Why is my RAM on S9+ already in use

[Android Central Question]

I have a samsung galaxy s9+ and its supposed to have 6gb ram.

When I have no apps open I have 2.1 gb of RAM free, 3.9 is in use no matter what. So basicaly I only have 2gb of ram for apps?

 

[hallux]

Android wants to fill as much RAM as possible, to help improve the performance feel of the device. Android is very different from Windows in this manner - Windows wants RAM free or available, leading to the plethora of apps to "clean" RAM on Android as people are conditioned to think this is needed. Android is more of a predictive OS and pre-loads what it thinks you're going to use, based on usage patterns.

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

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[Mooncatt]

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

Unfortunately the article that link goes to has been replaced with one explaining why you would want more RAM and doesn't address this specific issue very well.

Basically, on Android, RAM uses the same amount of battery power regardless of if it's in use or not. So it will initialize your commonly used apps in the background, keeping them dormant for when you want to use it again. This is much more battery efficient than having to initialize those apps every time from scratch, and makes for quicker task switching/multitasking. If you open an app that requires more RAM than is currently available, the OS will clear it as needed on its own to make room.

If you try to override this by force closing apps or using memory booster apps, it'll only result in greater battery consumption. The apps get cleared from memory, the OS uses battery power to fill it again, so the booster app clears it again (which also uses battery power), and on it goes. Even if the phone is sitting idle, all that going on in the background will keep draining your battery. The OS is programmed to leave a minimum amount of RAM free, but to override this in a meaningful way would mean rooting the phone and making some system level changes that the average user is unable to do.