'iPhone 12 Pro' again rumored to boast 6GB of RAM, 'iPhone 12' stuck with 4GB [u]
A prolific leaker shared additional details about Apple's next-generation iPhone series on Thursday, claiming the top-tier "iPhone 12 Pro" will sport 6GB of system memory.
The specification was shared in a cryptic tweet from the mysterious "L0vettodream," who said, "Professional 6GB General 4GB." While not specifically mentioned, the upcoming "iPhone 12" series is thought to be the focus of L0vetodream's tweet, as the handsets are expected to be Apple's next big hardware launch.
Memory allotment has long been rumored to come in at 6GB for the highest-spec "Pro" iteration, while base variants are anticipated to carry over the usual 4GB of RAM seen on iPhone 11. Both "iPhone 12 Pro" and "iPhone 12" are predicted to run an "A14" processor potentially more powerful than the A12Z Bionic SoC found in iPad Pro.
Extra RAM will enable the high-end iPhone to handle critical computations and should allow more apps or browser tabs to be open simultaneously in the background. Further benefits could include a boost to processor-intensive camera operations, features Apple continuously improves upon with each new iPhone release.
For 2020, Apple is rumored to integrate a triple camera array and possible LiDAR Scanner on "iPhone 12 Pro," while mid-tier variants will make do with a dual-camera system.
Beyond RAM, so-called "Pro" versions of the forthcoming smartphone are expected to integrate a stainless steel chassis, 6.1- and 6.7-inch OLED screens with ProMotion, and other improvements. Rumors point to a revamped iPad Pro-inspired design for both next-generation lines.
Update: Noted leaker Jon Prosser corroborated the RAM rumor in a tweet Thursday.
The specification was shared in a cryptic tweet from the mysterious "L0vettodream," who said, "Professional 6GB General 4GB." While not specifically mentioned, the upcoming "iPhone 12" series is thought to be the focus of L0vetodream's tweet, as the handsets are expected to be Apple's next big hardware launch.
Memory allotment has long been rumored to come in at 6GB for the highest-spec "Pro" iteration, while base variants are anticipated to carry over the usual 4GB of RAM seen on iPhone 11. Both "iPhone 12 Pro" and "iPhone 12" are predicted to run an "A14" processor potentially more powerful than the A12Z Bionic SoC found in iPad Pro.
Extra RAM will enable the high-end iPhone to handle critical computations and should allow more apps or browser tabs to be open simultaneously in the background. Further benefits could include a boost to processor-intensive camera operations, features Apple continuously improves upon with each new iPhone release.
iPhone 12 | iPhone 12 Max | iPhone 12 Pro | iPhone 12 Pro Max | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Display | 5.4-inch BOE OLED Super Retina | 6.1-inch BOE OLED Super Retina | 6.1-inch Samsung OLED Super Retina XDR with ProMotion and 10-bit Color Depth | 6.7-inch Samsung OLED Super Retina XDR with ProMotion and 10-bit Color Depth |
Memory | 4GB | 4GB | 6GB | 6GB |
Storage | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
Body | Aluminum | Aluminum | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel |
Rear Cameras | Dual camera | Dual camera | Triple camera + LiDAR | Triple camera + LiDAR |
Pricing | $649, $749 | $749, $849 | $999, $1,099, $1,299 | $1,099, $1,199, $1,399 |
Beyond RAM, so-called "Pro" versions of the forthcoming smartphone are expected to integrate a stainless steel chassis, 6.1- and 6.7-inch OLED screens with ProMotion, and other improvements. Rumors point to a revamped iPad Pro-inspired design for both next-generation lines.
Update: Noted leaker Jon Prosser corroborated the RAM rumor in a tweet Thursday.
Can confirm
-- Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser)
Comments
edit: I will certainly be more memory constrained than the phone, just say in’.
Remember when Samsung was giving away big screen TVs so people could buy their knockoffs?
https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Performance/Conceptual/ManagingMemory/Articles/AboutMemory.html
"Although OS X supports a backing store, iOS does not. In iPhone applications, read-only data that is already on the disk (such as code pages) is simply removed from memory and reloaded from disk as needed. Writable data is never removed from memory by the operating system. Instead, if the amount of free memory drops below a certain threshold, the system asks the running applications to free up memory voluntarily to make room for new data. Applications that fail to free up enough memory are terminated."
More memory is always good to have, especially when dealing with higher resolution data like 4K video. I don't think it's nearly as important on an iPhone as more productive devices like an iPad but if they do at some point allow running macOS on the device when it's docked to a display, it would make sense to have more.
This kind of setup might seem odd to some but it makes a lot of sense for businesses. The new filesystem partitions the operating systems into read-only volumes with the data separate. They can easily install iOS and macOS on the same device and they can both share access to the same data partition. That means things like email and documents don't need to be synced between mobile and desktop.
For heavy computing and file writes, it doesn't make sense to have this setup but most people aren't in this category. This could encourage a lot of people to get rid of their PCs. Kids can get hand-down mobiles and get a free computer with it. Schools can get rid of Chromebooks because iOS devices with the Mac system would be more productive and the hardware cheap.
If iPhone 12 Pro is getting 6 GB, it is because of some specific new feature that demands the system have more memory, to maintain the already good performance.
Having more RAM is like having more sex.... Nobody, ever, complained of having too much.