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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,663
4,501
I have just read this whole thread and do agree with EugW, secretk and rui no onna. Those who think that since IOS is fast even with 2 GB of RAM means ipad pros don‘t need more than 4 GB are wrong. Speed of the system means very little... IOS does not work like windows and mac, IOS does not become slower when it lacks RAM, it just reloads stuff or crashes... Which means it’s not a platform you can trust for serious work or as your only device if you don’t have enough RAM. When I use some huge (scanned with OCR) PDFs or Word documents, and multitask at the same time, I manage to easily exceed the 4GB RAM of my 10.5 pro and lose data. So yes a 6GB ipad would be more than welcome. And now that Apple litfed the minimum RAM to 3GB, developers will start enabling more features and the need for RAM in the future will only increase. And again this has nothing to do with speed. It‘s all about trusting your device to work (professionally I mean) with your ipad. If you only watch videos and occasionally reply to posts, you can do it pretty well even on a 2GB device (as I am doing now, writing this post from my 9.7 pro)
 

MBX

macrumors 68020
Sep 14, 2006
2,030
817
That’s android and android utilizes RAM differently then iOS.

Don’t you think at least 8gb of ram would be nice in 2020? Especially when more pro apps like Photoshop, etc coming to iPad Pro.

I don’t get it why people don’t want more ram if the price stays the same but we get better and faster iPad’s.
 
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delta0

macrumors 6502
Sep 1, 2018
275
84
London
Don’t you think at least 8gb of ram would be nice in 2020? Especially when more pro apps like Photoshop, etc coming to iPad Pro.

I don’t get it why people don’t want more ram if the price stays the same but we get better and faster iPad’s.
To be fair I would pay more to have more RAM. If it means I can have more capability from the device and apps.
 

Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
Don’t you think at least 8gb of ram would be nice in 2020? Especially when more pro apps like Photoshop, etc coming to iPad Pro.

I don’t get it why people don’t want more ram if the price stays the same but we get better and faster iPad’s.

Ok ? Never said don’t want it but iOS is still different then android and windows which utilizes ram differently.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,961
12,926
Don’t you think at least 8gb of ram would be nice in 2020? Especially when more pro apps like Photoshop, etc coming to iPad Pro.

I don’t get it why people don’t want more ram if the price stays the same but we get better and faster iPad’s.
This happens every single time people start talking about waiting for an iPad with more RAM. Other people claim iOS doesn’t need it and it’s foolish to wait for more RAM, because iOS is not Android or Windows. Every single time.

RAM has been a significant factor in all of my iPad purchases:
I didn’t buy the iPad but bought the iPad 2.
I didn’t buy the iPad Air but bought the iPad Air 2.
I didn’t buy the iPad Pro 9.7, but bought the iPad Pro 10.5”.
I didn’t buy the iPad 6 but bought the iPad 7.

It's less critical for the iPad Pro 2018, but the prices are higher for those too, so I expect more. I don't think the price is right in 2020 for 2018 4 GB iPad Pros at anywhere near retail pricing. Unfortunately, the sales in Canada on the 2018 models have not been enticing, so I'd rather just wait, esp. since I already own an iPad Pro 2nd gen with 4 GB RAM. 6 GB is almost a lock in 2020 IMO. However, I also wonder about the possibility of 128 GB base storage, especially now that the Air and mini lines now come with 64 GB.
 

AutomaticApple

Suspended
Nov 28, 2018
7,401
3,378
Massachusetts
No. You’re comparing an Apple to an orange. Windows needs more ram because it’s resource heavy depending on tasks which is why some apps need a gpu with dedicated RAM.
Windows 10 64-bit requires 2GB of RAM at the minimum. That's on par with iOS/iPadOS. If Apple is going to bump up the minimum RAM requirement to 3GB, it'll be interesting to see how things pan out.
 

Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
Windows 10 64-bit requires 2GB of RAM at the minimum. That's on par with iOS/iPadOS. If Apple is going to bump up the minimum RAM requirement to 3GB, it'll be interesting to see how things pan out.

It’s an Apple to an orange. How tasks run is totally different. You really need 4GB min on windows to run it smoothly imo with 8GB being preferred. That’s why you see even lower end laptops with 8 these days and “premium” sleek laptops between 8-16. That’s not the case with iOS. More RAM is nice but you also got to factor in power consumption. Apple knows when to add more and when needed to will add it but not at the expense of battery life.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,961
12,926
Windows 10 64-bit requires 2GB of RAM at the minimum. That's on par with iOS/iPadOS. If Apple is going to bump up the minimum RAM requirement to 3GB, it'll be interesting to see how things pan out.
3 GB as a minimum for iPadOS will happen eventually, but not any time soon. Remember, the iPad 6 with 2 GB RAM was only discontinued 3 months ago, and Apple still sells the 2 GB iPhone 8. BTW, the iPhone will likely get discontinued in the spring with the new iPhone SE2 or whatever it's called, and it's extremely likely it will get 3 GB RAM. That's why it pains me so much to have to have purchased a 2 GB iPhone 8 this week. I was hoping she could hold off until later this year to get the SE2 but her iPhone 6s was broken and she has needed a new phone for weeks. Finally I got her a decent deal on the iPhone 8 - basically free - with the Boxing Day sales (but the iPhone 7 would have saved her even more money).

Hmm... It's the speaker that's broken. IIRC, she can hear very faint audio through the earpiece, but it's not really useful. I wonder if it could be fixed for say US$40 to use as a backup phone, or a kids' iPod. I currently have an iPhone 5 and iPhone SE, one for each kid, used like this (no SIM). However, the iPhone 5 is way too old now. I just have it because it was given to us free.
 

Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
3 GB as a minimum for iPadOS will happen eventually, but not any time soon. Remember, the iPad 6 with 2 GB RAM was only discontinued 3 months ago, and Apple still sells the 2 GB iPhone 8. BTW, the iPhone will likely get discontinued in the spring with the new iPhone SE2 or whatever it's called, and it's extremely likely it will get 3 GB RAM. That's why it pains me so much to have to have purchased a 2 GB iPhone 8 this week. I was hoping she could hold off until later this year to get the SE2 but her phone was broken and she's needed a new phone for weeks now.

Hmm... It's the speaker that's broken. They can hear very faint audio through the earpiece, but it's not really useful. I wonder if it could be fixed for say US$40 to use as a backup phone, or a kids' iPod. I currently have an iPhone 5 and iPhone SE, one for each kid, used like this (no SIM). However, the iPhone 5 is way too old now. I just have it because it was given to us free.

It’s hilarious you think the iPhone 8 will be discontinued in the spring. It won’t be until the fall with the iPhone 12. There is no trend for discontinue a phone in the spring nor will the 8 start it.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,961
12,926
It’s hilarious you think the iPhone 8 will be discontinued in the spring. It won’t be until the fall with the iPhone 12. There is no trend for discontinue a phone in the spring nor will the 8 start it.
I guess you never bother reading the articles here, or bother checking Apple's release history either.


Kuo also reiterated that Apple plans to release a so-called "iPhone SE 2" in the first half of 2020 too. He has previously said the device will be released by the end of the first quarter with similar features as the iPhone 8, including a 4.7-inch display and Touch ID, but with a faster A13 chip and 3GB of RAM.

The low-cost iPhone will likely start around $399 with 64GB of storage, and come in Space Gray, Silver, and Red, according to Kuo.


If such a phone is released, then there isn't much point in keeping the iPhone 8 around.

In fact, the iPhone 5S was discontinued on March 21, 2016. Guess what was announced that day? It was the iPhone SE, which was its direct replacement.

No guarantees the iPhone 8 will be discontinued in March of course, but there's a good chance it will happen given all the above.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,921
13,274
That’s an outlier not a trend. In that case the se is a 5S with upgraded components. That’s an exception.
Nah, just a different product tier. Rumors are an SE2/9 which is basically an 8 with upgraded components (maybe even some downgraded e.g. 3D Touch) will be released in Spring 2020 as the new low-end iPhone.

Flagships, we still expect the iPhone 12 series to replace the 11 series in Fall 2020.
 

ericwn

macrumors G5
Apr 24, 2016
12,121
10,912
Even 4GB doesn't completely eliminate app/tab reloads. Then again, it looks like I have 129 tabs open right now (several forum threads, Amazon and Best Buy product searches and pages, and a whole bunch of fics). I have a content blocker and only have an ebook reader app and Gmail in the background though. I also have Background App Refresh disabled for most apps. :p

Mind you, it's the media stuff that tend to gobble RAM so I don't know if 3-4GB would get rid of reloads in your case since you regularly do video conferencing.

I am not surprised if 4GB seem insufficient for 100+ tabs.
 
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Homme

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2014
951
869
Sydney
3 GB as a minimum for iPadOS will happen eventually, but not any time soon. Remember, the iPad 6 with 2 GB RAM was only discontinued 3 months ago, and Apple still sells the 2 GB iPhone 8. BTW, the iPhone will likely get discontinued in the spring with the new iPhone SE2 or whatever it's called, and it's extremely likely it will get 3 GB RAM. That's why it pains me so much to have to have purchased a 2 GB iPhone 8 this week. I was hoping she could hold off until later this year to get the SE2 but her iPhone 6s was broken and she has needed a new phone for weeks. Finally I got her a decent deal on the iPhone 8 - basically free - with the Boxing Day sales (but the iPhone 7 would have saved her even more money).

Hmm... It's the speaker that's broken. IIRC, she can hear very faint audio through the earpiece, but it's not really useful. I wonder if it could be fixed for say US$40 to use as a backup phone, or a kids' iPod. I currently have an iPhone 5 and iPhone SE, one for each kid, used like this (no SIM). However, the iPhone 5 is way too old now. I just have it because it was given to us free.

And even now with the 8 being discontinued there is still only one 2GB of RAM device still being sold today

It’s hilarious you think the iPhone 8 will be discontinued in the spring. It won’t be until the fall with the iPhone 12. There is no trend for discontinue a phone in the spring nor will the 8 start it.

And it’s hilarious when not only were you proven wrong in April this year and that you didn’t listen to Ming chi Kuo you seriously forgot back when the OG SE was released guess what happened

That’s right... 5S was discontinued at the same time in spring/autumn of 2016 so I would have naturally expected the 8 to be discontinued when the SE 2020 was out and voila
 
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