[SOLVED] Do phones use page file as well? Can you see how much is used and is it manageable or even necessary to manage?

[ShangWang]

I have the samsung a32 5g.
Phone's surely use page file and other SSD functions like TRIM too right?

Also I wanted to make sure that the only reason why a device would slow down when it uses higher % usage of ram is ONLY because of more page file use correct? It wouldn't matter if I was using 90%, it would only slow down because of page file usage and not because of how much physical RAM is used?

 

[Colif]

Most Android phones don't have ssd in them. they use eMMc instead. Its similar but not as capable as an ssd.
https://www.windowscentral.com/emmc-vs-ssd

It seems the kernel has a page file but applications run in a virtual machine and don't have unlimited resources, or access to page file itself- https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5654288/android-virtual-memory-and-paging

Memory Management in Android

Hi, You might be aware of the memory concept of android. Here I have described the basic memory concept in android, Introduction about Android memory Android Android is a software stack for m…

mobworld.wordpress.com

memory is treated differently on android to windows

 

[ShangWang]

Most Android phones don't have ssd in them. they use eMMc instead. Its similar but not as capable as an ssd.
https://www.windowscentral.com/emmc-vs-ssd

It seems the kernel has a page file but applications run in a virtual machine and don't have unlimited resources, or access to page file itself- https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5654288/android-virtual-memory-and-paging

Memory Management in Android

Hi, You might be aware of the memory concept of android. Here I have described the basic memory concept in android, Introduction about Android memory Android Android is a software stack for m…

mobworld.wordpress.com

memory is treated differently on android to windows

I see, thank you.
Although would both a phone and a computer suffer from some performance due to high memory usage because of both having something similar with page file usage and that's the main factor?

They don't slow down simply because the device is using a high % of RAM?

 

[Colif]

i don't think android lets that happen, I would have to read into how the system works but I feel only the active app currently on screen gets to keep its ram, as phones rather agressive at killing processes. The more ram they get, the more lenient they are. Being able to keep more active apps is main reasoin more phones have 8 to 12gb of ram now. Everything else is cached or you need to let it restart to keep using it.

So I don't think ram is a factor in slow down on android anyway. I doubt it is on Apple either.

PC would only slow down if you using all your ram and its running off page file. The simple answer is add more ram on pc unless its soldered in. If its soldered in, get a better laptop or reduce your expectations of what device can do.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Although would both a phone and a computer suffer from some performance due to high memory usage because of both having something similar with page file usage and that's the main factor?

They don't slow down simply because the device is using a high % of RAM?

The only time the system slows down is if it constantly has to swap memory in and out between so-called context switches (from a user point of view, switching between apps). As mentioned, mobile phone OSes tend to have a pretty aggressive app management system to avoid causing this, plus inactive-apps don't consume clock cycles which means they're not eating into the battery.

However, a high % of RAM being used is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the more free RAM you have, the more you just wasted your money on it. Think of it like renting out a storage space. If you're not using it all, why bother paying for the size you got? But at the same time, you don't want to be in a situation where you're constantly moving stuff in and out of it.

 

[ShangWang]

The only time the system slows down is if it constantly has to swap memory in and out between so-called context switches

Thank you, I'm assuming these "swaps" apply for computers as well which is page file? That's their main reason why systems slow down and there's not many other reasons for keeping RAM free?

 

[hotaru.hino]

Thank you, I'm assuming these "swaps" apply for computers as well which is page file? That's their main reason why systems slow down and there's not many other reasons for keeping RAM free?

I should clarify I meant to say "swap data in and out of memory", but yes, it applies to any modern OS that can put RAM data onto a storage drive.

Another thing to point out is what is "free memory." Windows and macOS defines it as memory that has never been touched. If you leave a Windows computer on for a while and examine the RAM usage in say Resource Monitor, you'll find there's probably little "free" memory. The bulk of it is "Standby", which is just data left in RAM in case it's needed again. But if an app needs more RAM, Standby memory is usually the first to get repurposed. So this one way how modern OSes get away with "using as much RAM as possible without constant swapping."

 

[Colif]

If you leave a Windows computer on for a while and examine the RAM usage in say Resource Monitor, you'll find there's probably little "free" memory.

unless you have too much

standby is 6gb

If you close a program on win 10, its more likely to compress the data into ram in the off chance you need it again. It only moves it to storage at either shutdown or if PC needs the ram its currently in.