Note 4 RAM Discussion

[nugj]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Much talk here of dumping Touchwiz for some of the other alternatives. Do you guys know if switching to some of those that have been mentioned in this forum would cut away at the amount of ram used....enough to make it worthwhile?

 

[sqa4life]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

You still have 1GB of RAM unused. It's like your wallet always have 1/3 of your money for spare. Why panic?

 

[jpr]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Much talk here of dumping Touchwiz for some of the other alternatives. Do you guys know if switching to some of those that have been mentioned in this forum would cut away at the amount of ram used....enough to make it worthwhile?

Dumping TouchWiz means dumping all the features that make a Note a Note. Yes, you can cut down on the RAM used by doing that but then why buy a Note at all?

 

[skippyg]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

You shouldn't have to worry about ram use. Im at 2.5gb of use on ram and have zero lag or slowdown. Its there so that the operating system doesn't have to refresh apps continuously. Using task killers and memory clearing software dont do much. Those tasks and programs your killing will just reload to be in memory ready for when you need it. Your widely used apps benefit most.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[WeAreAllUnique]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

I think this is something that Android users occupy themselves with and they really shouldn't. But they do because they can see it. ch other platforms, you don't necessarily see how the device handles memory management. Therefore Android users tend to think of it as a problem. It isn't. My Note 4 crashes less than my iPhone 5S and my iPad Air. That's what I care about.The performance on the Note 4 is great. This is considering that it multitasks better than any other smartphone on the market in my opinion.

Written by the mighty S-pen of my Samsung Galaxy Note 4!

 

[DarkUncle]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

I think this is something that Android users occupy themselves with and they really shouldn't. But they do because they can see it. ch other platforms, you don't necessarily see how the device handles memory management. Therefore Android users tend to think of it as a problem. It isn't. My Note 4 crashes less than my iPhone 5S and my iPad Air. That's what I care about.The performance on the Note 4 is great. This is considering that it multitasks better than any other smartphone on the market in my opinion.

Written by the mighty S-pen of my Samsung Galaxy Note 4!

Yep! You guys should take a peek at the iPhone 6 discussions over at Mac Rumors concerning RAM. Then you would have something to complain about.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[boufa]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

This is old school windows/microsoft thinking. Android keeps you that close on purpose. It uses all of the available RAM, and dumps things as it needs to. Every time you clear the RAM with a cleaner, you are preventing the OS from keeping certain things in memory that you might be using again soon. Thus making the OS faster in many circumstances. RAM management is virtually invisible in the background, the OS handles it.

Empty RAM isn't good for anything... so why have it? Its not eating up battery, it doesn't slow down your apps. You never get memory full errors.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

This is disappointing to hear. I am always having to run a RAM cleaner on my Razr Maxx to stay below 90% used. Sounds like I may end up in the same boat.

This is actually hurting your battery more than helping.. Cleaning RAM on Android is different than clearing RAM on Windows.

 

[nugj]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

What I was or am really trying to understand is why those that dump Touchwiz for something like Nova are so pleased with Nova vs Touchwiz. Really wondering if Nova gives them what they want (maybe stripped down Touchwiz kinda') with all the features that people use but none of them that are described as "frivolous" for lack of a better term. Is Ram optimization part of the attraction?

What you hear more than any other complaint about Touchwiz is that it is overweight....loaded with stuff that people just do not use. This is truly an American phenomenon anyway. For the most part, Americans like products that put the things they most often do or use front and center and either eliminates everything else or pushes it off to the rear. It has always been that way here especially in Electronics. Probably one of the things that launched Apple's past successes. I did read a very well written post here that suggested that Apple, miffed by the recent successes of competitors is not just trying to muscle in on the phablet space (poorly in my opinion) but also trying to sort of add weight to their OS a bit and not be so stripped down. The post I read further went on to say that Android was to some degree stripping down while Apple OS was putting on weight with the two conceivably meeting in the middle. But I digress.

 

[jpr]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

What I was or am really trying to understand is why those that dump Touchwiz for something like Nova are so pleased with Nova vs Touchwiz. Really wondering if Nova gives them what they want (maybe stripped down Touchwiz kinda') with all the features that people use but none of them that are described as "frivolous" for lack of a better term. Is Ram optimization part of the attraction?

What you hear more than any other complaint about Touchwiz is that it is overweight....loaded with stuff that people just do not use. This is truly an American phenomenon anyway. For the most part, Americans like products that put the things they most often do or use front and center and either eliminates everything else or pushes it off to the rear. It has always been that way here especially in Electronics. Probably one of the things that launched Apple's past successes. I did read a very well written post here that suggested that Apple, miffed by the recent successes of competitors is not just trying to muscle in on the phablet space (poorly in my opinion) but also trying to sort of add weight to their OS a bit and not be so stripped down. The post I read further went on to say that Android was to some degree stripping down while Apple OS was putting on weight with the two conceivably meeting in the middle. But I digress.

No, you misunderstand what Touchwiz is and what Nova is. Nova is only a launcher. It only replaces the default home launcher that Touchwiz provides. It does not replace Touchwiz and does not get rid of anything contained in Touchwiz. It will not affect RAM usage.

It only allows you to customize your homescreens and app drawer and behavior on the homescreens, People, including me, like the many choices and features it has in this regard. It does not strip anything out of Touchwiz. You need to root of you want to do that. And Touchwiz itself can only be replaced with a ROM, not with a launcher.

Replacing just the launcher does nothing to improve RAM and takes nothing out of Touchwiz. On the other hand, using a bad, bloated launcher like GO Launcher, for instance, will use more RAM because of all the extra processes and services and programs it has running in order to SPAM you and do all kind of things in the background without your permission.

 

[Lambertoid]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

The problem that I see is the new version of touch wiz take even more ram then the older touch wiz on the note 3

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jpr]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

The problem that I see is the new version of touch wiz take even more ram then the older touch wiz on the note 3

Posted via the Android Central App

This is not a problem as many people have already explained above. And you still have about 1GB free after that, even on carrier versions. That is plenty.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

This is not a problem as many people have already explained above. And you still have about 1GB free after that, even on carrier versions. That is plenty.

Even if you didn't .. Android handles RAM beautifully. It will remove stuff that hasn't been used when more is needed.

 

[nugj]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Sorry, I read the earlier posts from the context of replacement. I knew Nova was just a launcher but being new to Android I was looking for some context to the whole question. If there are no options to the pieces that you are not happy with, then it hardly matters, at least not to me. It does answer the question of context for me. There is no context that matters in this particular case. It is truly an academic question and in truth I was trying to explore whether the original comment made really lead to exactly that...an academic question and not a practical matter of options.

 

[jpr]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Even if you didn't .. Android handles RAM beautifully. It will remove stuff that hasn't been used when more is needed.

Well, it would definitely matter is there was only a small amount of RAM free after system app usage. If there were only 2GB RAM instead of 3GB and the system was using 1.9GB, then every app you opened would be shutting down any other app and some apps would not be able to run at all because it is not going to shut down a system app for a non system app. When your phone starts shutting down system apps then it is not going to behave properly.

So, it does matter how much is free after the system apps/OS usage. The amount free on this phone is plenty for it not to be an issue. But Android RAM management could not help a phone that had very little RAM left after the system, like if this phone came with 2GB or if the system took up almost all the 3GB.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Well, it would definitely matter is there was only a small amount of RAM free after system app usage. If there were only 2GB RAM instead of 3GB and the system was using 1.9GB, then every app you opened would be shutting down any other app and some apps would not be able to run at all because it is not going to shut down a system app for a non system app. When your phone starts shutting down system apps then it is not going to behave properly.

So, it does matter how much is free after the system apps/OS usage. The amount free on this phone is plenty for it not to be an issue. But Android RAM management could not help a phone that had very little RAM left after the system, like if this phone came with 2GB or if the system took up almost all the 3GB.

Very true but no phone manufacturer is going to release a 1.9 GB RAM idle phone with only 2 GB total. Honestly everyone -- I wouldn't worry about the RAM usage. I guarantee it will be fine. I do not use any clearing apps and get amazing life still and the phone is just fine .

 

[dt81]

Note 4 What is your RAM at

I seem to be running high with my RAM. When I have no apps running, I'm at 1.9-2.1gb. That's pretty high especially with my note 3 having no apps open I sit at 1.2

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[phillthedrill]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Yes, Android does a good job with memory management, a lot better than the old gingerbread 2.4 did, BUT if there are services, apps, etc you know you will never use, you should always turn them off. There is no reason to run bloatware in the background if you never use it. After you've turned off the apps you don't use, then let Android handle the memory from then on.

 

[jdhooghe]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

Yep! You guys should take a peek at the iPhone 6 discussions over at Mac Rumors concerning RAM. Then you would have something to complain about.

Posted via the Android Central App

Yet not everyone has those issues and besides I don't understand why mentioning Apple at all has any bearing on this discussion at all. Your satisfaction of your Note does not rely on how well or badly iOS is doing. I get no reloading at all on my 6 Plus. It isn't a device wide issue.



As for memory use and as far as my understanding goes(someone correct me if I am wrong), Android and other OSs do have much better memory management unlike old school android where Task Managers were necessary. Just because most of your ram is being utilized doesn't mean it isn't available for your direct use if you need it. The OS does need some of it to run your phone but the majority is used for those apps/features that are in suspended states in case you do need it and they can load quickly but they aren't running. Sometimes apps go rogue but that is in the minority. With devices like the Note where you are doing multiple different things on the screen and things are running in the background constantly, memory management can be an issue and that is where I think the lag/hitching comes from. Not to mention the open garden of Android where apps are given more freedom than their iOS counterparts to do stuff in the background.

Each OS has their strengths and weaknesses in how they deal with these issues. Android is given more memory because it is necessary given how open everything is. iOS is more closed and hence Apps are more strictly handled and less memory is needed. Regardless of paradigm, each OS's memory management has improved greatly with the evolution of phones. Google and Samsung software engineers have thought about this already and if they think it is a non-issue then I don't think you should worry either. Things are a lot different than they were even a couple years ago and old relics like Task Managers aren't needed anymore given these advances.

 

[double923]

Re: 3GB of RAM...?

High RAM usage is a good thing. You want your system to use the RAM you have. Why would you want to have 3-4GB of RAM and see it only use 1.5GB? If that is the case, than you have too much and it is a waste. You can try to open as many as 17 apps, once it hits 18+ open apps, and RAM is near 2.6GB. The OS will close down open apps to just 3 or 4 and free up RAM automatically.