Samsung is expanding RAM Plus to mid-range and flagship phones

At the beginning of September, Samsung has released an update for the Galaxy A52s 5G which added a new feature called RAM Plus. It gave the phone an additional 4 GB of virtual random access memory (RAM) using internal storage to do so.

Now, Samsung is apparently expanding the list of devices that offer this new feature to include mid-range and even flagship Samsung phones. The update has arrived for the Galaxy A52 5G, but some flagships like the The Galaxy Z Fold 3 also gets it (via SamMobile).

Judging by this turn of events, we have good reason to suspect that the feature could also arrive on other flagships such as the Galaxy S21 series and the next Galaxy S22.

What is virtual RAM and is it useful?

Virtual RAM is an old technology that was first used in PCs. In the case of Android, if the phone has internal storage that is fast enough, it may allocate some of it to be used as RAM. In turn, this extra RAM can then be used by the phone to keep a few more apps running in the background, which will allow them to be opened again faster. Although virtual RAM helps with some tasks, it cannot replace the existing physical RAM of the device. This is simply because the storage it borrows from is much slower in comparison and its primary purpose is to store more permanent information. RAM, on the other hand, is intended to house high priority information.

Overall, this may make slight improvements to app load speeds, but don’t expect virtual RAM to make your phone feel like a whole new one.

Note that you cannot play with the feature in any way, which means that it is not adjustable and cannot be turned on or off. If you have it, then it will be right there and give you 4GB of additional virtual RAM.

If you want to check if your Samsung phone has this new feature, you can do so by going to Settings> Battery and device care> Memory. If you see “RAM Plus (Virtual Memory): 4 GB” written anywhere on the screen, then you have it. Suffice it to say if you don’t see it then you don’t have it.

Even if you don’t get it, you don’t need to go into full FOMO mode. At least for now, the feature hasn’t shown any groundbreaking benefits in the real world.