With the introduction of newer smartphone models, brands like Samsung, OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and realme have been highlighting a feature commonly called extended RAM, known by various names like RAM Plus, Memory Expansion Technology, virtual RAM, and Dynamic RAM Expansion. But what exactly is this feature?
What is extended RAM in smartphones?
Extended RAM, also referred to as virtual RAM, is a feature on some smartphones that designates a section of the device’s internal storage to act as additional RAM. It is designed to keep multitasking a smooth experience especially when the physical RAM is nearing capacity.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term RAM, it stands for Random Access Memory—a high-speed storage component crucial in smartphones for temporarily holding data. Unlike the permanent internal storage, RAM enables quick data access and modification. The larger the RAM capacity of a smartphone, the more apps and tasks it can handle simultaneously. It is therefore an important factor to consider when purchasing a new smartphone.
READ: How much smartphone RAM do you really need?
How does virtual RAM differ from regular RAM?
Physical RAM is a tangible hardware component in smartphones and other devices that provides fast memory access. It’s a volatile memory that stores active processes and applications for quick launching. In contrast, virtual RAM allocates a portion of the device’s internal storage as swap space, acting as a temporary memory buffer.
The term “virtual” indicates that it’s not a physical component like traditional RAM. Although it effectively increases the device’s memory capacity for operations, it doesn’t add to the actual amount of physical RAM.
How does extended RAM work, and what do you gain from it?
Note that the swap space is distinct from zRAM, which is a compressed block device that resides entirely in RAM, serving to compress parts of the RAM that aren’t actively used. By making use of a system known as paging, RAM is segmented into pages to manage and optimize memory usage. When physical RAM gets filled up, less frequently used pages can be moved to either the swap space or zRAM, depending on the setup.
The primary benefit of both virtual RAM and zRAM is their capability to support more applications running concurrently. By doing so, they prevent apps from being prematurely terminated due to lack of RAM, enabling users to effortlessly pick up where they left off, thereby enhancing the overall user experience. Manufacturers see virtual RAM as a cost-efficient alternative, balancing device prices while preparing for memory-intensive future apps. When vivo announced the rollout of its Extended RAM 2.0, the company said that this update would improve multitasking and enable a smoother user experience.
However, if a phone’s internal storage is nearly full, the virtual RAM might not function efficiently. In such cases, the device may need to be more stringent in its memory management, possibly leading to the termination of older apps.
What are the disadvantages of using virtual RAM?
Internal storage is generally slower than RAM, which is why tasks that rely on virtual RAM might run less efficiently than those that only use physical RAM. The performance difference can be evident in activities like gaming or intensive app usage, in which enabling the extended RAM feature doesn’t consistently enhance performance, if at all.
Additionally, relying on the feature means continuous reading and writing to the internal storage. Since flash memory has a finite number of read and write cycles, this can potentially shorten its lifespan (although the impact is arguably minimal in modern flash storage due to advances in technology). Some tests suggest better overall system performance when the RAM expansion feature is switched off.
Is virtual RAM just as good as physical RAM?
It’s worth repeating that virtual RAM is not as fast as physical RAM. Extended RAM was never designed to be a complete substitute for physical RAM but rather serves as a fallback mechanism. In Android smartphones, where one can’t simply expand the built-in physical RAM, users often resort to virtual RAM expansion to cope with limited memory capacity. The use of both in tandem seeks to optimize performance, but physical RAM remains ideal for fast data access over virtual RAM.
How do you check if your smartphone supports extended RAM, and how to enable or disable the feature if available?
To determine if your smartphone supports extended RAM, you’ll have to navigate to specific settings based on your device’s manufacturer. Once the feature is enabled, your phone will allocate space in the internal storage as virtual memory. You may need to restart your smartphone for the allocation to take effect.
Here’s a general guide on how to find the extended RAM feature and what they’re called for some popular brands:
Memory Extension – Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO
- Go to Settings > Additional Settings > Memory Extension
RAM Plus – Samsung
- Go to Settings > Battery and Device Care > Memory > RAM Plus
Dynamic RAM Expansion – realme
- Go to Settings > About Phone/Device > RAM > RAM Expansion
Memory Expansion Technology – OPPO
- Go to Settings > About Phone > RAM > RAM Expansion
Extended RAM – vivo
- Go to Settings > RAM & Storage Space > RAM > Extended RAM
Extended/Virtual RAM – TECNO, Infinix
- Go to Settings > My Phone > MemFusion > Virtual RAM
RAM Expansion – OnePlus
- Go to Settings > About Device > RAM > RAM Expansion
How much extended RAM do you get?
Different smartphone brands and models offer varying virtual RAM expansion capabilities. For example, the OPPO Find N3 Flip supports up to 8GB RAM expansion. The vivo Y36 4G also has up to 8GB of virtual RAM expansion. Samsung’s RAM Plus feature lets users choose among four expansion options – 2GB, 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB – on its compatible phones.
Most brands tend to offer extended RAM in the range of 1GB to 8GB, but there are phones that go beyond this range. For instance, the Realme Narzo 50 has dynamic RAM expansion of up to 11GB for its 6GB+128GB variant. On some brands, the extension size can be set higher after some tinkering on a rooted phone.
Buying a new smartphone? Make sure you know what type of RAM you are getting
It’s crucial to understand the RAM specification of the phone you’re interested in. Be wary of misleading promotional materials that may combine both physical RAM and virtual RAM to present an inflated value.
For instance, the recently launched TECNO POVA 5 Pro highlighted the phone’s 16GB RAM. But if you look closely at the fine print, it says the 16GB RAM is a combination of 8GB physical RAM along with 8GB of extended/virtual RAM. Remember, virtual RAM is just the slower storage that’s repurposed and cannot beat physical RAM in terms of speed and performance. Before making a purchase, verify you’re receiving the hardware you expect.
Is virtual RAM expansion worth enabling? You can test it yourself.
Follow these general steps to see the impact of virtual RAM on your smartphone:
1. Ensure consistent testing conditions—similar battery levels, connectivity, ambient temperatures, etc.
2. Disable your smartphone’s extended RAM feature at first.
3. Use benchmarking apps like 3DMark or GeekBench. Take note of the scores, especially multitasking, memory, and battery metrics.
4. Enable the Extended RAM feature and repeat the benchmarking tests under the same testing conditions.
5. Compare the scores to see if enabling virtual RAM resulted in better results.
Note that benchmarking results do not necessarily reflect real-world usage. Based on our own tests, we got higher scores when the extended RAM is turned off. You should also observe daily task handling under both enabled/disabled virtual RAM configurations to draw comprehensive conclusions.
Do you use the extended RAM feature? Let us know in the comments and share your experiences with it.