The war between iOS and Android is still strong even today. Obviously, there are valid reasons to fall on either side of the fence, but that doesn't stop people (including us) from endlessly comparing the two to see which is better for your needs.

You may have noticed that Android smartphones now come with a higher RAM capacity. Even if you don't need a lot of RAM on your smartphone for everyday use, the market is filled with smartphones with 8 or even 12GB of RAM. On the other hand, Apple is gradually shrinking the RAM capacity of its iPhones.

In this article, we've explained the reason behind the lower RAM on iPhones.

Why Android Devices Need So Much RAM

RAM is one of the most essential specs that Android power users require in their smartphones. From the very beginning, Android was designed to support many processor types, many manufacturers, and many hardware configurations.

Normally, software written for one kind of system can't just run on another; it has to be ported over, which often involves rewriting the incompatible bits.

To get around this, Android apps have always run on the Java platform. Java is nifty because of its virtual machine: you can write an app once in Java, and then the virtual machine translates that code at runtime to work on whatever system it's on.

A Java Program Structure Layout

But this comes with a cost. The Java virtual machine is complex and requires a lot of RAM, not just to manage the actual processes of the virtual machine itself, but also to hold the original Java code for whatever app is being executed, plus the translated code that gets executed by the system.

Thankfully, the virtual machine in Android has improved over the years and doesn't require as much RAM as it once did. However, if you continue to experience recurring RAM issues, here are some essential Android memory management tips you should be aware of.

Moreover, Android apps are becoming more and more advanced (arguably even bloated) and thus need more RAM to operate. RAM is also needed for background processes, which are common in Android apps.

A Tablet On Loading Interface

Lastly, the Android operating system is built around a method called garbage collection. Apps are encouraged to use as much RAM as they need. Then, every once in a while, Android cleans up the data in RAM that's no longer being used as "garbage" and frees it.

This method, while effective, is most optimal when there's a lot of RAM to play with; otherwise, the system spends too much time collecting garbage.

Does iPhone Have RAM?

Yes, it does. Like Android phones, iPhones need RAM to manage the running of various processes and apps. But iOS (the iPhone's operating system) doesn't need as much RAM as Android. So, why does iPhone have less RAM?

Most top Android smartphones come with more than 6GB of RAM, and some even have 8–12GB. It seems to reason that Android smartphones would not include this much RAM if they didn't require it, right? And if the most recent Android devices have 4–8GB of RAM, how much RAM do iPhones have?

Surprisingly, Apple never specifies the amount of RAM in iPhones. But, in general, bigger or "Pro" versions of iPhones come with greater RAM. For example, the iPhone 13 comes standard with 4GB of RAM, whereas the Pro models offer 6GB of RAM.

Undoubtedly, Apple exerts a lot more control over the entire iOS ecosystem. If you want to use iOS, then you only have one option for a phone: the iPhone. If you want to create iOS apps, then you have to use Apple's tools and do it in Apple's way. This is why Apple rules with a tight fist.

There are many benefits to this, though. Above all, there are different reasons why iOS devices use less RAM as compared to other phones.

1. Hardware Optimizations

Apple's iOS is built only for their hardware and is thoroughly tested by Apple.

It does have another benefit that Android phones frequently lack, i.e., its shared hardware platform. This eliminates the need for Apple to develop robust and flexible system code for other hardware types.

Rather than that, developers can customize the code to the particular hardware specs of the product at hand.

On the contrary, Android needs to support multiple processor types.

2. Stable RAM Management

Social Networking Apps On iPhone

Apple uses a variety of practices to ensure greater RAM management in iPhones. For example, on an iPhone, the system doesn't end a task after a short interval. But on Android smartphones, the default interval to end a particular task is less by default.

This practice eventually creates system instability and higher RAM consumption. Because if you open any app again, the system won't be able to open it from RAM.

Moreover, another thing that adds value on Apple's part is its task prioritization behavior. It means iOS carefully prioritize different tasks based on their severity. For instance, the user interface on iOS devices is rendered with real-time priority, but this is not the case on Android devices.

Android assigns a normal priority to the user interface, and instead, the background process takes a higher priority. This means that apps that are running in the background can get more of the processor's resources, which can make the interface slow down.

3. Background Processes

In the case of Android, several OEMs provide customized operating systems based on the unified Android source code.

Additionally, developers integrate a variety of unique functionalities, such as pre-installed apps and device-specific features. All of this leads to an increase in the number of background processes and the consumption of more and more RAM.

However, this is not the case on iOS devices. Apple's iOS operating system is highly optimized and has been rigorously tested countless times. Unlike Android, iOS limits the use of background processing in order to conserve battery life and improve the user experience.

This is why the latest iOS updates do not have a negative impact on RAM management, and hence the latest iOS devices are more RAM-friendly.

4. Other Reasons

An iPhone On A Table

We've already listed some major reasons why the iPhone has less RAM than Android smartphones. But, there are a few more.

For example, iOS doesn't need a virtual machine with on-the-fly translation as Android does. All apps are compiled to native code, and that code is executed directly on the hardware. No need for a virtual machine means significantly less RAM used overall.

Furthermore, iOS has a different approach to memory management. Whereas Android memory is handled by the operating system, iOS memory is handled by the apps themselves.

Instead of allowing apps to take up as much RAM as they want and freeing it when no longer in use, iOS apps automatically allocate and de-allocate memory as needed.

To summarize, just because iPhones have less RAM doesn't mean they have worse performance. In fact, aside from the never-ending iPhone RAM vs. Android RAM debate, the iPhone performs impressively with its limited hardware resources.

iOS RAM vs. Android RAM: Who Manages It Better?

When it comes to memory management or optimization in RAM, Apple clearly takes up the lead here. This is because of the optimizations and several other factors we've mentioned above.

But, if you're using an Android phone, there are several things you can do on your part to get decent RAM usage and a lag-free smartphone experience. You can, for example, use a third-party app to create virtual RAM, stop unwanted background processes, freeze inactive apps, and so on.