragon 820 chipset. Unfortunately, a comparison test between the two has proved otherwise with the OnePlus 3 found lagging the S7 even though it is by mere fractions of seconds.
The performance gap is even more perceptible when the OnePlus 3 competes against the iPhone 6S that features just one-third its memory capacity and is almost already a year old. Even with the odds stacked against it, the iPhone whizzes past the OnePlus 3 comfortably.
Hence, that brings us to the question, what’s the use of such an amount of memory when even half of it can be enough? The clamor hasn’t gone unnoticed with the company and OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei already has an explanation, which the memory has apparently been throttled to save on power.
Pei further stated the entire 6 GB RAM is only available to those users who choose to flash a third-party ROM. However, the unwritten implications of such a move will be that the battery will take a hit under such situations.
Hence, perhaps the 4GB of memory that most flagship Android handsets have settled into is the best solution for delivering top notch performance without sacrificing battery life. Rather than going for an outright increase in RAM, the secret could be to adopt better memory management practices to ensure the optimum balance between battery life and performance.
That is exactly what Windows Phone and iOS concentrates on. That should also explain why one might never get to see any iOS or Windows Phone device ever flaunting its RAM strength even though both impress with their performances. In contrast, Android traditionally requires more memory to deliver the same levels of performance. It’s just that companies like OnePlus or LeEco are taking things to a new high. However, while that might add some sheen to the spec sheets, it might be of now use in a real world scenario.
