In our previous articles, we have covered the specifications of Apple's new iPhone 3GS and it was no secret that Apple's new iPhone 3GS is a faster version of iPhone 3G.
The speed and performance of iPhone 3GS were attributed to faster CPU, more RAM, improved graphics etc. But a recent study carried out by iPhone app developer, Tap Tap Tap reveals that the increased RAM in iPhone 3GS was probably not given the importance it deserved.
The study conducted and published on their blog reveals that the 256 MB RAM in iPhone 3GS is one of the biggest factors behind the overall improved performance of Apple's new iPhone.
Here is an overview of the different components found in iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.
Central processing Unit (CPU)
iPhone 3G: ARM 11, 412 MHz
iPhone 3GS: ARM Cortex, 600 MHz
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
iPhone 3G: PowerVR MBX Lite
iPhone 3GS: PowerVR SGX
Random Access Memory (RAM)
iPhone 3G: 128 MB
iPhone 3GS: 256 MB
It is noticeable that in comparison to all the above mentioned improvements, the RAM has increased by double. The iPhone app developer has observed that this actually translates into 4X to 10X more available memory in comparison to that of the iPhone 3G.
Quote:
The older iPhone models have been often considered underpowered when it comes to RAM, so even though the RAM amount is technically doubled, in actual use, you’ll often be working with 4x to 10x the amount of free RAM. And that’s one major aspect that’s contributing to the overall speedier feel of the 3GS.
This conclusion was drawn after folks at Tap Tap Tap carried out the following tests:
Standard Conditions:
1. Both iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS were running an app named 'Memory Status'. This app displays the usage of RAM on the iPhone.
2. Both the iPhones are tested at two stages, once during the start up and once after the iPhones have been used for a few minutes.
3. Both iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS were running the following applications after the startup test is done:
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MobileMail (Mail)
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MobileMusicPlayer (iPod)
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MobilePhone (Phone)
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BTServer (Bluetooth server)
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SpringBoard (manages your home screen)
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Accessoryd (controls accessories connected through the dock connector)
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Aosnotifyd (controls MobileMe syncing)
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Mediaserverd (controls audio mixing)
The Memory Status App that is used for this study consists of the following memory states:
- Wired and Active indicate the memory that is in use.
- Inactive and Free indicate the memory that is currently available on the iPhone.
Stage 1: iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS during startup
You will notice that the iPhone 3GS has about 156 MB of memory available during startup. If you look at the available memory on iPhone 3G during startup, it is just under 40 MB.
This means that the iPhone 3GS gives the users 4x the memory in comparison to iPhone 3G.
Stage 2: iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G after use (after startup)
With a list of iPhone applications being used on both the iPhones, the iPhone 3GS comes out as a clear winner. Because of the repeated usage of the listed applications, the available RAM of iPhone 3GS has dropped down to about 122 MB. The Safari browser was still running on iPhone 3GS when this drop was noticed.
Now, if you look at available memory in case of iPhone 3G then you will notice that it has actually reduced to a meager 13 MB.
This shows that the iPhone 3GS gives the users almost 10X the memory in comparison to iPhone 3G.
The speed of iPhone 3GS is attributed to other factors as well but the clear comparison of available memory in both iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G goes to show the significant impact that increased RAM has made in Apple's latest iPhone.
Do let us know about your thoughts in the comment section below.
[via Tap Tap Tap]
This is actually really interesting. I noticed that the 3GS was a lot faster but I didn't know it was 4x-10x faster.
It would be really cool if we could upgrade our RAM chips inside the iPhone. Apple should offer iPhone owners to purchase hardware to upgrade their phones.
I'v noticed since my jailbreak that my phone runs a lot slower and I hate it, but I like being able to ssh.
Yeah how well does it run jailbroken? My 3G would run SO SLOW after jailbreaking to the point that I would have to wait a second after typing each letter in a text message… Opening and closing programs was pretty bad too… Is the phone still fast/smooth jailbroken?
I have the 3g and the 3gs. The 3g jailbroken ran like a windows mobile phone, very sluggish and buggy. The 3GS runs very well on purplera1n. No problems yet.
my 3gs runs the same jailbroken or not however i have seen that after 3 days or so if it enters sleep mode it takes anywhere from 5 sec to 1 min to wake up a simple restart fixes this but the jailbreak does need some work ….
They better put a front facing camera on the next iphone and REALLY make it worth it.
I've been having similar issue. Takes a while to wake up from sleep mode sometimes. Manual off and then on again fixes the problem.
This is not where this comment belongs.
this is interesting! i think if they are going to make 4th generation iPhone than it will have 512MB RAM on it and better processor
and after they release it people will say 4th generation is 4x times faster lol
p.s. i agree with Jonny H!!!! we need front facing camera!!!
Purpelra1n jailbreak running really well on my 3GS
I´ve also had some problems with my iPhone. Slow with sms und slow changing mode too. Sometimes takes a while tipping words or changing to other options.
I definitely Agree.
I just got my 3GS yesterday.
Free memory has a very obvious effect. The programs don't quit on its own anymore (only once so far in cydia)
Actually i got a 3GS and my cousin had the regular 3g jail-broken and he disable the keyboard sound, and the overall performance was increase. Make a test by yourself and disable the keyboard sound for every type and give a try. Hopes this help my friend.
-Chris
Wow this is a major increase in speed. I am really looking forward to this. Happily I havent bought an iPhone yet.
My 3GS is jailbroken using PurpleRa1n and have not seen any issues where speed has decreased, it does blaze as compared to 3G. There is a huge improvement in download speed when I'm on Wireless, 3g speeds seem to be identical.
I had a Cydia app called XGPS that crashed often on 3G but works smoothly with 3GS, assuming due to the additional memory.
My overall experience has been no speed difference if you jailbreak yourphone (3G or 3GS) your mileage may vary.
The main reason for me to upgrade to 3GS cause of lack of RAM on 3G (128MB). Iphone 3G always kick running application out when it run out of memory, so need to keep monitor the free memory.
It would be great if apple offers upgrade memory from 256MB to 1GB
I've got quite a wait for my contract to run out… hopefully in time for the next model up!
My purplra1n jailbroken 3gs is still blazing fast no problems yet.
yes, i tryed on my Iphone 3G Jail-broken ( Still 2.2.1 fw) and i can confirm that disable keyboard sound icrease the overall performance XD tnx Chris
Josh,
I have the 32gig white 3Gs and it is running jailbroken 3.0 software. I have not noticed any problems with slowness of the device. It is prompt and speedy when launching apps. I sometimes even run apps in the background using an app called backgrounder. It is especially useful for listening to pandora radio while doing other things on the phone.
One thing that I have noticed though is decreased battery life. I unplug it at 8am every morning for work and usually plug in at around 11am. With average usage (some games, some internet, some music, few calls… lots of email) I would have about 30% battery left by 11pm. After jailbreaking and loading up with apps/games I am now seeing that I am under 10% by 11pm and on days with heavier use I might be completely dead by 9pm.
Still totally worth it though, the added functionality to be gained by jailbreaking makes this device unbeatable
4-10x the amount of RAM DOES NOT mean 4-10x faster…and the article never claims that. It just means that the data that would be stored into the very fast RAM wont overflow into the slower flash memory.
For a functional example, say you're running a game…the image of the enemy ships is loaded from the flash storage and stored in memory because it needs to be accessed quickly…this is a hard game and there are lots of enemies being drawn. When your run out of memory on your old phone, the image of the enemy ship gets stored back onto the slow flash drive rather than the much much much faster RAM. Now, whenever your game wants to draw that enemy ship, it has to wait for it to load from the flash storage…slowing everything down.
Of course…this would be a terrible design for a game…but..functionally it's a good example.