What is RAM and internal memory in a smartphone?

Types of smartphone memory

Any modern device has two types of memory: built-in (also known as internal) and random access memory (RAM - random access memory).

Information about their capacity is given in the characteristics of the smartphone or tablet and directly depends on its price category, release time and manufacturer.

What is the difference between RAM and built-in memory of a phone?

Having figured out what RAM and built-in phone memory are , let's move on to the question of their fundamental difference.

The main difference between built-in memory and RAM is the indicator of dependence on power supply.

As soon as the device is turned off, all data from the smartphone’s RAM is automatically deleted, and the RAM itself is cleared of information.

The internal memory does not depend on power in any way and saves all user files even after the device is completely turned off.

Other technical differences between the built-in and RAM of a smartphone are shown in the table.

How much internal memory should your phone have (ROM)

The amount of internal memory (ROM) in different smartphones varies from 16GB to 1TB. On the one hand, you can buy a phone with a small capacity and then, if necessary, buy an additional microSD card. What if there is no slot for it? How much memory do we really need on a smartphone? Well, it depends on how you use it. Read on to learn how to calculate the amount of memory you need.

What is RAM or RAM

The abbreviation RAM stands for Random Access Memory and stands for Random Access Memory. In fact, the term Random Access Memory or RAM is a more correct name for random access memory. This term is often used in professional literature for programmers and computer scientists.

As for the abbreviation RAM, it stands for Random Access Memory and also stands for random access memory. All these terms mean the same thing - RAM. Therefore, if the characteristics of a phone or smartphone indicate “RAM 2 Gb” or “RAM 2 GB”, this means that the RAM capacity of this mobile device is 2 Gigabytes.

Also in the characteristics of phones or smartphones you can find abbreviations such as ROM or ROM (the ROM option is rarely used). ROM is Read-Only Memory, and ROM is Read-only memory. These terms refer to the permanent memory of a smartphone (it is also sometimes called internal memory). Therefore, the terms ROM and RAM or RAM and ROM cannot be confused; they denote completely different types of memory and perform different tasks. RAM and RAM are random access memory, and ROM and ROM are permanent (internal) memory.

Features of RAM memory

RAM is the place that any device uses to fill with any data, for example, the operating system, applications used for their intended purpose and those that run in the background. RAM is the storage from where the processor receives all the necessary information directly.

That's why the RAM and processor are located on a single platform module, which is soldered to the motherboard. In the image below you can see the Nexus 5X motherboard. This device has 2 gigabytes of RAM, a processor marked in red, and internal memory marked in orange.

The more RAM you have in your phone, the better the overall performance and speed of the device, although this also depends on the type of memory and build quality of the phone.

An important point: RAM only works when the device is turned on - that is, this type of memory is not capable of storing information after the device is turned off. That’s why there is a slight delay when turning on the smartphone, during which the RAM is prepared to work with the device’s OS.

What is RAM needed for?

Random access memory or RAM is a fast, volatile memory that is present in any computer equipment. It is also found in mobile devices, for example, phones, smartphones and smart watches. RAM is used to store data that the processor needs to operate. In particular, the code of running applications and the data they need are stored in RAM.

As already mentioned, the main features of RAM are high speed and dependence on power. In fact, RAM is the fastest memory in a computer, not counting the registers and cache, which are located directly in the processor itself. Power dependency means that RAM can only store data as long as power is present. As soon as the voltage is lost, all data in RAM is reset to zero. Therefore, RAM is used only for temporary storage of data that the computer needs to operate at the moment. For long-term data storage, read-only memory (ROM) is used, which does not depend on power and continues to store information even after complete shutdown.

What is contained in RAM?

Any smartphone consists of many components. The central processing unit (CPU) has the greatest influence on the performance of the operating system . The second place in this ranking is definitely occupied by random access memory (RAM) . If this component is very slow, and the free space is very low, then the system and most applications will experience stuttering. As an example, let's remember the very first Symbian-based smartphones, the amount of RAM in which was measured in a few megabytes. On those devices, it was almost impossible to pause music playback to answer an incoming call - when returning to the music player, the track would start over again, since there was not enough space in the RAM to store the current position.

The main difference between RAM and permanent memory is volatility. When the power is turned off, the RAM is reset to zero. But this type of memory is much faster than ROM.

Both then and now, RAM is divided into several conventional sections:

• System - here is the operating system (Android, iOS), as well as all sorts of service modules pre-installed by the smartphone manufacturer. A branded shell may also be present in this segment. It is the system section that is filled with information first. The faster the memory used in the device, the faster the operating system loads.
• User - this memory is available after the loading of the OS finishes. It is in this section that the executive files of various applications are contained - Internet browser, instant messengers and others. Also here, firmware additions may gradually appear here, released by the gadget manufacturer in the form of updates.
• Available - a small section reserved by the operating system. This “reservation” is needed to prevent problematic situations and quickly launch new applications.

How to understand the internal storage?

The internal memory of the device is the memory allocated for system files, installed applications and their data. This is similar to the C drive on a computer. It has Windows and programs installed.

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What does the amount of RAM affect?

Manufacturers of phones, smartphones and other smart technology often focus on the amount of RAM. In advertising materials, you can often see loud headlines stating that the device is equipped with 2, 4, 6 or even 8 gigabytes of RAM. But, at the same time, manufacturers rarely explain what exactly the user will receive if he chooses a device with this amount of RAM.

Most users believe that the amount of RAM affects the speed of their phone. This is partly true, because the larger the amount of RAM, the less frequently the system needs to access permanent memory, which is noticeably slower. In practice, this means that the phone responds faster to user actions, opens applications faster, reloads browser tabs less often, etc.

But, you need to understand that the speed of the phone also depends on the clock speed of the processor, the number of computing cores, the clock speed of RAM and software. Therefore, increasing the amount of RAM does not always provide an improvement that could be noticed with the naked eye.

Why do you need RAM and what is stored in it?

RAM in a Samsung phone is the connecting element between the CPU and the device OS. Temporary information that is used by running programs is stored here. Every year the needs of society are growing, and Samsung phone manufacturers are following these trends. New devices increase the size of RAM to improve stability and expand the capabilities of the devices. For example, the popular Samsung Galaxy A5 has 2 GB of RAM, but even this parameter is not enough in many cases.

Increasing OS performance requires more resources due to the increased number of simultaneously running applications. That is why the amount of RAM is growing every year, and in 2022 many devices have 4-6 GB of RAM “on board”. In this case, the speed of operation depends not only on RAM, but also on the correct OS settings. For example, iOS often has a smaller RAM parameter, but in terms of speed they are not inferior to Android phones.

When choosing a smartphone, you need to take into account that many applications immediately “bite off” a large piece of memory. For example, VK takes about 300 MB, YouTube almost 200 MB, WattApp about 30 MB, etc. If there are 8-10 applications open on a Samsung smartphone, the system will consume about 2 GB. That is why at the present stage it is necessary to have RAM of 4 GB or more. Otherwise, constant cleaning of RAM on Android Samsung is necessary. Let's look at how to do this job correctly below.

How to see the amount of RAM

If you want to find out how much RAM is installed in your phone or smartphone, then you can use special applications that provide information about the device. For example, you can use the AIDA64 application, which is available on both Android and iOS.

If you have an Android phone, then you need to launch the AIDA64 application and go to the “System” section.

And in the case of iOS, you need to launch the AIDA64 application and open the “Memory” section.

You can also simply enter the name of your device into any search engine and look up the characteristics on the Internet.

Method one

For this method we need to install the popular AIDA64 application.

1. Launch the newly installed application.
2. Select the “System”
   .
3. We are looking for the line “RAM”
   , opposite which the amount of memory and its type will be displayed.

Method two

This method is not suitable for all smartphones and tablets, but only for those with custom firmware installed. Let's look at the example of Xiaomi Mi5.

1. Go to “Settings”
   one of any available methods and go to
   “My Device”
   .
2. Click on the item “Specification”
   .
3. We find the line “RAM”
   opposite which its volume will be indicated.

As you can see, RAM is far from the last place in modern gadgets. The ideal volume will be different for each user. Some people need their smartphone to “fly” and run all the games, while others just read news on the Internet and communicate on instant messengers/social networks. Select a device according to your needs and then you will not have problems with a lack of RAM.

What RAM is installed in laptops?

The most promising investment is purchasing a laptop.

with fourth generation DDR4 memory and a clock frequency of 2133 MHz.
But you can also use more budget options with SO-DIMM modules with a frequency of 1333/1600 MHz. The optimal amount of memory for laptops
today is considered to be 8-16 GB.

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How much RAM does a smartphone need?

As mentioned above, the Android operating system can take up from 512 MB to 1 GB of RAM. Also, RAM is needed for those applications that will be installed as the device is used. This means that now you should not buy a smartphone that contains less than 2 GB of RAM. And this is already the minimum parameter! If you need to buy a device that will definitely not unload recently launched applications from memory, then you need to think about a device whose characteristics include 4 GB or even more RAM.

Please note that you shouldn’t overdo it either. 8GB of RAM is just a marketing ploy. Android simply cannot yet consume such a huge amount. Only future versions of the operating system will learn how to do this, which, quite possibly, will never arrive on the selected device.

How an Android smartphone uses RAM

To understand whether a smartphone has enough RAM and how much it should have, you need to understand how it is used.

When you launch a new application on Android, the Linux kernel creates a new process. A process is a unit of execution with its own virtual address space (which maps to physical memory). The Linux kernel manages the resources required for this process. These include: processor time, data input and output, and physical memory (RAM).

When there are enough resources, the operation of the kernel is simple. If a process requires more CPU time, the kernel can easily give it more execution time and more RAM.

However, when resources are limited, things get more complicated. If the processor (CPU) of the smartphone is overloaded, the kernel waits for the process to complete. And all this time, the allocated RAM is still occupied. What if there are many such processes? They can quickly eat up all your RAM. And the phone will become an unresponsive brick.

Linux and Android deal with this problem in two ways.

The first method is when Android can allocate part of the internal memory (ROM) for the swap file. This is exactly what operating systems do on computers. When there is insufficient memory, the oldest and least used parts of RAM are written to disk. And the RAM they occupy becomes available to other processes. If this data is later needed, it is read from disk and written back to RAM.

The second way for a smartphone to be fast is to “kill” old processes. Usually these are those that were launched a long time ago and are not currently used

In fact, all phones necessarily use the first and second methods. A larger amount of RAM allows you to use “kill” less often. This is why manufacturing companies increase the amount of RAM in phones literally every year.

What conclusion can be drawn from this information? Smartphone manufacturers are not to blame for the constant growth of RAM. After all, mobile app and game developers are making them increasingly heavier and more demanding.

How much RAM do applications use?

Applications are also different. There are built-in (standard) ones, without which the smartphone cannot work. For example, the “Phone” application. There are games and multimedia programs. Browsers. They all have completely different appetites.

Standard applications use from 130 MB to 400 MB of RAM. There are apps like YouTube and WhatsApp, as well as casual games like Crossy Road and Candy Crush. There are also “media apps” that load a large number of images and therefore use more RAM to display them. For example, Google Photos and Instagram. These applications use between 400 MB and 700 MB of RAM.

Finally, “huge” applications appeared, mainly high-end 3D games. These monsters eat up gigabytes of your smartphone's RAM like a hungry Pac-Man. For example, PUBG Mobile can use between 800MB and 1152MB of RAM.

Believe it or not, the Google Chrome browser also falls into the category of monsters (with only three open tabs).

Why do we need smartphones with 8GB or more RAM?

Unlike computers, Android smartphones do not make applications that they cannot run! Even with 3 GB of RAM, we are not talking about what applications the smartphone will run. We're just looking at how many apps it can store in memory at the same time! Smartphones with 4GB work well, with 6GB it works great, with 8GB it’s probably too much. 10 GB, 12 GB, 16 GB is just stupid. These are examples of marketing gimmicks that increase the price and provide little or no benefit to the user.

How to use

The RAM is divided inside the device:

• A reserve is created that ensures the operation of the operating system.
• A storage of virtual files, data about IMEI (phone identifier number), and network settings is formed.
• A part is allocated for the operation of the graphics adapter.
• The remaining share that is available to the user.

Reserved for the system

Part of the RAM is dedicated to running the kernel—the phone's software. Its size depends on several parameters. This is the version of the operating system, graphical improvements, the number of utilities, and other components.

RAM disk for virtual files

The system tree contains several fake folders. These are pseudo-files that were written during download. They store information about battery level and processor speed.

IMEI and network settings information

This information is located in non-volatile NVRAM. Its data is not erased when the power is turned off. Information about IMEI and network settings is transferred to RAM along with the software when the phone is turned on for the first time. Space for such information is reserved by the system.

RAM for graphics adapter

This memory is called VRAM. It is necessary for temporary storage of images that are transmitted to the screen. Phones use integrated graphics processors that do not have separate VRAM. For this purpose, part of the memory is reserved.

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Remaining free RAM

This component is the portion of RAM that is kept unused. The mobile device needs it for normal operation and launching applications. This volume comes in handy when the system is under heavy load. This happens when downloading a large file, launching a game, or using a graphics editor.

What to do if the available memory is not enough

If the RAM is overloaded, it is recommended:

1. close all active applications (especially those that were opened several days ago and were no longer used);
2. optimize the device (in the “Settings” section);
3. replace “heavy” applications with more economical ones, do not open more than 5 tabs in the browser, etc.

If the methods listed above do not help and you still do not have enough RAM, the only effective option is to purchase a new device.

To comfortably use a smartphone with small amounts of built-in memory, you can use the following methods:

• install a capacious memory card in the gadget and save photos and videos, as well as the most difficult applications, on it;
• disable automatic application updates;
• use special cloud storage to store large volumes of media;
• Regularly remove application caches, unnecessary programs and utilities;
• Once every 2 weeks, manually clear the memory of unnecessary files.

Now you know what built-in and RAM are , what is the difference between them and what phone indicators they have a direct impact on.

With this information, you can choose a smartphone model that will meet both your financial capabilities and wishes, as well as the real needs in the world of digital technology, entertainment and communication.

Signs that internal storage is full

The speed of the smartphone depends on the state of the internal memory. If your device's ROM is almost completely full of app data, photos, and videos, performance will drop dramatically. This is especially critical for users of budget Android phones.

Signs by which it is easy to understand that the device has little space left in the internal storage:

• When installing applications or when recording files, a corresponding notification appears;
• Some programs won't start;
• A running application suddenly exits;
• The operating system takes a long time to load.

How to free up RAM?

Many smartphone owners think that to free up RAM they just need to open the list of previously running applications and then click “Close all”. In part, this actually helps free up some RAM, which will help, for example, run the game better. But sometimes more effective methods are required.

Many branded shells have built-in tools for freeing up RAM. Applications can be unloaded from it automatically, once every certain period of time. But much more often you have to free up memory manually. Let's consider the user's actions using the example of a smartphone from Samsung:

Step 1 : Go to Settings.

Step 2. Click on the “Optimization” item.

Step 3. Wait until the device check is completed, then click on the “RAM” item. Or click on the “Optimize” button if you want to free up permanent memory at the same time.

Step 4. An additional check will be launched in the “RAM” subsection. Then you need to click the “Clear” button. The system will first tell you exactly how much RAM will be freed.

On smartphones and tablets from other companies, the built-in optimizer utility may be located somewhere in the menu; in this case, visiting “Settings” is not required. There are proprietary shells without a built-in ability to free up RAM. Fortunately, no one is stopping the user from downloading a special application from Google Play that does the same thing. Setphone.ru has a separate article about the best optimizers for Android - all you have to do is choose the appropriate option. Let's try to download and install CCleaner.

Step 1. Launch the installed application. When starting for the first time, you will need to click the “Start” button.

Step 2. The program may also offer to upgrade to a paid version. It is devoid of advertising and supplemented with some useful features. If you don’t want to spend money yet, then click the “Continue for free” button.

Step 3. The main window of the application shows the filled amount of ROM and RAM. In order for the program to understand exactly how much volume can be freed, you should click the “Analysis” button.

Step 4. When launched for the first time on new versions of Android, a warning will appear stating that the utility needs permissions to work with certain sections of the operating system. Click the "Clear" button and grant the requested permissions.

Step 5. The analysis can take quite a long time - it all depends on how long ago CCleaner was last launched. When the process is completed, you need to check the boxes next to those elements that can be deleted from permanent and RAM memory. After this, all that remains is to click the “Clear” button.

Step 6. In the future, you can tell the program to automatically clear RAM and ROM. This is done in a separate section. However, to activate this feature you will need to purchase a paid version of the application.

Clearing RAM in modern versions of Android is rarely required. Basically, this action may be needed before starting some very heavy game. In general, you don't have to think about RAM if the amount of this type of memory is equal to or greater than 4 GB.

Built-in cleaning methods

The easiest way to clear RAM on a Samsung phone is to close all unnecessary applications running in the background. To solve the problem, take the following steps:

• go to your Samsung phone settings;
• go to the Applications section;

• click on the Running section (Running, Running);

• pay attention to the amount of RAM consumed;
• choose the program that takes up the most resources;
• Click on the Stop button.

By stopping unnecessary applications, you can clear the RAM of your Samsung phone and speed up its operation. Here you can click on the Clear cache button to unload the ROM (mentioned above).

There is a faster way to clear RAM on Android Samsung. Take these steps:

• click on the square symbol at the bottom of the display;
• look at running applications that look like several windows;
• Move all tabs up to close programs.

Using the methods discussed above, you can quickly clear RAM and improve the performance of your mobile device. To automate this process, you can use special software, which will be discussed below.

Special Applications

There are many programs for cleaning memory (RAM, ROM), which can be downloaded from the application store for Android devices or on various websites. Many of them carry a potential threat (viruses) or burden the phone system. As a result, the speed of the smartphone decreases even more.

It is recommended to clear memory using the tools available in the OS interface. To completely clean it, you can perform a factory reset (all program data will be lost).

Ways to clear RAM on Android

Every mobile phone has pre-installed tools that allow you to clean up your memory. They vary depending on the model and firmware.

Built-in cleaning methods

You can free up RAM in several ways, for example, through settings. Procedure:

1. Go to “Settings”.
2. Open Application Manager (“Applications”).
3. The list will display the programs installed on your phone. Manually open each window and click “Stop” - the utility will complete its work and unload from memory.

Every gadget running Android has an automatic RAM cleaning function. Just hold down the Home button until a menu appears with the programs currently running. They are swiped left or right. On some models, next to the Home button there is another one - in the form of two rectangles located one after the other. Clicking on it opens a similar window displaying running processes. Cleaning RAM using this method is easy and, most importantly, quick.

Phones from Samsung and other manufacturers running Android OS higher than version 7.0 have an automatic optimization utility. How to use:

1. Go to “Settings”.
2. Section "Optimization".
3. Item "RAM".
4. Scanning will begin. If at the end it offers cleaning, press the corresponding button.

The built-in memory unloader is easy to use and significantly speeds up the operation of the device.

Use of third party applications

There are many special utilities that can clear the memory of a mobile device. True, among the diversity, only a few enjoy trust.

Clean Master

This “cleaner” not only rids your phone of accumulated garbage, but also works as a built-in antivirus. Another feature inherent to it is the removal of duplicate files, due to which applications run 30% faster.

Easy to use:

1. When starting, it shows the used memory amount.
2. There is no need to manually delete anything. Go to the “Speed ​​up your phone” section, specify applications, and click “Speed ​​up”.

For phones with a small amount of RAM, such utilities are not recommended, because they also require memory.

RAM Cleaner Lite

A similar, no less effective tool used to close background programs and clean up RAM. The convenience of the widget is that it displays the current state of RAM. Among the advantages are: closes programs, including system ones, with one click (saves battery power), without advertising.

RAM Cleanup

A free utility that can speed up your gadget, save charge and protect the processor from overheating. Peculiarities:

• automatic closing;
• if a specified threshold is exceeded, it cleans automatically;
• customizable colors, background, animations;
• custom cleaning.

Reviews about the utility are positive, but you will have to put up with advertising.

Summarizing

This article made it clear what RAM is in a smartphone. RAM is much faster than flash memory, but it requires a constant supply of energy, without which all information will simply be deleted. We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with how to increase permanent memory - this article is also very relevant for owners of budget smartphones.

Sources:

• https://kevin-seoshnik.ru/android/chto-takoe-operativnaya-pamyat-i-vstroennaya-pamyat-v-smartfone.html
• https://SmartPhonus.com/%D1%87%D1%82%D0%BE-%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5-%D0%BE%D0%B7 %D1%83-%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-ram-%D0%B2-%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%84%D0%BE% D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%85/
• https://DoitDroid.com/ram-i-rom-pamyat/
• https://SetPhone.ru/rukovodstva/operativnaya-pamyat-v-smartfone-chto-dayot-i-skolko-eyo-nuzhno/
• https://TvoySmartphone.ru/uroki/298-skolko-nado-ram-na-android.html
• https://sravnismart.ru/ram_capacity/
• https://35zip.ru/articles/vnutrennyaya_pamyat_mobilnogo_telefona/
• https://besprovodnik.ru/chto-takoe-ozu-samsung-kak-ochistit/

What are the three differences between RAM and ROM?

Programmable ROM into which data is written after the memory chip is created. It is non-volatile. Erasable Programmable ROM in which the data on this non-volatile memory chip can be erased by exposing it to high intensity ultraviolet light. ... Difference between RAM and ROM.