Vivo X60 series brings Virtual RAM to smartphones - What is it and how does it work - Android

The Vivo X60 series is launching next week and as teased, it will be all about the camera experience. Vivo has partnered with Zeiss this year to work on the camera experiences, similar to the partnership between OnePlus and Hasselblad. While details about the cameras are under the wraps, Vivo has shared information on another […]

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The Vivo X60 series is launching next week and as teased, it will be all about the camera experience. Vivo has partnered with Zeiss this year to work on the camera experiences, similar to the partnership between OnePlus and Hasselblad. While details about the cameras are under the wraps, Vivo has shared information on another feature that is likely to appeal to performance enthusiasts. Drawing from the world of PCs, Vivo is introducing Virtual RAM to smartphones.

Virtual RAM is unheard of in the world of smartphones but the concept is simple. The idea is to borrow some space from the storage and allot it to the RAM when the system needs more memory. To simplify it further, the phone will take some storage space and use for “RAM functions” when the available DDR RAM is reaching its full capacity. This, theoretically, will ease up the system, eventually boosting performance.

Virtual RAM in Vivo X60 series to boost performance

On the Vivo X60 series, the Virtual RAM function is supposed to provide an extra 3GB memory to the RAM. Hence, if the phone has 8GB of DDR RAM, the Virtual RAM function can boost the total available memory to 11GB RAM. Vivo says this results in improving the user experience while multitasking with several apps. It is also supposed to help cut down lag on these phones.

“Vivo has independently developed a brand-new memory management technology. Instead of distributing small amounts of memory data, it uses processes as a unit to accurately identify processes that are of low importance and do not affect the user experience among those occupying a large amount of memory, and exchange these processes with external storage space, so as to greatly reduce the running memory occupied by a single app,” says Vivo in an official statement to BGR India.

“Thus, the original DDR storage space of a fixed capacity can support the running of more apps. Compared with the traditional memory management technology, the memory usage efficiency has increased by 37 percent, which is equivalent to a device with 8GB memory and provides an extra memory space of 3GB, providing a user experience equivalent to 11GB,” adds Vivo.

Image: Vivo X60 Pro+

The idea makes sense on high-performance smartphones, given the bleeding-edge specifications they offer. Adding more RAM capacity is pricey on phones. However, onboard storage is available aplenty, and using up to 3GB of space won’t affect most users in terms of performance (assuming you don’t fill up the entirety of 128GB). Additionally, using a fast UFS 3.1-based storage should help in matching the RAM’s read/write speeds. Hence, performance seekers get an extra dosage of RAM without having to pay extra.

When can Virtual RAM be useful?

Image: Vivo X60 Pro

Vivo claims that Virtual RAM will be useful while multitasking with demanding apps. Hence, mobile gamers and mobile video editors are likely to see apps remain in the memory, when required. Vivo doesn’t say how the extra virtual RAM affects battery life, and hence, we have to wait for our hands-on with the X60.

The presence of Virtual RAM does indicate at the performance credentials of the X60 series. Vivo has already teased including a Snapdragon 800 series chip this time. This puts the X60 series up there with the high-performance Android flagships in the market. Additionally, the partnership with Carl Zeiss is expected to offer some large advancements in camera performance.

The Vivo X60 series is launching on March 25 and will include three models – X60, X60 Pro, and X60 Pro+.