S23 ultra 8 vs 12 gb ram ?

[Bayron]

I know 4 gb more ram is a nice thing to have, but is it really that noticeable for everyday use(no gaming) just social, calls, texting? 

 

Because s23 ultra whit 12gb ram in my region is about 250 euros more(yeah and it's 512 gb model) than 8/256gb, there is some kind of wired promo on 8/256gb model rn, regular price is 1319 euros, whit promo 1160. The 12/512gb starts at 1419 euros. 

 

Tnx for help

[Biohazard777]

For your use case I'd say go for it if you need extra storage, not for RAM.

Asus Zenfone 9, Android 13, 8/128 model:

Don't have an S23 ultra, perhaps another forum member with s23 ultra could share their RAM usage.
But... keep in mind that unused RAM is wasted RAM, the OS will not try to keep the usage down unless it has to, in fact it will try to use as much as possible.
So I'd fully expect to see average RAM usage on S23u 8GB to be around 5GB, while on 12GB to be closer to 7GB or 8GB (the OS doesn't need to purge stuff from memory as often), and IMO the user wouldn't be able tell the difference between them.

Now sure, future Android version (Samsung promises 4 updates) could be more RAM heavy and with getting the 12GB you would be sure you have plenty... but do you see yourself rocking the same phone 5+ years from now?

[Bayron]

7 hours ago, Biohazard777 said:

For your use case I'd say go for it if you need extra storage, not for RAM.

Asus Zenfone 9, Android 13, 8/128 model:

Don't have an S23 ultra, perhaps another forum member with s23 ultra could share their RAM usage.
But... keep in mind that unused RAM is wasted RAM, the OS will not try to keep the usage down unless it has to, in fact it will try to use as much as possible.
So I'd fully expect to see average RAM usage on S23u 8GB to be around 5GB, while on 12GB to be closer to 7GB or 8GB (the OS doesn't need to purge stuff from memory as often), and IMO the user wouldn't be able tell the difference between them.

Now sure, future Android version (Samsung promises 4 updates) could be more RAM heavy and with getting the 12GB you would be sure you have plenty... but do you see yourself rocking the same phone 5+ years from now?

OH Tnx. Yeah I use one phone at max 2 years(if it totally don't sux), in my region there's a 2 year warranty for all electronic, then try to sell it cheap won't even know, if I buy it(currently have some other contesters in line, just wanted to Know is there a difference form 8 to 12gb), what happens after android 15

[Darkseth]

23 hours ago, Biohazard777 said:

the OS will not try to keep the usage down unless it has to, in fact it will try to use as much as possible.

Mostly true, but not as much.
 

Some manufacturers have more aggressive Ram Management, they keep a little bit free. Especially if you go above 8gb Ram. I don't like it.

 

See: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

There are a few Settings, that will let Apps get killed/put to sleep faster, like "Adaptive Battery" to save some battery.

However, i don't know how old this Site is and if it's beeing updated. It seems it wasn't updated since like 4-5 years.

23 hours ago, Biohazard777 said:

So I'd fully expect to see average RAM usage on S23u 8GB to be around 5GB, while on 12GB to be closer to 7GB or 8GB (the OS doesn't need to purge stuff from memory as often),

Somewhat.
On my 8gb Oneplus 6t i had regularely 6-7gb in usage, i liked that. 500mb or so was reserved for System/Graphic or anything, so not much left "unused".

When i moved to a Oneplus 8 Pro with 12gb Ram, i almost never saw more than 9gb in usage. But i saw my Apps getting killed/resettet way before 10gb Ram was beeing used. There was room for it, but Oneplus decided to kill an App instead.

 

23 hours ago, Biohazard777 said:

and IMO the user wouldn't be able tell the difference between them.

I can confirm, i didn't notice much of a difference in everyday usage. higher usage was there, but i would've neede some Tests to confirm. But usually.. No difference.

 

 

My personal recommendation: Do NOT upgrade just for the 12gb Ram. Probably won't do anything, unless you do extremely heavy Multitasking, you absolutely HATE seeing your Apps reload, and you have maybe tested it yourself with your own usecase.

For 99% of people, 8gb is perfectly fine.

 

The difference in how long it takes for the first App to reload/get killed is usually not as high, as you'd expect with 8 vs 12.

 

You could consider the upgrade if you need more internal storage, and just take the Ram upgrade as a Bonus.
but 256gb is already very plenty, think about if you actually "need" more.

 

If you're just fine with 256gb, take that cheaper version.

[JobinJames]

S23 Ultra user here. You can see the attached screenshot for the RAM usage. Most of the RAM remains unused.

PS: I do have RAM plus turned on and set to 8GB. Also I don't really play games at all.