8 ms·

Not an apples to apples comparison#. iOS uses way less ram than android, plus has memory compression. That’s why Apple gets away with less ram and much smaller

by ricw 2mo ago

Not an apples to apples comparison#. iOS uses way less ram than android, plus has memory compression. That’s why Apple gets away with less ram and much smaller batteries with equal or better performance. # pun intended

UqWBcuFx6NV4r 2mo ago
Careful. If you acknowledge this provable fact you just invite hordes of specs-table-rotted gigahertz-chasers to post replies that completely miss the point.
zenoprax 2mo ago
Regarding memory compression: isn't the use of `zswap` and `zram` commonplace on embedded Linux at this point?
MYEUHD 2mo ago
Of course it's not an apple to apple comparison, the iPhone 7 from the same year was 50% more expensive and had only one third of the RAM (2 GB)
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
- UqWBcuFx6NV4r 2mo ago
  [flagged]
microtonal 2mo ago
plus has memory compression. FYI, Android has had zRAM support since KitKat, which is from (checking notes) 2013. Same year as iOS. iOS uses way less ram than android Common measurements I have seen is around 40%, I wouldn't say way less, but it is definitely less. Still, 3x more for a model in the same year is impressive (and more than needed to be competitive with iOS) and we should give OnePlus credit for it. Sadly a lot of low-ish to midrange phones are going back or sticking to 6-8GB today, thanks to the RAM squeeze and the efficiency of iOS is certainly helping Apple here. Certainly nobody is going to complain about the performance of the iPhone 17, despite only having 8GB RAM. In Android, Samsung doesn't seem to suffer as much. You can pick up an S26 here with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage for 623 Euro, which is a nice midrange price. I guess there are benefits if you can produce your own memory.
- basilikum 2mo ago
  > 623 Euro, which is a nice midrange price [for a phone]. How did we get here?
  - inigyou 2mo ago
    Our central planners allocated all the RAM to AI and almost none to phones.
  - layer8 2mo ago
    Apple is already past that, with the entry-level 17e starting at 700 Euro. The midrange regular 17 starts at 950 Euro. And according to rumors those prices are likely to increase in spring if not earlier.
    - robotresearcher 2mo ago
      > entry-level 17e starting at 700 Euro Which is 30% less than the original iPhone accounting for inflation.
  - robotresearcher 2mo ago
    iPhone 1 launched at 649 Euros in France in 2007 money, or about 980 Euros today. Given inflation and the increased utility of the smartphone, we're almost certainly at the lowest cost per hour of use ever for most people.
    - oarsinsync 2mo ago
      > for most people For most people, salaries have not kept up with inflation
      - xp84 2mo ago
        What's funny is that due in part to minimum wage laws (which caused some of the inflation) the lowest quintile is arguably the one who's kept up with inflation better than the rest, meaning there has been an improvement in the wealth inequality department. But nobody talks about it. Meanwhile I've lost like 20% of my buying power to inflation in the past 3-4 years even taking the meager raises into account.
ProfessorLayton 2mo ago
> iOS uses way less ram than android, plus has memory compression. That’s why Apple gets away with less ram and much smaller batteries with equal or better performance. Yeah, by aggressively purging all my Safari tabs (and Apps) unexpectedly, during the most convenient times, like when I'm going through a tunnel on the train and my cellular connection is at its best. Still infuriatingly common on my 17 Pro with 12GB of RAM.
NamlchakKhandro 2mo ago
Akshully
koyote 2mo ago
iPhones from that era constantly booted apps out of RAM when you toggled between them, making it really slow to have more than a few apps open at the same time. These issues pretty much never happened with these big RAM android phones. I know because I had both and it was night and day. Like going from a netbook to a desktop machine.

by ricw 2mo ago

UqWBcuFx6NV4r 2mo ago

Careful. If you acknowledge this provable fact you just invite hordes of specs-table-rotted gigahertz-chasers to post replies that completely miss the point.

zenoprax 2mo ago

Regarding memory compression: isn't the use of `zswap` and `zram` commonplace on embedded Linux at this point?

MYEUHD 2mo ago

Of course it's not an apple to apple comparison, the iPhone 7 from the same year was 50% more expensive and had only one third of the RAM (2 GB)

deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
UqWBcuFx6NV4r 2mo ago
[flagged]

microtonal 2mo ago

plus has memory compression. FYI, Android has had zRAM support since KitKat, which is from (checking notes) 2013. Same year as iOS. iOS uses way less ram than android Common measurements I have seen is around 40%, I wouldn't say way less, but it is definitely less. Still, 3x more for a model in the same year is impressive (and more than needed to be competitive with iOS) and we should give OnePlus credit for it. Sadly a lot of low-ish to midrange phones are going back or sticking to 6-8GB today, thanks to the RAM squeeze and the efficiency of iOS is certainly helping Apple here. Certainly nobody is going to complain about the performance of the iPhone 17, despite only having 8GB RAM. In Android, Samsung doesn't seem to suffer as much. You can pick up an S26 here with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage for 623 Euro, which is a nice midrange price. I guess there are benefits if you can produce your own memory.

basilikum 2mo ago
> 623 Euro, which is a nice midrange price [for a phone]. How did we get here?
- inigyou 2mo ago
  Our central planners allocated all the RAM to AI and almost none to phones.
- layer8 2mo ago
  Apple is already past that, with the entry-level 17e starting at 700 Euro. The midrange regular 17 starts at 950 Euro. And according to rumors those prices are likely to increase in spring if not earlier.
  - robotresearcher 2mo ago
    > entry-level 17e starting at 700 Euro Which is 30% less than the original iPhone accounting for inflation.
- robotresearcher 2mo ago
  iPhone 1 launched at 649 Euros in France in 2007 money, or about 980 Euros today. Given inflation and the increased utility of the smartphone, we're almost certainly at the lowest cost per hour of use ever for most people.
  - oarsinsync 2mo ago
    > for most people For most people, salaries have not kept up with inflation
    - xp84 2mo ago
      What's funny is that due in part to minimum wage laws (which caused some of the inflation) the lowest quintile is arguably the one who's kept up with inflation better than the rest, meaning there has been an improvement in the wealth inequality department. But nobody talks about it. Meanwhile I've lost like 20% of my buying power to inflation in the past 3-4 years even taking the meager raises into account.

ProfessorLayton 2mo ago

> iOS uses way less ram than android, plus has memory compression. That’s why Apple gets away with less ram and much smaller batteries with equal or better performance. Yeah, by aggressively purging all my Safari tabs (and Apps) unexpectedly, during the most convenient times, like when I'm going through a tunnel on the train and my cellular connection is at its best. Still infuriatingly common on my 17 Pro with 12GB of RAM.

NamlchakKhandro 2mo ago

Akshully

koyote 2mo ago

iPhones from that era constantly booted apps out of RAM when you toggled between them, making it really slow to have more than a few apps open at the same time. These issues pretty much never happened with these big RAM android phones. I know because I had both and it was night and day. Like going from a netbook to a desktop machine.