In the last few days, you’ve probably heard the term “Virtual RAM” a few times. The Vivo X60 series, which comprises the Vivo X60, Vivo X60 Pro, and Vivo X60 Pro+, is said to come with an extra 3GB of ‘Virtual RAM.’ OnePlus has also claimed to be using a similar technique to speed up its devices.
Now Tecno is coming up with Memory Fusion, which is just another fancy name for Virtual RAM. New OTA Update Carries Memory Fusion Feature in Tecno Camon 18, Pova Neo, Spark 8T & Spark 8 Pro.
But what exactly does “Virtual RAM” mean? What makes it different from regular RAM on smartphone?
It’s virtual, as the name implies, meaning it’s not an actual entity or anything substantial. Let’s understand it in simplest details possible.
What is Virtual RAM?
Virtual RAM is similar to the concept as ‘Virtual Memory,’ which is used in Computers. It refers to the ability to use resources from the internal flash storage to extend the temporary (volatile) memory, i.e. RAM. It’s a very simple memory management strategy in which secondary memory is employed to augment main memory.
Virtual RAM on the smartphone uses up to allotted capacity from the internal storage to keep additional apps cached in the background.
According to the manufacturers, Vivo says that the technology can store up to 20 apps at once, while the Tecno states that users after the OTA update with the Memory Fusion will experience the improvement in performance of the smartphone, with average apps start-up of 80% faster and 2x increase in the number of background apps cache, but there are other benefits.
How is it useful?
Virtual RAM doesn’t actually speed up the process of the smartphone’s physical RAM module, but it does help it clear the task queue faster. Virtual RAM, in this sense, is essentially extra storage space for volatile activities like getting apps ready in the background, It will respond to a single tap without the normal load delays.
This contributes to the sense of a speedy experience. The phone can keep your most used apps available in the background using virtual RAM, so you don’t have to wait for them to load. As a result, using virtual RAM to speed up app startup is a good idea. But how does it work?
How Does Virtual RAM Work?
It works in a similar way to how virtual memory works in a Personal computer. This method makes use of the device’s internal memory to expand RAM storage capacity. To improve the efficiency of the operations, your smartphone will store some storage in RAM and regard it as real RAM.
However, this would not increase the RAM of your smartphone, like from 4GB to 7GB, if the Virtual RAM is of 3GB. Instead the extra 3GB RAM module will simply help the 4GB RAM module keep things running smoothly.
Is It Really Beneficial for Smartphones?
Memory management technology, according to Vivo, can only exchange small amounts of data with external storage in the past, but on the X60 Series, instead of allocating data packets, the smartphone uses algorithms to identify low-importance processes and transfers them to storage for caching.
This lowers the load on the RAM and allows it to be used for other important tasks, such as keeping the UI operating smoothly. So, while virtual RAM does not increase the amount of RAM accessible on a smartphone, it does make it much more effective in task management.
Virtual RAM may be thought of as an assistant for the primary RAM module.
In that respect, the technology is really useful and does not appear to be a gimmick. Having said that, there’s no way for you or me, as a customer, to know if it’s actually operating as stated. However, if the smartphone runs smoothly as it did on Day 1, virtual RAM is to thank for that.
