There's a very simple answer to the question 'how much RAM will be in the new iPhone 6?', and that answer is 'enough, so stop worrying.'
There is a lot of talk online tonight about the upcoming iPhone 6 handsets and the size of the RAM that will be in the handset. With conflicting sources citing 1 GB or 2 GB, it's hard to get a clear picture. I guess we'll know in due course. What I find interesting is that for all the stories about the RAM size, it's an issue that Apple has always tried to avoid.
One of the smart marketing moves that Apple has managed to do with the iPhone is to bypass the specifications battle, and the quest for a smartphone with a larger number of MacGuffins than another smartphone. The top-end of the Android world is dominated by mega-pixels, multi-cores, CPU and GPU speeds, memory capacity, camera resolution, and every other number under the sun. Snap judgements on the latest handsets are made purely on the parts used and which phone has the bigger number.
That's not been the case with previous iPhone launches, and I doubt that will change this year. There's every indication that the iPhone 6 will come with the new A8 CPU, and I'm sure that the presentation will talk about how this CPU has more power, using less energy, providing a better user interface, and how the architecture is desktop class. What it won't mention is how much RAM the smartphone will have.
And I'm fine with that. It's Apple's handset, and they're going to put in the handset as much memory as it needs for the whole system to work together as a whole. Could they go for 2 GB of RAM and step up? Should they match some of the leading Android smartphones and go for 3 GB? Can it run on 1 GB and keep the power consumption low?
Tim Cook's company is not going to engage in a spec-war. Apple focuses on the experience. What memory size will be needed to give a smooth UI? No doubt a larger screen with more pixels will need more horsepower and memory to manipulate. In the same balancing breath a larger screen with more pixels needs more power for the screen, and more power to maintain the extra RAM while in use (and off we go into a discussion on battery capacity).
There will always be trade-offs in building a smartphone. As a platform Android has put the focus on a handset's 'raw power', which means manufacturers are committed to using big number products with the problems that come with those choices - such as an increase in the bill of materials and a shortening of battery life, against the ability to win at smartphone Top Trumps. For those who are looking for the muscle-phones of late 2014, Android is the platform to watch.
But that's a very small part of the market at the higher end of the smartphone market. Strip out the hackers, the geeks, and those living on the bleeding edge, and most people just want a phone that works. They don't want to know if their smartphone has 1 GB, 2 GB, or 3 GB. They want to know it can open a lot of web pages, if it can play music, if it's set up for Candy Crush Saga, will it open the spreadsheets sent over by the office, and so on. There's no direct relation in the mind of the average consumer between these functions and RAM, and specifying the RAM does not help sell a handset.
Which is why Apple's sidestepping of the public spec-measuring is one of the smartest moves that could have been made. Want a smartphone that works? Buy an iPhone. There's the (likely to be phased out) iPhone 4 range, the iPhone 5 range (with the 5, 5C, and 5S), and very soon, the iPhone 6. That basic portfolio is easy to understand (six is bigger than five, which is bigger than four, etc), and there's no need to go near the scary computer terminology that people don't understand.
I'll happily bypass the discussion over the size of the memory in the iPhone 6. I'm sure that there will have been test versions with all the potential memory options in use in Cupertino, and I'm sure that Apple will choose the size that works with the whole system and requires the least compromise, rather than just pushing for the best number.
There's nothing wrong with wanting a powerful smartphone, but the handset with the biggest specifications will not always be the fastest in operation, the most flexible for software, or the easiest handset to use. Many times the tortoise will be a better choice than the hare. Apple understands that, as the marketing, presentation, and ongoing support make abundantly clear.
