ASUS ROG Phone 5 to Feature 18 GB of LPDDR5 RAM

[Tsing]

Image: ASUS



ASUS’ next gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone 5, will feature a whopping 18 GB of LPDDR5 DRAM. The news stems from memory giant SK hynix, which shared a press release today confirming that it had started mass production of the industry’s highest-capacity DRAM for mobile devices. ASUS’s ROG Phone 5 will be the first premium smartphone to be blessed with this high-performance memory.



“SK hynix supplied its very first 18GB LPDDR5 products into the upcoming ASUS ‘Republic of Gamers (ROG) 5’ gaming smartphone, marking the start of full-scale volume production,” the press release reads. “The new product runs at up to 6,400Mbps (megabits-per-second), around 20% faster than the mobile DRAM (LPDDR5 with 5,500Mbps) for existing smartphones, a...

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[Zarathustra]

Why would nay one need 18GB of RAM on a phone. Of what possible benefit could it be?

It would be long obsolete before anyone comes even close to benefitting from that much RAM on a phone.

Is this just for pointless bragging rights?

 

[Brian_B]

Why would nay one need 18GB of RAM on a phone. Of what possible benefit could it be?

It would be long obsolete before anyone comes even close to benefitting from that much RAM on a phone.

Is this just for pointless bragging rights?

Surely it's for mining Ethereum, right?

 

[LazyGamer]

Why would nay one need 18GB of RAM on a phone. Of what possible benefit could it be?

It would be long obsolete before anyone comes even close to benefitting from that much RAM on a phone.

Is this just for pointless bragging rights?

I don't even know how much RAM my Pixel 3a has. I also don't care.

It works, as a communications device, as good as I need such a device to work. I've read that they're keeping the fingerprint reader and headset jack on the 5a, and if so, I'm interested, but as it stands I find almost nothing to complain about the 3a hardware. And since the battery still lasts two workdays easily with my minimal use, and that's the small version, whatevs?

18GB just seems like excess for the sake of it. I know they arrived at such an odd number due to some hardware configuration, the same way GPUs get weird amounts of VRAM, but even at an 'even' 16GB this screams silliness.

 

[Zarathustra]

I don't even know how much RAM my Pixel 3a has. I also don't care.

It works, as a communications device, as good as I need such a device to work. I've read that they're keeping the fingerprint reader and headset jack on the 5a, and if so, I'm interested, but as it stands I find almost nothing to complain about the 3a hardware. And since the battery still lasts two workdays easily with my minimal use, and that's the small version, whatevs?

18GB just seems like excess for the sake of it. I know they arrived at such an odd number due to some hardware configuration, the same way GPUs get weird amounts of VRAM, but even at an 'even' 16GB this screams silliness.

Your Pixel 3a (just like my Pixel 3) has 4GB.

I don't know about you, but mine has never felt sluggish due to lack of RAM for me.

I could see the next generation going for 6-8GB, but 18 seems kind of ridiculous.

 

[Brian_B]

Gotta be honest, I never gave a thought to how much RAM my phone has, don't even really know how to check it or would know if I'm running out and need more. It's one of those things - the phone is just "the phone" - and either it works, or the whole thing sucks. Not like you can just upgrade internal components... if you need more RAM, it's a whole new phone anyway.

 

[Riccochet]

Can't say I've ever thought "gee, I wish my phone had more RAM".

I'd still be using a Pixel 2XL if the battery didn't start to die. That had 4 GB.

 

[Auer]

Anone know someone that actually has a "Gaming" phone?

 

[MadMummy76]

Every new phone I got had more ram than the previous, but I literally have zero idea what these ram upgrades gave me.

I look at storage, display, camera, battery in phones primarily. The amount of RAM was never a factor in my purchases. I'd not pay money to have the same phone with more ram.

 

[Grimlakin]

Up until DEX mode on the newer Samsung phones I truly did not understand why they would need more than a few gig of ram. My phones always had it but mostly it was model/features I was going after. I'm a Note user so there is that.

But with the introduction of Dex, meaning I can have a 'desktop' like experience with any TV capable of streamcasting means that I have the equivelant to a business laptop literally in my pocket at any given time. (Oddly one with more storage than my actual business laptop.)

Though I've only used it a couple times from a use case perspective I can see that being a primary driver for multi tasking and actually consuming the ram. I don't multitask really on my phone otherwise. Sure I have lots of apps running at times but most are effectively suspended.

 

[Dogsofjune]

Eventually there are upgrades....

 

[MadMummy76]

Up until DEX mode on the newer Samsung phones I truly did not understand why they would need more than a few gig of ram. My phones always had it but mostly it was model/features I was going after. I'm a Note user so there is that.

But with the introduction of Dex, meaning I can have a 'desktop' like experience with any TV capable of streamcasting means that I have the equivelant to a business laptop literally in my pocket at any given time. (Oddly one with more storage than my actual business laptop.)

Though I've only used it a couple times from a use case perspective I can see that being a primary driver for multi tasking and actually consuming the ram. I don't multitask really on my phone otherwise. Sure I have lots of apps running at times but most are effectively suspended.

Just because you can mirror your phone screen on a TV does not make it into a business laptop. I don't see any purpose in connecting a phone to a TV, even from a business standpoint, you cannot rely on it that the TV at the venue will be compatible with your phone and you can do your presentation with it.

 

[rat]

Your Pixel 3a (just like my Pixel 3) has 4GB.
I don't know about you, but mine has never felt sluggish due to lack of RAM for me.

When I used my phone more often, I found even 4GB wasn't enough to keep some apps from being killed when switching between them. Often I'd find that my widgets had to reload or were stuck in a frozen state, requiring that I interact with the widget before they'd update. On my Moto Z Play, for example, which had 3GB Ram... Fingerprint Gestures (an app to allow you to navigate based on which direction you swipe on the fingerprint reader, very handy) often would quit out of my notification area despite being there as a persistent app.

Haven't encountered this on my Razer Phone, which has 8GB Ram.

But now it's mostly wasted as I hardly use my phone like I used to as the Chromebook is nicer for some of those Android apps.

That said... 18GB is just nucking futs.

Anone know someone that actually has a "Gaming" phone?

*raises hand*

What is a gaming phone but a high end flagship with exaggerated specs, anyhow? I have a Razer Phone. Nice screen (I loathe AMOLED), great battery life and no lag. Just because it's marketed as a gaming phone doesn't mean it has to be used for gaming. The specs are still nice and appreciated for other uses.