Why am I getting contradictory information regarding RAM usage of an app?

[Abhay Bhatt]

I am getting different information regarding RAM usage of an app named 'Samsung Internet':-

1). I go to Settings --> Device Maintenance --> Memory. There I see that the app 'Samsung Internet' is using around 10 MB of RAM. (Please note that 'Device Maintenance' is a kind of novice form of 'Samsung Smart Manager' app).

The same information is also received from 'Clean Master' app.

2). When I go to Settings --> Apps --> Samsung Internet, I see under 'Memory' section, it is mentioned that there is no RAM usage in last 3 hours.

So, why is this happening, and what is the truth? It is probably happening with some other apps too.

 

[Rukbat]

1. Samsung's "Internet" is close to 30MB just by itself, so RAM usage would be that 30MB plus any tabs, plus anything on any of the tabs. Memory usage isn't RAM usage, it's storage usage (what would be "size on disk" if you looked at the properties of a program in Windows).

But Android manages RAM by itself, so whatever any app is taking at the moment is what it's taking. If it's running, but not the foreground app, it might even be taking 0, because it's swapped out (or Android's equivalent, which is killed).

2. If there's no RAM usage in the last 3 hours, you haven't been using Internet in the last 3 hours. Apps that aren't being used don't take any RAM.

It will happen with all apps. An app has size in storage all the time (if it's installed). An app only uses RAM when it's running (if Android hasn't killed it because it needed the RAM for something else). In a laptop or desktop, apps have to be switched out to disk if the RAM is needed, but Android apps have to store their current state at all times, so they can just be killed with no problem. When they're run again, with the notification that they're picking up where they left off, they don't initialize, they just use the state they last saved. It's part of Google's attempt to make the phone seem faster than it is.

 

[Abhay Bhatt]

Hi Rukbat,

Thanks for replying, I appreciate.

I think that you are confusing 'Storage' with 'RAM'. So, when I said 'Memory Usage' in my post, it probably means RAM, because for 'Storage', there is another option just besides 'Memory', in Settings --> Device Maintenance.
Why would there be two options for cleaning just the 'Storage'?

 

[Gayle Lynn]

If it's Cheetah Mobile, it's junkware. Samsung nutters it of adware and hopefully it is certified.

An app will try to page fix a small app loader to bring it from background to foreground and load more code as needed, while freeing and releasing memory it needs.

Are there misbehaved apps or threads? Probably.

 

[Mooncatt]

Long story short, I would just ignore any memory reports and not bother with any memory cleaners.

http://m.androidcentral.com/ram-what-it-how-its-used-and-why-you-shouldnt-care

The only exception would be if you're having problems with lag or something with a noticeable symptom. Then I would dig into usage reports and try manually killing apparent rogue apps as a diagnostic procedure. I still wouldn't make a habit of it once the problem is solved, nor would I use a memory cleaner like Clean Master in these situations. In times like this, you want to be able to selectively kill apps to see if it makes a difference before trying another suspect app. If you use the shotgun approach with Clean Master, it'll close a lot at once and you won't know which one of those apps was the culprit.

 

[Rukbat]

As Gayle implied, if it's made by Cheetah, head for the Uninstall button immediately. Aside from being junkware, they display an amazing lack of understanding of how Android actually works. "Clean RAM"? Try cleaning a few apps from RAM (SystemPanelLite makes that easy). "Clear a few, and the first ones you 'cleared" get reloaded. Android "knows" what it wants left in RAM (or the app tells it to leave it alone).

As for my "confusing" RAM and storage, the word "memory" is usually misused in conjunction with Android to mean storage, when it actually means RAM. (After 45 years in the computer business, designing both hardware and software, I kind of understand how computers work.) But trying to explain things to someone who may not understand which means what totally confuses some people, so I sometimes use "memory" to mean storage just to be speaking the same language as most people are. Referring to RAM as memory has gotten me "no, I didn't mean where the apps are when the phone is off, I meant in memory, in permanent storage" kinds of responses. (The first time I saw a response like that, I had to read it a few times to make sure I wasn't somehow skipping a few words.)

Memory is RAM, storage is permanent memory, also called EPROM, EEROM, EAROM, hard drive, eMMC memory, SD card, etc. But most people who use cellphones know as much about those things as they know about Martian wedding rituals. It rings, you answer it. You want to speak to someone, you call them. You get a text, you respond. (And maybe how a few social media sites work.) That's about where their knowledge ends.

 

[Tim1954]

As the ever wise Rukbat stated above, Cheetah mobile apps usually do more harm than good by encouraging users to delete apps that are essential fit the device to function.
Further and most importantly, they are exceptionally careless with your data, which they are happy to sell to the highest bidder...