I realize modern media takes up a lot of space but my 2003 desktop was clearly overprovisioned with 16MB, and still runs fine, so I can't help questioning why a modern phone (or desktop for that matter) can swallow three orders of magnitude more memory.
Excuse me while I go push some youngsters off my lawn. :P
It's mostly going to 3d rendering. Your desktop's desktop is rendered in 2d, this phone's desktop is 3d. Same thing for basically all interesting applications.
It's partly because much of the modern software development consists of stacking abstraction layers on top of other abstraction layers.
So that you end up with an application sandbox running on top of the OS, with a Java VM running on top of the sandbox, with an app running on top of the VM, with a web view running on top of the app, with JavaScript VM running on top of the web view, with JavaScript code running on top of the JavaScript VM... And wasteful memory use as well as caching at all the various levels, while we're at it. And multiple such apps running concurrently. Plus all the other OS services, cached filesystem and network transfers, cached assets (such as for 3D rendering, etc.), and so on.
tl;dr modern software developers are experts at spending whatever compute resources you can throw at them, and are always asking for more.
Well, the problem is everyone wants the apps in "yesterday was late" fashion. Add in there are not enough developers worldwide to satisfy the demand even when things are hugely done with prefabricated components.
Data requirements skyrocketed as well, computers are now processing significantly more than they used to (practical example... when I started coding, your usual gaming resolution was 320x200... and high end games were at 256 colours... that gives you 64kB memory if uncompressed... today let's say usual is 1920x1080 at 32bit colours... giving you ~8294kB memory uncompressed... roughly 130 times rise), follow with audio and you can go on and on.
And we are not even touching topics like security comparing some small-studio-baked solution to proven publicly available library...
If you look at minimal linux with 1920 resolution, it works with 512 ram. above that is all cache & graphical effects, concurency of programs that load 50 MB each at least to correctly talk to GPU driver. Throw animations and HD icons into mix and it goes up rapidly. check number of threads you have, (propably 1000+, each needs a bit of ram for itself). on windows its even worse, all about windows on windows and loading shitabyte of data to keep backward compatibility with every single bug they had since 98. They also exec multiple things without your knowing (and hidden from task manager), which will steal another piece, and so on.
Memory amounts like this don't make much sense for the average user, but it makes sense for power users taking advantage of things like Samsung DeX or doing media editing from their phone.
That one is almost inexcusable. LibreOffice and Word both recognize that as a spelling error and clearly underline it with a little red squiggle. Is AT using Google Docs to write articles these days?
I am quite surprised that they are doing 12GB as package with six power-of-two-size dice ... I thought the 3*2^n capacities were initially due to limits on die size (IE that the lithography wasn't quite good enough to make an adequately profitable 16Gbit but they could do a 12Gbit)
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Exodite - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
Jeez, I can't decide if I'm just old or confused.I realize modern media takes up a lot of space but my 2003 desktop was clearly overprovisioned with 16MB, and still runs fine, so I can't help questioning why a modern phone (or desktop for that matter) can swallow three orders of magnitude more memory.
Excuse me while I go push some youngsters off my lawn. :P
surt - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
It's mostly going to 3d rendering. Your desktop's desktop is rendered in 2d, this phone's desktop is 3d. Same thing for basically all interesting applications.willis936 - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Does it need to be? More importantly if 12 GB offers benefit to the OS then how did phones scrape by with less than 1 GB of RAM using the same OSes?Jorgp2 - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
Maybe to keep more things in memory and reduce disk transfers?boeush - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
It's partly because much of the modern software development consists of stacking abstraction layers on top of other abstraction layers.So that you end up with an application sandbox running on top of the OS, with a Java VM running on top of the sandbox, with an app running on top of the VM, with a web view running on top of the app, with JavaScript VM running on top of the web view, with JavaScript code running on top of the JavaScript VM... And wasteful memory use as well as caching at all the various levels, while we're at it. And multiple such apps running concurrently. Plus all the other OS services, cached filesystem and network transfers, cached assets (such as for 3D rendering, etc.), and so on.
tl;dr modern software developers are experts at spending whatever compute resources you can throw at them, and are always asking for more.
HollyDOL - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Well, the problem is everyone wants the apps in "yesterday was late" fashion. Add in there are not enough developers worldwide to satisfy the demand even when things are hugely done with prefabricated components.Data requirements skyrocketed as well, computers are now processing significantly more than they used to (practical example... when I started coding, your usual gaming resolution was 320x200... and high end games were at 256 colours... that gives you 64kB memory if uncompressed... today let's say usual is 1920x1080 at 32bit colours... giving you ~8294kB memory uncompressed... roughly 130 times rise), follow with audio and you can go on and on.
And we are not even touching topics like security comparing some small-studio-baked solution to proven publicly available library...
deil - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
If you look at minimal linux with 1920 resolution, it works with 512 ram.above that is all cache & graphical effects, concurency of programs that load 50 MB each at least to correctly talk to GPU driver. Throw animations and HD icons into mix and it goes up rapidly.
check number of threads you have, (propably 1000+, each needs a bit of ram for itself).
on windows its even worse, all about windows on windows and loading shitabyte of data to keep backward compatibility with every single bug they had since 98.
They also exec multiple things without your knowing (and hidden from task manager), which will steal another piece, and so on.
HollyDOL - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
... and we are still barely scratching surface :-)prophet001 - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
This is so true.Soooo much bloat in today's software.
cpkennit83 - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Desktops had 16mb ram by 1997. No desktop assembled in 2003 had anything less than 512mb. Win XP would die with 16mbExodite - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
I didn't use a Windows/x86-based desktop.jordanclock - Monday, March 18, 2019 - link
Memory amounts like this don't make much sense for the average user, but it makes sense for power users taking advantage of things like Samsung DeX or doing media editing from their phone.Sahrin - Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - link
Windows NT required at least 32 MB of RAM and launched 2 years before this desktop was used...so I’m not sure I believe you.The_Assimilator - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
"a straitforward task"Unlike proofreading, it would appear.
PeachNCream - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
That one is almost inexcusable. LibreOffice and Word both recognize that as a spelling error and clearly underline it with a little red squiggle. Is AT using Google Docs to write articles these days?A5 - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Probably a custom CMS. But the browser still should have caught it.NICOXIS - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
no need to be a dick about itTomWomack - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
I am quite surprised that they are doing 12GB as package with six power-of-two-size dice ... I thought the 3*2^n capacities were initially due to limits on die size (IE that the lithography wasn't quite good enough to make an adequately profitable 16Gbit but they could do a 12Gbit)sonicmerlin - Sunday, March 17, 2019 - link
12 GB is amazing