Rumor: Apple to bump 'iPad Air 2' RAM to 2GB, keep second-gen Retina iPad mini at 1GB

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 108
    2Gigs of RAM is long overdue.
  • Reply 22 of 108
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post

     

    Hello, side-by-side apps--on the Air 2, that is!


    My thought exactly. The new improved multi tasking will benefit from more ram.

  • Reply 23 of 108
    Quote:



    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    Its not just about cost of making the Mini.

     

    Its about making it weaker so more people choose the higher margin Air


     

    Then they should eliminate the iPad mini.

  • Reply 24 of 108
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

    Add to the fact that Mini's already have much lower margins than Air.


     

    Do we know that?

     

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

    Its about making it weaker so more people choose the higher margin Air


     

    GAH, they call the big one ‘Air’ now, don’t they. That’s what you meant.

     

    Still, if they wanted people to do that (they already do; the mini isn’t a mover), they wouldn’t have given them hardware parity right now. They did.

     

    Originally Posted by stuffe View Post

    Seems relevant to the ensuing discussion.


     

    Yeah, we’re not talking about the screen at all. It’s not relevant.

  • Reply 25 of 108
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

     

    Yeah, we’re not talking about the screen at all. It’s not relevant.




    Yawn. We're talking about the differences between the Mini and Air. What they were, what they are, and what they may be. RAM might be the starting point of the conversation, but it's moved on to other areas.  Someone questioned why the smaller product would be cheaper rather than more expensive, you asked why, I provided an answer.

  • Reply 26 of 108
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Rumor or not, more RAM would be useful.

    Agreed!
  • Reply 27 of 108
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Relic View Post





    Agreed!



    +1, the only downside is what must be a practically immeasurable increase in CPU size, plus an increase in power requirements to actually use it. The former must be a non issue, the latter may be a consideration but probably not one that causes genuine problems with the battery size anticipated in the newer phones.

  • Reply 28 of 108
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    1) I still haven't heard a solid solution as to how they would implement that securely without requiring installing apps for each user account or how they would use a single app installation per device that would infuse the proper user files as needed, or how they will prevent a major power and performance hit for keeping accounts and apps running on other users, like with OS X and Windows.

     

    Is it going to be easy?  Of course not.  That's part of delighting your user community.  Mask the complexity with a UI that just works.  Apple's been doing that for decades.  Remember, a touch screen phone without lag was hard too, not all that long ago.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    3) Even if you have Touch ID you would still need to have a username or avatar for each account because it's possible that there could be a duplicate for either the fingerprint or passcode used to secure the device.

     

    Why would you need one fingerprint tied to more than one profile (and you have 10)?  Also, OS X has had avatars for years, not sure why that's a big deal.  And, yes, you will still need a passcode for certain situations (iOS update, logging in after the device was powered off. etc.)  Not sure why that would be insurmountable, since we basically have that now. 

  • Reply 29 of 108
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    stuffe wrote: »

    +1, the only downside is what must be a practically immeasurable increase in CPU size, plus an increase in power requirements to actually use it. The former must be a non issue, the latter may be a consideration but probably not one that causes genuine problems with the battery size anticipated in the newer phones.

    1) Is Apple using the latest RAM type for mobile devices?

    2) Is Apple using the latest RAM lithography for mobile devices?

    3) Are there any other advancements that would allow for doubling the RAM without causing the RAM to use more power.

    4) With the PoP stacking the footprint could still be the same size even if the chip needs to be slightly thicker, which I think will still work in the iPad.

    5) OT: The A7 has 6(?) MiB of RAM on the SoC. What is that for?
  • Reply 30 of 108
    If true, this might also be related to the rumored larger iPhone. They might want to convince more to opt for a higher profit phone (with large screen) than a lower profit iPad (mini). This spacing of specs might cut out the blur between the two device families. A buyer of a larger-screened iPhone might see more use in the regular sized iPad this way.
  • Reply 31 of 108
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    1) Is Apple using the latest RAM type for mobile devices?



    2) Is Apple using the latest RAM lithography for mobile devices?



    3) Are there any other advancements that would allow for doubling the RAM without causing the RAM to use more power.



    4) With the PoP stacking the footprint could still be the same size even if the chip needs to be slightly thicker, which I think will still work in the iPad.



    5) OT: The A7 has 6(?) MiB of RAM on the SoC. What is that for?



    Who knows, hence "may be an issue but probably not" :) The point being that the decision on RAM for a device is highly possibly not actually a technical one, but one of positioning in the product line.  The best reason I can see for *not* giving us 2Gb now, is so we can have it next time. Tic toc etc, give them an easy win next time for the 6s etc...

  • Reply 32 of 108
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by stuffe View Post

    We're talking about the differences between the Mini and Air. What they were, what they are, and what they may be.

     

    See the title of the article? Does it mention the screen anywhere? Does Apple make an iPad mini without a screen? 



    Glad we could clear that up. Talk about the topic of discussion or don’t be surprised when you get ignored like this.

  • Reply 33 of 108
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member

    It's worth noting that 95% of people probably have no idea how much RAM their device has, much like they have no clue what the CPU is clocked at.  Apple don't even list the data in the specifications.

  • Reply 34 of 108
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by stuffe View Post

    It's worth noting that 95% of people probably have no idea how much RAM their device has, much like they have no clue what the CPU is clocked at.  Apple don't even list the data in the specifications.



    They do, however, notice that ‘my model can’t run the newest game, but it just came out yesterday.’

  • Reply 35 of 108
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    See the title of the article? Does it mention the screen anywhere? Does Apple make an iPad mini without a screen? 



    Glad we could clear that up. Talk about the topic of discussion or don’t be surprised when you get ignored like this.


     

    See the title of the article? Does it mention the iPad Mini anywhere? Get over yourself. 



    Glad we could clear that up. Accept that other people might take the conversation in a different direction than you do, and that it's not your forum or don’t be surprised when you get replied to.

  • Reply 36 of 108
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    john.b wrote: »
    Is it going to be easy?  Of course not.  That's part of delighting your user community.  Mask the complexity with a UI that just works.  Apple's been doing that for decades.  Remember, a touch screen phone without lag was hard too, not all that long ago.

    The "Apple can do anything" mantra doesn't seem to hold up here. Sure, they could do it, but with everything else already in place I can only see a major disruption in order for that to happen. Imagine if you had a family of 5 that all used the same app and you had to install that app for every user until the developer updated that app to take advantage of new APIs that don't yet exist in iOS 8? That's a nightmare on every level, especially considering how they could offer a Guest account that only had basic access to Safari and some other apps and would log out and erase any personal data after the person stopped using it. Wouldn't that be a better first step if they were going to go down that route?
    Why would you need one fingerprint tied to more than one profile

    Huh?
    (and you have 10)?

    Only 5 fingers can be recorded right now.
    Also, OS X has had avatars for years, not sure why that's a big deal.

    That's my point, Mac OS X was design with multiple users in mind. You have per user app details stored in ~/Library with a clean app in /Applications. I don't think iOS is setup that way nor are apps designed that way.
    And, yes, you will still need a passcode for certain situations (iOS update, logging in after the device was powered off. etc.)  Not sure why that would be insurmountable, since we basically have that now. 

    So 'a' passcode, from some primary account owner that we'll call the Administrator. So the father lets his kid use the family iPad but the kid just washed his hands and they are still a little damp which causes Touch ID not to work. After several tries the device now requires a passcode to access it. That's why each user would need their own passcode.

    So you want to figure out your sibling's passcode. You have kind of seen her type it and you know it's only a 4-digit PIN that starts with '42'. You start trying one of the 100 combinations but after a couple failed attempts it warns you that it will erase the device once you reach 10 incorrect attempts. It also warns you that these errors are being recorded and sent to the administrator's account. You then get the brilliant idea to go into your account to change your password knowing that without any associated username the system can't allow more than one account to have the same password. You start changing your password until it tells you can't use that one. You then log out and see if that's your sibling's account. You need associated usernames if you're going to have authentication.
  • Reply 37 of 108
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    Well, the Mini Retina is cheaper, and I always found it strange that it was equally as powerful as the Air. In my opinion, the larger model should always be a little better and a bit more powerful.
    They increased the price to $399. No way that price increase would fly if all they did was add retina screen. Larger screen device should only be better/more powerful if it has additional functionally. Last year the Air didn't have any functionality that the mini didn't have. It's possible this year that changes I guess.
  • Reply 38 of 108
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    Its not just about cost of making the Mini.

    Its about making it weaker so more people choose the higher margin Air
    Then why even offer the mini. That would force everyone to the higher margin Air. :)

    So when Cook and Ive say Apple is all about making the best products what they really mean is Apple is all about making sure the products with the highest profit margins sell the most. :)
  • Reply 39 of 108
    wizard69 wrote: »
    This may infuriate software developers that want to bring new capabilities to all platforms though.

    Apple's iOS developer guides have addressed development best practices and RAM considerations since the very beginning of the iOS platform, and Apple has given developers the developer tools to be aware of device resource usage. And iOS developers who formerly came from the world of Palm OS and Windows Mobile development have already been well trained in the art of memory management--at least the ones I've met. Now, undisciplined PC developers who have no experience writing mobile apps might be these allegedly "infuriated developers" that you're hypothesizing about.
  • Reply 40 of 108
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Apple's iOS developer guides have addressed development best practices and RAM considerations since the very beginning of the iOS platform, and Apple has given developers the developer tools to be aware of device resource usage. And iOS developers who formerly came from the world of Palm OS and Windows Mobile development have already been well trained in the art of memory management--at least the ones I've met. Now, undisciplined PC developers who have no experience writing mobile apps might be these allegedly "infuriated developers" that you're hypothesizing about.

    I'm glad you brought up the guidelines. Apple had guidelines to prevent developers from getting locked into a resolution because they planned for this change. What guidelines have they lined up to allow for one app to be run across multiple users in iOS that would prevent any change needing to be done to the app if followed?
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