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10GB RAM to become 'mainstream spec' for Android flagships this year, but not all companies are on board

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Jan 22, 2019, 4:06 AM

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Android

The OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition was one of the world's first 10GB RAM smartphones

While the likes of the Galaxy S9 and Google’s Pixel 3 and 3 XL continue to prove 4 gigs of memory can be enough for a high-end Android phone to deliver satisfying power and a decently smooth multitasking experience, Lenovo seems keen to future-proof the world’s first Snapdragon 855 handset with up to a whopping 12GB RAM.

Oddly enough, this trailblazing 12 gig smartphone came before a 10GB memory count could become standard practice in the mobile industry, as only a handful of companies previously embraced the jump from 8GB RAM.

But according to “industry sources” speaking anonymously with Digitimes, 10GB RAM will be the “mainstream spec for flagship smartphones released by the Android camp this year.” Before you get too excited (or worried about an inevitable price hike in the high-end Android “camp”), it’s important to point out Digitimes doesn’t expect all major smartphone vendors to make the move to 10 gigs of random-access memory by the end of 2019.

“Several players” are likely to “promote their flagship models with more than 10GB of RAM” this year, with others to follow suit as late as the second half of 2020. For instance, Samsung may or may not go all out as far as a top-shelf 5G-enabled Galaxy S10 configuration with at least 256GB internal storage is concerned.

Meanwhile, OnePlus, Xiaomi, or Vivo are pretty much guaranteed to make 10 or even 12 gigs of RAM the new normal for their next-gen hero devices. It’s unclear where companies like Huawei or LG stand in this latest spec race, but perhaps this sort of differentiation is what the market needs to get out of its recent funk.

Granted, it doesn’t look like today’s mobile devices can actually benefit from that much memory in ways users can experience or even notice, but AI breakthroughs and the growing number of camera lenses integrated into certain phones are quoted as potentially requiring more and more RAM.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.

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10GB RAM to become 'mainstream spec' for Android flagships this year, but not all companies are on board

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