Introduction

Friends, nowadays Virtual RAM is available on all recent phones! It comes with different names by different brands! For example, vivo calls it Extended RAM, realme calls it DRE, and Samsung calls it RAM+. You can extend the RAM by 2GB, 4GB, 5GB, and 7GB. Yes, realme’s latest GT Neo 2 has a 7GB RAM extension. And today, I’m going to tell you about Virtual RAM. It’s basically virtual RAM, but what exactly is it?

The Concept of Virtual RAM

So you’re saying it’s a gimmick! How many of you think it’s a gimmick? Many people think that. Is it a gimmick or is it true? -How does it work without the hardware? Ok, he’s saying if there’s no hardware support. But as for hardware, the storage is used which everyone knows. But does it work in reality? That’s the question. Ok, watch carefully, and I’ll tell you it’s simple.

How Virtual RAM Works

What everyone said and you guys already know is that it uses a part of storage as RAM. But, there’s a big but! I’ll give you an example and tell you in simple language. You have 10 apps running in the memory of a 6GB RAM phone, and you’re getting 2GB of extra virtual RAM. Then that 6GB RAM has been consumed by 10 apps, so your 6GB RAM has been filled. Later this 2GB Virtual RAM is created in your storage/ROM through your phone’s software, which is kind of a partition, where you can put your running apps in it.

Common Misconceptions

Many times people think that when 6GB RAM has been filled and if they open a new app, then its RAM requirement will be shifted to virtual RAM. No! It doesn’t happen that way! The already running apps in the RAM will be decided by Android OS, on which apps are to be shifted through software. For example, if your Facebook/YouTube that are continuously refreshed won’t be shifted to virtual RAM. But your Calculator app, if it’s running in the background or such static apps that don’t get refreshed continuously, they’ll be shifted to virtual RAM and due to that the actual RAM’s place will be replaced by a new app. So that is the real basic concept. Have y’all understood now!? Very good!

Advantages and Disadvantages

But there are many advantages and disadvantages to it. Like I said, the biggest disadvantage is the normal apps that you use. For example, Facebook that continuously refreshes or YouTube that gets refreshed, these will never move to virtual RAM. There are some specific apps that can go that are static. So not all apps will be helped by virtual RAM.

Historical Context

There’s another thing, firstly, this isn’t a new concept. It’s an old concept and it happens in PCs that’s now coming to smartphones. Secondly, it’s software-based, meaning you can get virtual RAM through updates as well. So if you don’t have it on your phone, you’ll get that feature via software update.

Practical Considerations

And another interesting thing, the virtual RAMs available on 6GB/8GB/12GB RAM phones. The actual requirement should be in 3GB/4GB RAM phones because their RAM is exhausted quickly. And there’s another disadvantage, if you’re using a 32GB/64GB/128GB phone and your storage gets over, then virtual RAM is of no use. Since your storage is being exhausted, how can the virtual RAM be taken from there? So that’s one of the things to notice as it’s a disadvantage.

Performance Comparison

And the biggest disadvantage, which is why many people call it gimmicky, is because RAM’s read/write speed cannot be compared with storage. For example, for a RAM the read/write speeds are up to 4GBps, and if I talk about UFS2.1 storage type’s read/write speeds, they’re up to 2GBps. Meaning, even if your storage is the latest, it’ll give half the speed compared to RAM. So that thing can never be matched.

Real-World Implications

But there are many mid-range phones with UFS 2.1/eMMC storage that come with virtual RAM, and their speeds are less than 1GBps. It’s sometimes 500-600Mbps, and the RAM speeds are more than 4GBps, so imagine! Is there any use? I mean storage speeds can never match RAM speeds so it’s not going to be equivalent. Yes, there’s a marginal benefit of virtual RAM but not more than that. That’s for sure.

Conclusion

So in a line, if you’ve bought a 12GB RAM phone and an 8GB RAM phone with 4GB virtual RAM, it’ll never match! The 12GB RAM phone speeds in app opening and read/write speeds will never be the same with the 8GB+4GB RAM phone. Do not expect that!

Additional Resources

And if you want to know more basics about RAM and ROM, then I’ve made a complete video on it, do check it out. And I’ve made another video, where I’ve talked about how much of a RAM phone you should buy, so check that out too! So these basic things about a phone are required to know very importantly. I’ve seen many people saying that I’m getting 7GB virtual RAM with the 8GB, so I’m getting a total of 15GB! No, it doesn’t benefit you that much! That’s what virtual RAM is. Yes, there’s a marginal benefit but nothing more than that.

Call to Action

And I’d like to ask you guys, how much RAM is in your phone and how much of it do you use on an average? If you have an 8GB RAM phone, then how much RAM do you use on an average? Do let us know in the comments!