[blinkingled]

Whether to keep background processes and how many to keep is trivially configurable in Android though. So if Samsung wanted to skimp on RAM they could totally do so. My wife's Galaxy Nexus had 1GB RAM and Android 4.3 works fine there but compared to my Note 2 the multi tasking suffers. Anecdotally though I have had much lesser page reloads on Android devices even with 1GB RAM.

So yes Android will use more memory if there is some available but there's no evidence to suggest it needs more than iOS.

[simonh]

So what you're saying is that in your personal experience Android devices with 1GB of RAM suffer in multi-tasking. And yet you also say there's no evidence Android devices need more RAM?

BTW, there's another class of software Android devices run that consume more RAM. UI widgets. Now that's perfectly legitimate. If you like widgets, Android or WP are the way to go. It's just that they have a cost in RAM utilization, and therefore device memory specs and power consumption. If Apple supported UI widgets, they'd have to also increase memory capacity to maintain system performance and stability, so they don't. This is an area where reasonable people can have a difference of opinion. Apple prioritize battery life and lean system design, Android emphasizes features and customization.

[blinkingled]

> So what you're saying is that in your personal experience Android devices with 1GB of RAM suffer in multi-tasking. And yet you also say there's no evidence Android devices need more RAM?

No. I am talking relative here. Relative to my iPad my 1GB Android devices ( N7 (2012) and GNex) reloaded browser pages or lost background audio/video playback noticeably lesser. However on my Note 2 which has 2GB RAM, I very rarely see browser page reloads and don't remember having lost background audio for example at all (something that happens routinely on iPad and sometimes on the N7.)

So what I am saying is that Android devices don't _need_ more than 1GB - anecdotally they offer slightly better multitasking performance for the same 1GB than the iPad. But both on Android and iOS - the experience will get appreciably better with 2GB RAM given how smoother my Note 2 is and given how many times my iPad reloads/loses stuff. (Just check the diagnostics logs for low memory on iOS devices.)