What does having 2 GB of RAM mean?

[muderko]

The Lumia 1020 has 2 gigs of Ram, but where are we going to see the effects of this specifically? Ok, in camera software, but where else might we notice the difference?

I think they might went for 2 GB of Ram because it is going to be the minimum requirememnt for WP blue update, so making the phone future-proof!

 

[stmav]

I think the main thing is the 2GB of RAM will help the phone process the photos smoother and faster. And other performance benefits probably. But you can't roll out a phone with this camera power and have it chugging along on the processing. Also how many people would've complained about that? They have aready said the phones would be upgradable to Blue. I seriously doubt they are going to do anything requirement wise to contradict that.

 

[a5cent]

Apps on WP are limited to a certain amount of RAM. Any app that attempts to use more doesn't get past Microsoft's app testing stages. So, no matter how much RAM a device has, it makes absolutely no difference to any of the apps, as their RAM usage is capped.

For all we know, that extra GB may be nothing more than spec sheet optimization, meaning it does absolutely nothing and has zero affect beyond simplifying the sales pitch. I think that is unlikely, but it certainly wouldn't be a "first".

I've speculated that the extra GB is required to apply special effects to the uncompressed images delivered directly from the camera sensor. This would be of particular importance to effects that combine (or are based on) more than a single image, because a single uncompressed image will easily surpass 100 MB in size. However, there are good reasons to doubt that as well.

It's a good question. I'm hoping to get more info after the L1020 has launched.

 

[theefman]

Apps on WP are limited to a certain amount of RAM. Any app that attempts to use more doesn't get past Microsoft's app testing stages. So, no matter how much RAM a device has, it makes absolutely no difference to any of the apps, as their RAM usage us capped.

For all we know, that extra GB may be nothing more than spec sheet optimization, meaning it does absolutely nothing and has zero affect beyond simplifying the sales pitch. I think that is unlikely, but it certainly wouldn't be a "first".

I've speculated that the extra GB is required to apply special affects to the uncompressed images delivered directly from the camera sensor, particularly if an affect tequires .ote than a single image (because each uncompressed image will easily surpass 100 MB in size) but there are good reasons to doubt that as well.

It's a good question. I'm hoping to get more info after it has launched.

Wont the OS be updated to take advantage of the larger RAM when GDR3 is available? I would expect MS would also add support for larger RAM along with quad cores and full HD screens.

 

[muderko]

Apps on WP are limited to a certain amount of RAM. Any app that attempts to use more doesn't get past Microsoft's app testing stages. So, no matter how much RAM a device has, it makes absolutely no difference to any of the apps, as their RAM usage us capped.

For all we know, that extra GB may be nothing more than spec sheet optimization, meaning it does absolutely nothing and has zero affect beyond simplifying the sales pitch. I think that is unlikely, but it certainly wouldn't be a "first".

I've speculated that the extra GB is required to apply special effects to the uncompressed images delivered directly from the camera sensor, particularly for effects that combine, or are based on, more than a single image (because each uncompressed image will easily surpass 100 MB in size) but there are good reasons to doubt that as well.

It's a good question. I'm hoping to get more info after the L1020 has launched.

That is an interesting analysis. However, I don't think increasing the RAM is only for sales purposes, most OEMs would rather go with CPU numbers to attract sales. When RAM is increased, it definitely means a substantial need for this.

Lets hope the guys at WPcentral can conduct the question to Nokia techs.

 

[muderko]

Wont the OS be updated to take advantage of the larger RAM when GDR3 is available? I would expect MS would also add support for larger RAM along with quad cores and full HD screens.

Could be, but we have no info how will GDR3 or Blue updates be specs-hungry.

 

[drbanks]

It means faster resume times for inactive apps, since there won't be as much need to kick them out of RAM.

 

[a5cent]

Wont the OS be updated to take advantage of the larger RAM when GDR3 is available? I would expect MS would also add support for larger RAM along with quad cores and full HD screens.

Yes. MS will adjust RAM configurations with GDR3, though the number of cores are irrelevant in that regard. What does matter are 1080p displays, as they necessitate larger image buffers, not to mention the higher resolution assets that will find their way into most apps.

However, this device won't ship with GDR3. :-/

Are you saying that this may be useless now, but is being delivered in expectation of the changes to come with GDR3? I think that could be possible.

 

[Kissanviikset]

It could be needed for frame buffer when recording video. They are doing downsampling for video too. Also on device video editing needs it.

 

[theefman]

Yes. MS will adjust RAM configurations with GDR3, though the number of cores are irrelevant in that regard. What does matter are 1080p displays, as they necessitate larger image buffers, not to mention the higher resolution assets that will find their way into most apps.

However, this device won't ship with GDR3. :-/

Are you saying that this may be useless now, but is being delivered in expectation of the changes to come with GDR3? I think that could be possible.

Yes, I'm thinking it could be along those lines, not so much an upgrade in anticipation of GDR3 but a positive side effect of requiring more RAM for the high resolution images.