Why apps need 1GB RAM in WP when it can run on 512MB on other OS?

[Aniruddh Sharma]

If games that can run on iOS with 256 mb ram properly can't run on WP with 512 MB ram, does It not defy the logic that the whole argument of WP being a light OS and not a hardware hog like Android? Which should eventually result into WP devices being more and more like Android requiring all the latest and greatest hardware to run the basic apps properly?
Or am I missing something here? Can anyone clarify?

 

[Aniruddh Sharma]

Clearly you are an impatient person.

Can't really understand the logic of patience here. Because most of the people would not be as aware as we are coz of these forums and they buy a product to use it today and not what it would be after 8-10 months!

 

[Dantekai14]

Clearly you are an impatient person.

Clearly you are not understanding the problem here.
I am repeating again - isn't late coming of apps on WP store enough that it require few more month to run on 512MB RAM devices.

Do, I have to set WP OS quality standard below Android because these apps easily runs on 512MB RAM devices? Forget the iOS on which it can run even on 256MB RAM.

 

[SnailUK]

Clearly you are not understanding the problem here.
I am repeating again - isn't late coming of apps on WP store enough that it require few more month to run on 512MB RAM devices.

Do, I have to set WP OS quality standard below Android because these apps easily runs on 512MB RAM devices? Forget the iOS on which it can run even on 256MB RAM.

why should they delay the initial version? It costs them money to develop stuff, they want a return on investment quickly.

Just because you want it for your device, doesn't mean it cant come out early for others.





Sent from my RM-821_eu_euro1_342 using Tapatalk

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

So this is the final verdict:
read carefully.
Although windows phones like 520 ,620, 720 etc has 512 mb ram... Microsoft has made a glitch in the system that states that apps can only use 130 mb of the ram..and those games that uses more than 130 mb ram eg. Temple run 2 ,subway surfers etc. Cant be played. Therefore the fault is actually within the os and we should actually thank the app publishers who work so hard to bring these games even with the restrictions. Thank you developers.

 

[colinkiama]

So this is the final verdict:
read carefully.
Although windows phones like 520 ,620, 720 etc has 512 mb ram... Microsoft has made a glitch in the system that states that apps can only use 130 mb of the ram..and those games that uses more than 130 mb ram eg. Temple run 2 ,subway surfers etc. Cant be played. Therefore the fault is actually within the os and we should actually thank the app publishers who work so hard to bring these games even with the restrictions. Thank you developers.

So one day. Microsoft can raise this in an update that raises this to make it easier for developers?

 

[KrisJoeEll]

130mb limit? Where did you come up with that?

We all know that for one WP their is 100 Androids & 50 iPhones out there. Now devs, no matter how good or bad they are, what they want to achieve is profit. So they put all their manpower and resources into the biggest market. In case ios & android. They are devs primary priority. They do whatever they can to port their games so that the millions in those platforms will make it a success.

Sadly WP is not their yet. We are simply the bottom list of their priority and time. Optimising 1gb games to 512mb is easily possible. Like asphalt 8 & HaloSA. Except some like Modern Combat 4. Still its all up to developers.

If our community can reach a number high enough for the devs to prioritise us along with android and ios, that will be WP's biggest achievement.

 

[kenzibit]

I have Lumia 920 here and sometimes I really feel for users with 512 MB ram. With this happening a lot on wp, I sometimes fear our apps will be demanding too much that, very soon, new apps will be demanding 2GB of ram since devices like Lumia 1020 and 1520 are coming out with 2GB ram. I fear 1GB of ram will fade away very soon on WP and the question is why is that? iOS has some of the most nicest apps ever but still running on low memory.

 

[jlp34876]

Hello I have a 920 but i tweet them already about your concerns. You wont probably get a solid answer about this issue.

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

130mb limit? Where did you come up with that?

We all know that for one WP their is 100 Androids & 50 iPhones out there. Now devs, no matter how good or bad they are, what they want to achieve is profit. So they put all their manpower and resources into the biggest market. In case ios & android. They are devs primary priority. They do whatever they can to port their games so that the millions in those platforms will make it a success.

Sadly WP is not their yet. We are simply the bottom list of their priority and time. Optimising 1gb games to 512mb is easily possible. Like asphalt 8 & HaloSA. Except some like Modern Combat 4. Still its all up to developers.

If our community can reach a number high enough for the devs to prioritise us along with android and ios, that will be WP's biggest achievement.

"Optimising 1gb games to 512mb is easily possible."
Haha. You must be jocking. Its not easy as you think. The developers work extremely hard for providing support .
About the 130 mb ram limit everyone who knows little about windows phone knows that. Still you dont!!
512 mb ram devices can only use 130 mb of ram for games/ apps . Its a limitation of wp. Thata why developers are not able to provide us(512 mb ram users) their best games. So instead of blaming others and saying that" its easy" ,we should try to appreciate their hard work .

 

[Binoya Mathews]

So this is the final verdict:
read carefully.
Although windows phones like 520 ,620, 720 etc has 512 mb ram... Microsoft has made a glitch in the system that states that apps can only use 130 mb of the ram..and those games that uses more than 130 mb ram eg. Temple run 2 ,subway surfers etc. Cant be played. Therefore the fault is actually within the os and we should actually thank the app publishers who work so hard to bring these games even with the restrictions. Thank you developers.

Its got nothing to do with this so called low app memory cap. The developers always make it a point that their app gets released for the iPhone 4 and the 4S(512 MB). The iPhone also DOES NOT support true multitasking. The multitasking implemented in iOS 7 is more dependant on the type of application and how much memory is allotted to each app is also based on that.So the point is, until windows phone gain enough traction, the developers whose sole source of income is the one or two titles(except for the big names Gameloft,EA and Rovio) do not have time to optimise the games for the platform, simply because it isn`t worth it for them . However they do try, and sometimes succeed in optimising the games, even if that is after a couple of months.
Just give them time, arguing over this here isn`t going to change or increase the priority for the optimisation on windows phone. Instead politely request them and lets hope that windows phone has a successful 2014 which would help make things better for the platform and thus increase developer interest in the platform.

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

Its totally up to ms to raise the bar a little so that more developers will be encouraged to make apps/games for wp.

 

[TheNet Avenger]

1) WP8 is NOT using more RAM than Android or iOS.

2) iOS Apps are not faster or more efficient than WP8 Apps (despite 'developers' claims above).

3) Microsoft purposely caps available RAM on a 512mb device to 150mb by default, or 180mb if requested by the developer.

4) 180mb of RAM is plenty for games, unless the developer is trying create a game that rivals the Xbox 360. None of these games do or will be anytime soon. (However, if a developer does want to produce a game that looks as good as the PS3/XB360, they can target the 1gb or 2gb WP8 phones, and have enough RAM.)


So why does Microsoft use a hard cap for App RAM usage? Well, the answer comes from metrics used to keep the OS running smoothly without hurting critical background processes. WP8 is reliably fast and fluid, and Microsoft won't let crappy Apps/Games compromise this.


Let's contrast this to Android, and what happens...

On Android if the Game/App is using over 140mb of RAM on a 512mb device, key portions of the OS and critical background Apps will be unloaded from RAM.

This is why you find Android users on lower RAM devices complaining that 'messages' stopped or they didn't receive a notification or missed a call.

When faced with low RAM, Android scrambles to keep what it thinks is important alive, but will cycle off critical processes while doing this, and sometimes is unable to start them again until the Game/App is closed. Android may even terminate an active phone call trying to free RAM for a Game/App that uses too much RAM.

Android also becomes lethargic and slow to respond while running a Game/App that is consuming too much RAM, and slow to recover even after it has been closed.


In contrast...
WP8 is always fluid, no matter what Game/App/Apps the user has open. This is why getting back to the Start screen is instant, and firing up the camera or other Apps while playing Halo is always predictably FAST.


Future Thoughts...
Microsoft may expand the RAM cap for 512mb devices; however, as I mentioned above, unless the developer is trying to shove near 720p graphics, there really is not a good argument for using over the 180mb of RAM limit. (The majority of 512mb devices don't even have high resolution displays.)

Developers do get lazy, and there is also overhead left over in porting to deal with that can later be optimized. This is why you see a 1gb version of the game release first, with a 512mb version a few weeks later. They can get the game out faster on the 1gb devices and then optimize for the OS and DirectX and meet the 180mb RAM limit. (This way no time is lost in getting the game out.)

Again, if 180mb of RAM doesn't seem like a lot, remember that stunning 720p PS3/XB360 games only had around 400mb of RAM to use.


PS - The game that brought this topic up is coming out for 512mb devices, just give them a few weeks.

 

[Binoya Mathews]

The apps / games get released to iphone which has 512 mb because their devices can use half of ram for games whereas wp can use only a quarter of the ram. Hence the difference .

Well, wasn`t aware of that. If that is so,it is again a restriction , don`t feel it`s going to be changed though because 512 MB devices are being phased out of the market.

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

Why are we fighting with each other?
We are on the same team and nothing we say here is going to change the current state of things . I also have a 620(512 mb ram) and also hope that support comes soon. Lets all hope for the best.

 

[Binoya Mathews]

1) WP8 is NOT using more RAM than Android or iOS.

Thanks for the detailed response

 

[monzki]

It requires 513MB of RAM. Your 512MB is only 1MB short

As stated above, a 512MB phone only has some where around 250MB RAM left for all apps. As such each app is limited to 130MB by default so that it won't slow down the phone OS or crash. WIth a special permission, some apps can be allowed to slightly increase the memory cap.

130MB is not much RAM to work with especially with games.

If apps on 512mb device is limited on 130mb, it means WP is not optimized at runtime. How can you explain that Temple Run 2 can run on on an ipod touch 4th gen with iOS 6 (the iOS version when Apple started pulling out Google services) and with just 256mb RAM. The better explanation maybe is than WP8 is graphics intensive than iOS 6. If this is the case then the devs of Temple Run 2 would need to work harder to optimize Temple Run 2 to run on a 512mb RAM WP8 device.

If Minion Rush can run on 512mb, why can't Temple Run 2 (to think they have a setting for low graphics settings).


O.T. TheNet Avenger explains things precisely. Thank you.

So it's more of developer fault than WP, it does make sense.

 

[monzki]

Clearly you are an impatient person.

As well as people who upgraded to GDR3 through Developer Preview. We are impatient.

 

[monzki]

If games that can run on iOS with 256 mb ram properly can't run on WP with 512 MB ram, does It not defy the logic that the whole argument of WP being a light OS and not a hardware hog like Android? Which should eventually result into WP devices being more and more like Android requiring all the latest and greatest hardware to run the basic apps properly?
Or am I missing something here? Can anyone clarify?

That's what the TS bashers are pointing about, they want to force TS to upgrade which in reality you can't force people to upgrade their hardware. The devs and MS need to find a way to satisfy the market for them to succeed.

 

[KrisJoeEll]

"Optimising 1gb games to 512mb is easily possible."
Haha. You must be jocking. Its not easy as you think. The developers work extremely hard for providing support .
About the 130 mb ram limit everyone who knows little about windows phone knows that. Still you dont!!
512 mb ram devices can only use 130 mb of ram for games/ apps . Its a limitation of wp. Thata why developers are not able to provide us(512 mb ram users) their best games. So instead of blaming others and saying that" its easy" ,we should try to appreciate their hard work .

I was not joking my friend. If devs could make games like Asphalt 8, Halo SA, Mirrors Edge, Minion Rush (etc) work smoothly on 512mb devices they could *easily* optimize Temple run 2 , Angry birds GO & Subway surfer.