This is as expected but the iPad Air 4 has 4 GB RAM.
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iPad iPad Air 4 has 4 GB RAM
- Thread starter EugW
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3.66 and yep.
For example, this 4 GB iPhone 11 Pro Max shows 3.67 GB.
iPhone 11 Pro Max - Geekbench
Benchmark results for an iPhone 11 Pro Max with an Apple A13 Bionic processor.
browser.geekbench.com
This is great news. If the Air 4 was 3 gb RAM it would have been a little disappointing, but not necessarily a deal breaker, but with 4gb its the cherry on top for a very solid all round product.
3 GB RAM for the iPad Air 4 would have been a major letdown IMO, considering that's what the iPad 7 has, and you could get that in 2019 for $249.
For me, the only amount of RAM that made sense for this model was 4 GB, but it's nice to have confirmation.
So this rounding up is just a made up figure since Apple never stated it should be a full 4 GB nor ever stated the amount of RAM for any iOS device- the weird actual figure would maybe just confuse people even more.
I didn’t expect it to have more than the pro models and 4 GB is the minimum I want in an iPad in 2020.
Now let’s hope that the next Peo model pushes those limits further upwards
No, it’s 4 GB on board. I guess the other bit of RAM is used by the system and not visible to apps.
Geekbench is never able to show the entire RAM amount that we know is physically there from tear downs.
Also, the amount visible in Geekbench varies slightly depending upon the specific model.
It seems to be like that with any device. I think it's just a quirk of how the benchmark software reads the RAM. It doesn't quite match what's physically there. Basically, round to the nearest whole number to know how much RAM is actually installed.
I mean iOS takes up a portion of the Ram as reserved for OS functions. Usually about 512MB give or take depending on screen resolution (I assume the graphics share the memory with the system??). So it’s looking at logically available Ram which is about 3.67GB. Granted 512mb should show 3.5GB but I’m rounding in base 2 format here. My phone (11) shows 3.77GB but my screen resolution is smaller than the iPad Air.
Thanks all for the replies. I thought along the same route as you slookster, but the screenshot just seemed to refer to the total, not the available amount, at least that was my understanding from looking at it. Maybe it could just be a bit better worded.
I’d rather get the Pro and 6gb of RAM, along with all the other things I like about it over the Air 4.
That's your choice obviously. But my thinking is...what app or ipadOS feature is there that the Air4 won't be able to run, it being a 4gb device, in comparison to the 6gb ram Pros? There is none that I have seen or read about. If there is a use-case or app I'm unaware of, please share.
Functionally, what Apples inclusion of 4gb of ram in the new Air4 shows to me, is that the IpadOS will not really leverage extra ram beyond 4gb for the next 2 to 3 years at-least. Lowest common denominator.
Am I wrong in this thought process? Question is for discussion, not specifically for yourself
That's your choice obviously. But my thinking is...what app or ipadOS feature is there that the Air4 won't be able to run, it being a 4gb device, in comparison to the 6gb ram Pros? There is none that I have seen or read about. If there is a use-case or app I'm unaware of, please share.
Functionally, what Apples inclusion of 4gb of ram in the new Air4 shows to me, is that the IpadOS will not really leverage extra ram beyond 4gb for the next 2 to 3 years at-least. Lowest common denominator.
Am I wrong in this thought process? Question is for discussion, not specifically for yourself
In fact, the entry level iPad, which is the one that will probably sell the most units, has 3 GB of RAM, as does the Air 3, which will be supported for years to come. I get that there are some real iPad power users out there who will use every scrap of power they can get, and they're the ones who already know that they're buying the Pro regardless. But for the vast majority the 4 GB in the Air 4 (along with the A14 chip) is going to be more than enough for quite some time.
I personally am very pleased with the Air 4's specs. It's better than I had dared hoped for when rumours first started. I figured it'd have an A13 and still 3 GB of RAM. With the new Pro-like re-design as a selling point I figured that Apple wouldn't try too hard with the internals too.
I'm a bit disappointed, but perhaps without a true cause. I am looking forward to 6GB+ in the next Pros, but my iPad Pro 10.5" has 4GB and does just fine. Not as well as I'd like, but not where it interferes with the experience. I'm sure the iPad Air will be fine other than not being have as many layers in apps like Photoshop or Pixelmator, but those are niche uses for the total population of iPad users I feel like.
While we all speculate on what happened to the rest of the RAM, some fun facts: based on Geekbench 5, both the OG ipad pro and the 10.5 have 3.9GB RAM, the 9.7 pro has 1.92 and the mini 5 has 2.86. While temped by the Air, I think I'll wait for an 11 pro with more than 6GB of RAM... for now I bought the Tab S7+ with 8GB.... By the way, now that I own a 120hz amoled display I wouldn't like to go with anything less than a mini led promotion ipad. Hope it will not just be for the 12.9 as rumors say. My 12.9 still does the job and I'd rather replace my 10.5 with its white spot than the 12.9....
Makes sense.
Im sure it’s going to get updates for many years,that said, with only the 2020 iPad Pros having 6GB RAM, Apple have left some nice headroom for them, I wonder what more they have planned for them. Looks like my 2020 iPP will last me until 2025 at least at this point.
Like everyone else, I was torn between IPP 11” 2020 vs upcoming air 4. I am just a causal user more towards gaming and basic surfing/Netflix. I still chose IPP due to these main factors:
1) I prefer to get a 128gb storage on IPP rather than “hanging in the air” for air 4 (64gb vs 256gb where price is too close to ipp)
2) free air pod for my wife under back to school promo
3) ProMotion, nuff said, personal preference
4) Remaining additional features such as Lidar, 4 speakers, 6gb are bonus to me
1) I prefer to get a 128gb storage on IPP rather than “hanging in the air” for air 4 (64gb vs 256gb where price is too close to ipp)
2) free air pod for my wife under back to school promo
3) ProMotion, nuff said, personal preference
4) Remaining additional features such as Lidar, 4 speakers, 6gb are bonus to me
I also spent a lot of time trying to choose between IPP Promo, Air 3 Promo and Air 4 without Promo. Small price difference considering Promo is well justified and IMHO IPP really is better deal than Air 4. For me Air 4 is more for a show if you absolutely want to have a Pro like looking device but you want to pay a little less.
I ended up with Air 3 for my basic web surfing needs and I though IPP would be a lot of wasted power (and money of course) for that kind of basic use. I also considered a lot of actual screen sizes between 10.5", 10,9" and 11". For me 10.9" with a little bit less width compared to 10.5" and 11" equal width was one of the choosing factors. Also considered added height of 10.9" and 11" was not really much of a benefit for me considering it being such odd aspect ratio when all other iPads have 4:3 (9.7", 10.2", 10.5" and 12.9").
My iPad Pro 10.5 (A10X, 4 GB) reloads both apps and Safari tabs less often than my iPad Air 2 (A8X, 2 GB).
I’ve also noted that children’s interactive websites crash less often on the iPad Pro than they do on the iPad Air 2, although I’m not sure if that’s memory related or due to something else like the SoC. Both run the same version of iPadOS.
Comparisons were on 13.x and earlier but both now are on iPadOS 14.
Indeed.
Apple gradually begin taking more and more advantage of more RAM, that’s what I have noticed, with each new iOS update.
I remember reading similar things being said about the iPad 2 which up until 2012 was still a great iPad but then RAM issues began plaguing it as 512mb RAM was simply not enough as in 2012 the iPad 3 and then 4 were launched both with 1GB RAM. I got the iPad 4 shortly after it launched with its ample (at the time) 1GB RAM on iOS 6, a few years later Apple brought in 2GB RAM iPad the iPad Air 2, I got the Air 2 and used it alongside my iPad 4 before giving the 4 to my little sister for school in early 2016 by this point I had noticed how the iPad 4 was dropping apps and Safari tabs far too regularly, in fact I remember in 2015 seeing threads about people’s iPad Air 1st gens dropping apps and safari tabs that had just been opened or after they open more than 3 tabs, and with each iOS update this got worse.
I have now begun seeing similar behaviour on my iPad Air 2 with its 2GB RAM while my 2020 iPad Pro 11” continues to hold apps and Safari tabs with little effort, I can confidently leave an app or tab open knowing that I will comeback to it and it will be where I left it while on the Air 2 this was becoming less likely.
I’m sure the iPad Air 5 next year will also make the leap to 6GB RAM and we will see each iOS update take more advantage of that, I think Apple has a lot more planned for iPad OS.