The Asus ROG 5 has just been launched with up to 16 GB of RAM – and if you somehow stick to the Ultimate model with limited release, you can keep one of the only smartphones in the world with a whopping 18 GB of RAM . But … what does all that RAM get you?
For years, RAM along with the disk drive and storage space has been used as a short copy for the performance of a phone. The more RAM, the more the phone can do at once: currently open applications use RAM as quickly accessible memory, with excess RAM keeping track of other applications in the background, allowing you to swap back and forth quickly. Graphics-intensive games can also use more RAM to deliver very complex effects on the screen.
The gold standard of Android phones, the Samsung Galaxy S21, contains only 8 GB of RAM, while the S21 Ultra starts at 12 GB and is maximum 16 GB. In our testing, these phones handled every task a consumer went through, from the internet to binging media to games. But it is aimed at mainstream consumers.
So it’s no surprise to us that Asus – itself a manufacturer of game-oriented products – indicates to its demographic of performance enthusiasts that the 18 GB of RAM of its new device is an extravagance that can, in theory, print many pixels.
So does this mean that you will immediately have better graphics in today’s games by playing on an 18 GB phone? According to experts, this is not really so, because you will achieve much the same performance on phones running 12 GB, as long as you play comfortable games.
But we went out of our way to ask one developer to explain exactly how much RAM in their AAA mobile game could help as a case study.
The 18 GB question: how will it improve games now?
Kabam’s Marvel Realm of Champions plays some of the brand’s most iconic heroes in team – based 3v3 arena battles between players. We asked Kaban’s Ethan Young, development director of the game, to explain the differences in playing an older iPhone 6S versus playing a brand new iPhone 12 Pro – so we wanted the highest 18GB RAM end of the performance spectrum. .
“Having 18GB of RAM while playing MARVEL Realm of Champions will eventually reduce loading times during long gaming sessions,” Young told TechRadar in an email. “Because all the assets are stored in the cache, the memory available means that the game does not have to regularly release and reload assets if MARVEL Realm of Champions uses extra memory.”
As we noted in the previous piece, Realm of Champions plays excellently on the 2016 iPhone 6S, which has 2GB of RAM. Young said Kabam ensures that his games can be played on older devices through some compromises: when played on a phone with 3 GB of RAM, the game will have to release and recharge assets regularly as players play the game. enjoy. With more memory, more space can be loaded for assets, allowing for more efficient and enjoyable play. ‘
The game is of course designed to play on a range of phones with different specifications, and it will be a while before 18 GB RAM devices are the norm. Playing Realm of Champions on devices with 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM is just as enjoyable, Young assures.
“The only benefit of phones with an extra memory of more than 8 GB is if you play more than hours in an individual gaming session, although 8 GB devices can also play extended,” he said.
But what 18 GB of RAM can do for tomorrow’s games – especially in mobile e-sports – is another question.
Games use 18 GB of RAM … when more phones have 18 GB of RAM
Mobile games will obviously evolve to take advantage of more powerful components in phones, and we’re already seeing graphs compete with their computer versions – just look at Genshin Impact, suggests Jennifer McLean, chief operating officer at industry analytics firm Niko Partners. But it may take a few years before games appear that can actually utilize 18 GB of RAM.
“As game developers use the new higher-end RAM devices, there needs to be a significant enough installed base before developers will make games that meet the specifications,” McLean said in an email to TechRadar.
However, according to McLean, there are some gamers who can really use 18 GB of RAM: “Mobile esports will NOW benefit greatly from these devices.”
Mobile esports has grown, but is especially embraced in East and Southeast Asia: A Niko Partners report noted that mobile esports generated $ 15.3 billion in 2018, of which $ 5.6 billion came from China alone, compared to $ 16.1 billion earned by PC esports. Mobile esports games have higher installation rates than their counterparts for computers and consoles, which means the revenue per player is better.
Mobile esports need the best performing phones, so consumers can of course equip themselves with higher specifications like the Asus ROG 5. But it’s not just consumers who play mobile esports – pro players and streamers who need these high performance phones can also causes adoption.
“Niko’s data on Asia’s gamers shows that hardware and peripherals used by competitors and streamers also influence gamers and fans to acquire the devices,” McLean said. “If we see competitors and streamers using these more powerful devices, we will see players and fans follow their example.”
Given the release of mobile esports outside East Asia around PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile, along with upcoming titles like the still-in-beta League of Legends: Wild Rift and the newly announced PUBG New State, we can see this phenomenon is becoming even more mainstream in the US and Europe.
The magic RAM number
So the good news is that you do not need to upgrade to 18 GB this year. The amount is aspiring – even the upper limit of phones today with a fast resolution of 12 GB.
‘I do not think there is a perfect number for how much RAM a smartphone needs. It varies depending on the operating system and the application, ”says Anshel Sag, analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. ‘For example, my [Samsung] S21 Ultra uses 75% of the RAM at 10 GB, which means that 12 GB seems reasonable to give breathing space to top models. ”
That makes even 16GB of RAM an edge for consumers to consider, Sag says, although phone configurations have had as much RAM since 2020 when the Samsung S20 Ultra first offered it.
Of course, the rules differ between Android and iOS. Even the iPhone 12 Pro Max has only 4 GB of RAM – and still beats every other phone still released on Geekbench 5 standards (4240 iPhone 12 Pro Max vs 3518 Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, per GSM Arena). This is not exactly new: Apple has always done more with less in terms of RAM, thanks to the logical control of the entire hardware-software ecosystem in its phones.
This is very different from Android, which should work on devices with much more specifications, as Sachin Dev Duggal, founder and CEO of Engineer.ai, explained in a 2019. First post maintenance.
“Android is built for different devices with different hardware specifications, so it needs more memory to execute the right code for the right device,” Duggal said. “Also, apps on Android may require as much RAM as needed, so they collect more data on the RAM, and when not in use, the data is cleared.”
iOS, on the other hand, has several reasons why it needs less RAM – but the most important is memory management: Apple’s operating system “does not rely on the Java virtual machine to execute its codes and the app codes are directly on the hardware exports limit the need for RAM to run virtual machines on iOS, ”Duggal explained.
Since the article was written in August 2019, its aspiration questions are consistent from today’s perspective: Duggal noted that 6 GB of RAM ‘is more than enough to stabilize a device in the future’ and that 8 GB in the near future will be good. 4 GB of RAM was the standard of the day and is still overrepresented in terms of the worldwide distribution of smartphones: after the iPhone 7 and 8 are the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9 (both of the most popular phones in the world outside of China). according to an April 2020 Yahoo Finance report.
But in the two years since Duggal’s estimates, Android phones have included more RAM, and developers are likely to start upgrading their system requirements for more functionality and, in games, more advanced graphics. The high-watermark for RAM will increase as manufacturers of original equipment, or telephone makers, fill more and more of their devices.
“Android is inherently a more memory-hungry operating system, so it seems that OEMs are looking for ways to increase the specifications for differentiation, but also to improve the user experience as apps become more memory-hungry on Android,” Sag pointed out.
In short: you probably won’t need an 18GB RAM phone for a while, but as always, it’s nice to be ahead as developers adapt to the new cutting edge.