Hadley Simmons / Android Authority
Many brands today offer a so-called extended RAM feature, using part of your phone’s storage as virtual memory. This feature is known as Extended RAM, RAM Plus, Memory Extension or RAM Boost depending on the manufacturer.
Is this something you actually use though? This is the subject of today’s featured poll, so choose your preferred answer below and leave a comment if you want to elaborate.
Do you use virtual / extended RAM on your phone?
55 votes
The virtual or extended RAM feature seems easy on paper if your phone doesn’t have enough RAM to get started. Thus, you should theoretically be able to enjoy better multitasking performance than just using physical RAM. And there is no shortage of manufacturers supporting the feature, with Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus and Motorola, along with some prominent brands offering an extended RAM mode.
Explained: Everything you need to know about virtual memory and Android
It is worth noting that physical RAM is much faster than storage in the first place. You’ll see bigger performance gains by getting a device with more RAM as opposed to using a lot of storage for virtual / extended RAM. In addition, modern Android phones use virtual memory by default, today’s extended RAM modes essentially give users more control over usage.
Let us know if you are using extended RAM mode on your phone via the poll above.