TECHNOLOGY EXPLAINED SMARTPHONE VIRTUAL RAM

Virtual RAM in smartphones is an innovative memory management technique that extends a device's physical RAM by utilizing a portion of its internal storage. As smartphones handle increasingly demanding tasks like gaming, multitasking, and high-resolution media processing, virtual RAM has become a popular feature in modern devices, particularly in budget and mid-range models.

- Shintu Dhang

HOW SMARTPHONE VIRTUAL RAM WORKS

Smartphone virtual RAM functions similarly to virtual memory in computers. The operating system (OS), typically Android or a custom OS, allocates a portion of the internal storage (eMMC or UFS) as a temporary memory extension, often referred to as a swap file or virtual RAM partition. When the physical RAM is fully utilized, less frequently used data or background processes are moved to this virtual RAM, freeing up physical RAM for active apps. This process, managed by the OS, relies on algorithms to prioritize data movement efficiently.