- Xiaomi is reportedly working on a RAM “extension” feature in MIUI.
- This would essentially use some free storage space as virtual RAM.
Today’s smartphones generally come with plenty of RAM, and it’s not uncommon to find 4GB or even 6GB of RAM in budget devices. Some users might still suffer from multitasking and performance woes though, but Xiaomi is reportedly working on a solution.
Xiaomi tipster Kacper Skrzypek discovered references to a so-called memory extension feature in MIUI, later revealing a screenshot of the feature as well. The references and screenshot suggest that MIUI is able to allocate a set amount of storage to be used as virtual RAM of sorts. Check out his screenshot below.
This wouldn’t be the first time we saw the ability to use storage as virtual RAM on a smartphone, as Vivo also offered an “extended RAM” feature on its X60 series earlier this year. For example, the Vivo X60 Pro Plus (seen at the top of the page) allocates 3GB of storage to be used as virtual RAM, effectively bringing the total to 15GB of RAM. Vivo notes that the feature enables a “smoother system user experience,” such as multitasking between more apps.
We’ve also seen a similar feature on Windows in years gone by, dubbed ReadyBoost. It allowed users to plug in a flash drive, with the computer essentially using the USB drive’s storage as extended RAM of sorts. It isn’t faster than simply having more RAM, but it’s definitely an improvement over using a hard drive.
There’s no word on when the memory extension feature will be coming to MIUI or which devices will receive it. But hopefully Xiaomi doesn’t restrict the function to new high-end devices, as older budget phones with less RAM would definitely benefit from a performance boost like this. For example, a phone like the Redmi 8A, which has a base model with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, would certainly see an improvement in multitasking with virtual RAM.
from Android Authority https://ift.tt/2Rdkc5F
