Is 4GB of RAM large enough for pixel 3 and XL

[ht19011994]

I think at least 2 years from now, it is enough

 

[imad z]

my opinion is 4gb of ram is enough for pixel 3 since it use stock Android. no bloatware in it. and when using multi-window, I guess it will run smoothly.

 

[Mike Dee]

I will say this, it doesn't crash the music when playing Apple Music and taking pictures. Must be a bug, or spotify issue and not ram, which is good news. Now closing most apps is a different story, but I don't care about that. Becoming a non issue to me.

Bader's take on it in one of his tweets alluded to it being a memory mangement issue that can most likely corrected.

 

[jerrod6]

I thought I heard that in Android 9 the phone would learn over time what apps are frequently used and then close those that are not used alot. If so perhaps this is something that will improve overtime with frequent use.

 

[anon(661246)]

4gb of ram is ok. No means is it future proof and a little low compared to it's rivals.

 

[Caezar07]

I can confirm that the Pixel 3 does have memory issues.

I'm guessing that since other phones operate with 4gb of ram fine, it's a software issue and can be fixed. I was using the phone to navigate while playing music, and the phone would constantly quit navigating if I switched to a different app. I missed a couple of turns because of this. A friend of mine also experienced extreme lag while watching high def Netflix. And from the getgo, there have been reports from the major reviewers of the music app randomly quitting if you switched over to the camera app. These all seem to be memory related issues. I've never seen memory issues so blatantly show themselves on an Android phone. How the hell did google miss this?

I'm not here to be apologetic for Google and the Pixel 3, and I haven't been too critical of any "flaws" or "issues" people have reported thus far. I can get over:
-The vibrating in the phone from the speakers
-The dim screen (relative to the galaxy S9 and iPhone)
-The refreshing of apps
-Wonky gestures
-They notch (fixed this by just not getting the XL)
-The easily scratched back glass (I understand that some "scratches" can be cleaned with water, but even with that, the back glass is still more scratch prone than the gorilla glass 5 front glass.

But this memory issue is too much. If this isn't resolved quickly, I will swallow the $35 restocking fee and get the OP6t instead.

 

[Mike Dee]

I can confirm that the Pixel 3 does have memory issues.

I'm guessing that since other phones operate with 4gb of ram fine, it's a software issue and can be fixed. I was using the phone to navigate while playing music, and the phone would constantly quit navigating if I switched to a different app. I missed a couple of turns because of this. A friend of mine also experienced extreme lag while watching high def Netflix. And from the getgo, there have been reports from the major reviewers of the music app randomly quitting if you switched over to the camera app. These all seem to be memory related issues. I've never seen memory issues so blatantly show themselves on an Android phone. How the hell did google miss this?

I'm not here to be apologetic for Google and the Pixel 3, and I haven't been too critical of any "flaws" or "issues" people have reported thus far. I can get over:
-The vibrating in the phone from the speakers
-The dim screen (relative to the galaxy S9 and iPhone)
-The refreshing of apps
-Wonky gestures
-They notch (fixed this by just not getting the XL)
-The easily scratched back glass (I understand that some "scratches" can be cleaned with water, but even with that, the back glass is still more scratch prone than the gorilla glass 5 front glass.

But this memory issue is too much. If this isn't resolved quickly, I will swallow the $35 restocking fee and get the OP6t instead.

The camera doesn't crash the music app upon opening on my phone. Only if I take a photo using advanced options like portrait mode. In don't know how they missed it either and hope it's fixed soon. I don't normally take pictures while listening to music but that's not the point.

 

[timmalone]

I used to think so, but then it occurred to me that my old Nexus 4 had 2GB of ram. In 6 years google has only doubled the amount of ram. My Pixel c has 3GB and that is starting to show it's limitations. I agree with others who say this thing isn't future proof. The nexus 4 held on for a long time because it was a beast when it came out. The Pixel 3 will be fine for now, but I bet in two years those 4GB of ram will be a constraint.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Here is food for thought: what are some of us putting our pocket PCs through that might stagger some desktop PCs?

The above question isn't meant to insult anyone or dictate that they are doing it wrong, but to compare what something the size of an index card versus a small duffel bag in terms of use.

 

[Caezar07]

And to clarify my position, I do believe that 4gb is "enough", but it's easier to just throw in 6gb of RAM rather than to optimize 4gb correctly. I feel that Android pie and the pixel are not optimized well for 4gb.

 

[SteelGator]

I'm still on the side of 4gb is enough. However, another thing Google can't control for is the optimization of 3rd party apps. They control less of the ecosystem, which creates more risk for them when they are closer to the line with specs.

So while I believe they need less RAM than Samsung or other manufacturers with skins, it is harder to know where we are going with apps. I hope Google has their thumb on pulse and knows enough. Time will tell.

Thing is, buying a 4 gb Pixel results in minimal risk to being outdated in three years for folks that keep phones for more than a year. For those that update yearly it more, risk is small because you're updating anyway.

 

[anon(1733)]

How many apps do you use while driving that it crashes.

I can confirm that the Pixel 3 does have memory issues.

I'm guessing that since other phones operate with 4gb of ram fine, it's a software issue and can be fixed. I was using the phone to navigate while playing music, and the phone would constantly quit navigating if I switched to a different app. I missed a couple of turns because of this. A friend of mine also experienced extreme lag while watching high def Netflix. And from the getgo, there have been reports from the major reviewers of the music app randomly quitting if you switched over to the camera app. These all seem to be memory related issues. I've never seen memory issues so blatantly show themselves on an Android phone. How the hell did google miss this?

I'm not here to be apologetic for Google and the Pixel 3, and I haven't been too critical of any "flaws" or "issues" people have reported thus far. I can get over:
-The vibrating in the phone from the speakers
-The dim screen (relative to the galaxy S9 and iPhone)
-The refreshing of apps
-Wonky gestures
-They notch (fixed this by just not getting the XL)
-The easily scratched back glass (I understand that some "scratches" can be cleaned with water, but even with that, the back glass is still more scratch prone than the gorilla glass 5 front glass.

But this memory issue is too much. If this isn't resolved quickly, I will swallow the $35 restocking fee and get the OP6t instead.

 

[Mike Dee]

How many apps do you use while driving that it crashes.

Strange because I used Android Auto with Google maps and Spotify at the same time without issue.

 

[anon(1733)]

Same here except I use Apple music. Lol.

Strange because I used Android Auto with Google maps and Spotify at the same time without issue.

 

[TraderGary]

I subscribe to Google Play Music and use it a lot with my Sony wireless headphones. I also use what I think are some fairly memory intensive apps while working and I depend on everything working flawlessly together during my workday.

So far everything works smoothly and is fast with no hiccups.

I have a Pixel 3 XL 128.

 

[Jonyboots]

Plenty

 

[Daniel Raminfar]

It has a serious ram manegemnt problem pubg will shut if I open what's app for a second.... This can be fixed with software just like apple did ... C'mon Google

 

[Jaka_Antolic]

It could be enough if it was well optimised for RAM management. I hope they fix it in future updates

 

[Caezar07]

See the video below for an example of the memory management issue. It makes me a little nervous that the issue occurs only on the Pixel 3 and not the Pixel 2...does this imply that it's a hardware issue and not software? I would like for Google to comment on this and indicate that it is fixable, otherwise I may return the phone for the 1+6t. There is only a 15 day return period on the Pixel 3 after your delivery date and that's with a $35 restocking fee unless I'm able to convince them that the memory issue counts as a hardware defect.

 

[ScottsoNJ]

Does anyone honestly think that Google trying to solidify themselves as an up-and-coming smartphone manufacturer that can be reputable as heck would put something subpar out there after putting so much effort into it?

Well they did cheap out last year with LG displays