#NewsBytesExplainer: How exactly does virtual RAM in smartphones work?
What's the story
You may often come across terms like Dynamic RAM Expansion, RAM Plus, or Extended RAM in most of the latest smartphones. All these terms essentially mean the same thing: virtual RAM.
While RAM (Random Access Memory) is a high-speed type of storage found in smartphones, the virtual RAM technology gives the devices a similar capacity but in a virtual manner.
Here's more on it.
Context
Why does it matter?
All the tech giants have started introducing the virtual RAM feature in their smartphones, be it a mid-range offering or a premium model.
It is a nifty feature, and some brands have started introducing it on older handsets via updates, too.
But how does the technology work, and should it be a deciding factor when buying a new smartphone? This article answers such questions.
Definition
What is virtual RAM?
RAM is a short-term volatile memory that temporarily stores an app's working data in the background.
With virtual RAM, the software uses a portion of the phone's internal storage as RAM to increase the overall memory virtually.
For instance, if you have a phone with an 8GB/128GB configuration and virtually extend its RAM by 5GB, you get 13GB of RAM and 123GB of storage.
Working
Virtual RAM allows smartphone to load more apps
When you enable the virtual RAM feature, it sends temporary files to the device's allocated internal storage (ROM).
The software then prioritizes and filters which apps need to be stored in virtual RAM. This makes room in the actual physical RAM, allowing you to load more apps.
Once you enable virtual RAM for the first time, you will need to restart the phone.
Difference
Phones without virtual RAM support delete app's temporary files
In smartphones without the virtual RAM feature, if you use the available RAM to its maximum capacity and then open more apps, the system will start an optimization process and delete the app's temporary files.
This allows opening new apps, but the older ones restart instead of resuming from where you left them.
Virtual RAM solves this problem by temporarily expanding the RAM capacity.
Pros and cons
It will work only if enough free storage is available
The virtual RAM feature enables more apps to stay open in the background for a longer period of time, allowing for better multitasking and performance. It simply offers additional RAM at no extra price.
However, performance-wise, physical RAM beats virtual RAM in terms of speed and reliability. Also, virtual RAM will work only if your device has enough internal storage to spare.