The virtual RAM or extended RAM feature on Android devices helps to increase the onboard system memory using a software-based solution. Over the past few years, Android phones have increasingly become more hungry for system memory or RAM. A decade ago, Android smartphones could function with just 512MB of RAM. However, those were much simpler devices compared to the pocket powerhousespeople use today.
In 2022, mostmid-range Android devices have an8GB memory option. Android flagships onthe other hand, come with specs that could put manyPCs to shame. For example, Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, comes with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Other Android smartphones are not far behind, with the OnePlus 1o Pro also offering up to12GB of RAM. Android devices require more memory compared to Apple's iPhones, with the top-endiPhone 13 Pro Max equipped with just6GB of RAM.
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With an ever-increasing requirement for system memory, Android smartphone makers have started introducing a nifty feature called virtual RAM ontheir devices. It works by converting some of the internal storage space to function as extra memory. For example, if a device has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, the feature mightuse around 6GB of space and add it to the system memory. Vivo was the first Android smartphone manufacturer to introduce the now popular virtual RAM feature onits smartphones.
How To Enable Virtual RAM And Its Benefits
DifferentAndroid smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, OnePlus 10 Pro, and others that support the virtual RAM feature do not have one specific way to enable it. However, the process to activate virtual RAM is fairly similar onmost of them. The user needs to go into the settings and search for either the virtual RAM or extended RAM option. From inside the sub-menu, users can activate or deactivate the feature. The smartphone requires a restart whenthe feature is turned on or off. Thedevice must also have enough empty storage space to convert it into RAM.
RAM is mainlyused to launch and switch between applications. Primarily, an app is made upof codes and data. In order to launch, the app needs to load into thememory and it does so by going into a specific memory address. However, when a large number of apps are open, smartphonesbegin closing background programs to conserve memory. It is an issue that virtual RAM solves by increasing the system memory thus allowing more apps to remain open in the background. Likewise, more RAM also makes these apps run smoother and makes switching between them faster.
Manysmartphone manufacturers offer virtual RAM under different names. OPPOcalls this feature Memory Expansion Technology, whileSamsung calls it RAM Plus. Realme labels the feature Dynamic RAM Expansion. Lastly, OnePlus devices offer the featurein the form of Turbo Boost 3.0, in addition to RAM Boost, which is another method of optimizingmemory usage on older devices. Regardless of their different names, the virtual RAM feature works in a similar manner on all eligible smartphones. One notable disadvantage of using storage memory as RAM is an increase in the read/write cycle which could potentially harm the permanent storage. However, smartphone manufacturers are aware of this potential issue and have modified the code on theirAndroiddevices to accommodate these changes.
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Source:Vivo, OnePlus Forums
FAQs
Virtual memory frees up RAM by swapping data that has not been used recently over to a storage device, such as a hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD). Virtual memory is important for improving system performance, multitasking and using large programs.
Should we use virtual RAM in mobile? ›
Is virtual RAM in a phone as good as actual RAM? Virtual RAM on an Android phone may not perform as good as the actual hardware RAM present on a device. This is because the actual RAM has much superior memory transfer speeds as opposed to virtual RAM, which simply uses slower internal storage to expand the RAM.
Is it good to use virtual RAM? ›
Virtual RAM is especially beneficial on devices with low RAM, that is, limited display capacity on the shelves, and the nook is utilised for low-demand items. Virtual RAM is not intrinsically a part of Android and is only added over the top by smartphone brands licensing it from Google.
Is Virtual RAM good or bad for Android? ›
Essentially, it all depends on how you define multitasking. If it is juggling between just two to three active apps, then sure, virtual RAM does help with that. But if you keep switching between 5-6 heavily active apps, virtual RAM won't do anything because it would keep shifting the apps.
How much virtual RAM should I use? ›
Note: Microsoft recommends that virtual memory be set at no less than 1.5 times and no more than 3 times the amount of RAM on the computer. For power PC owners (most UE/UC users), there is likely at least 2 GB of RAM, so the virtual memory can be set up to 6,144 MB (6 GB).
What should I set my virtual RAM to? ›
Microsoft recommends that you set virtual memory to be no less than 1.5 times and no more than 3 times the amount of RAM on your computer. For power PC owners (like most UE/UC users), you likely have at least 2GB of RAM so your virtual memory can be set up to 6,144 MB (6 GB).
Should I turn off virtual RAM? ›
While some users do shut off automatic management, or virtual memory features as a whole, our official recommendation is to leave it in place. If you are comfortable reducing the size based on your usage that can be done safely, but disabling this entirely is not necessarily safe.
Does increasing virtual RAM increase performance? ›
Why does increasing virtual memory not help improve game performance? The only way to increase virtual memory is to change the CPU. It is by increasing CPU speed (with a faster processor) and adding more physical memory (when that is possible for a computer) that any program (not just a game) can run faster.
Why is it better to use RAM than virtual memory? ›
Using virtual memory makes a computer run slower, as the processor has to wait while data is swapped between hard disk and RAM. As secondary storage devices have slower access times than RAM, the computer's processing performance can be severely impaired.
Why is it better to get more RAM than virtual memory? ›
If your computer is running slowly due to a lack of RAM, you might be tempted to increase virtual memory because it is less expensive. However, adding RAM is a better solution because your processor can read data from RAM faster than from a hard drive.
Despite its advantages, virtual memory also has a negative side to it. It has been observed that virtual memory operates at much slower speeds than computer RAM. If the OS juggles data between virtual memory and RAM continuously, it can slow down the computer considerably.
What does virtual RAM do in Android? ›
Virtual RAM is a tech that uses software to make a tiny fraction of the storage memory to support RAM or memory. But don't get confused! If a brand is offering 4GB of virtual RAM, this doesn't mean your phone's RAM is 4GB. It just means that the storage unit of your phone has a 4GB space dedicated to RAM.
Does virtual RAM affect battery? ›
Virtual RAM is very very slow compared to RAM so it's used to store memory from programs running in the background. You're opening yourself up to having a ton of open apps on your phone that may drastically hurt your battery life.
What happens if virtual memory is too high? ›
The bigger the virtual memory space, the bigger the adress table becomes in which is written, which virtual adress belongs to which physical adress. A big table can theoreticaly result in slower translation of the adresses and therefore in slower reading and writing speeds.
How much virtual memory should I set for 8GB? ›
As a rule of thumb, the paging file should be a minimum of 1.5 times the size of your installed RAM, and a maximum of 3 times your RAM size. For example, if you have 8 GB RAM, your minumum would be 1024 x 8 x 1.5 = 12,288 MB, and your maximum would be 1024 x 8 x 3 = 24,576 MB.
What should my virtual memory be with 16 GB of RAM? ›
As a general guideline, the virtual memory size is often set to a value that is equivalent to or slightly larger than the amount of installed RAM. For a system with 16GB of RAM, setting the virtual memory size to 16GB or a bit higher is a common recommendation.
Does virtual RAM increase battery life? ›
Virtual RAM is very very slow compared to RAM so it's used to store memory from programs running in the background. You're opening yourself up to having a ton of open apps on your phone that may drastically hurt your battery life.
Does RAM plus make your phone faster? ›
In theory, RAM Plus improves multitasking on your Galaxy phone by allocating part of your phone's internal storage as virtual memory. However, in reality, it may make your Galaxy devices run slower.
