Both devices need RAM to operate. Keep in mind it's easy to get memory confused with storage, and also that how an operating system uses RAM can be vastly different.
For example, Windows (PC) uses RAM but once you close a program, it dumps it from memory and clears up room for something else to run. It's how the OS is designed from the ground up. For Windows to run at it's optimum, the more RAM (and I mean empty/unused RAM) the better. Android is the opposite - it keeps stuff in RAM, ready to go. The apps that are oldest (used the least recently) are the first to get bumped when more RAM is needed. So for Android to run at it's optimum, the more RAM available as a whole the better - more apps can be sitting in RAM, ready to go. (This is a poor explanation - there are better and more precise explanations out on the web).
How does that compare to iOS? Well keep in mind, Apple has one huge advantage in this area. They control the hardware (storage, RAM, processor chip) as well as the software (OS). They can optimise both hardware and software for the biggest benefit. Android at it's core is just a base that's pretty widely available, and is just the OS itself. Any phone manufacturer can take Android, tweak it, change it, add features and things to it and then put it into a phone that they've made - which isn't nearly as optimum as Apple's route. However, this is why Android is so customizable - you can get it to do almost ANYTHING (except wash the dishes and make you a sandwich). iOS - not so much. The things it does, it does quite well - as long as you're doing it within the limits and rules they have. Anything outside of those limits is out of the question. It also explains why iPhone doesn't need 2 or 3 gigs of RAM to run great - it does actually quite well with 1gig - simply because the OS has been built and optimized so well for that processor and RAM it doesn't need anything else.
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