Xcode Confirms All 2019 iPhones Feature 4GB RAM, S5 Apple Watch Chip Identical to S4 [Updated]

Wednesday September 18, 2019 12:05 pm PDT by Juli Clover
There was some mixed information about the RAM in the new 2019 iPhone models, which has led to confusion over the course of the last week.

Benchmarks of the new iPhones have continually listed 4GB of RAM in all iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max devices, but a rumor sourced from a certification database suggested there was 6GB RAM in the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.


That led to speculation that perhaps some higher-end capacities might have had 6GB RAM, but it's now been made clear, both through regulatory filings in China and info discovered this morning by Steve Troughton-Smith in Xcode, that every ‌iPhone 11‌, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max model has 4GB RAM.


For the ‌iPhone 11 Pro‌ and Pro Max, that's identical to the amount of RAM available in the prior-generation iPhone XS and XS Max, and for the ‌iPhone 11‌, that's up 1GB from the 3GB RAM in the iPhone XR.

Also of note, Troughton-Smith has confirmed that the S5 processor in the Apple Watch Series 5 is identical to the S4 processor in the ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 4, with no performance improvements.


That's not a surprise as Apple mentioned no changes to the chip during its September 10 event and there's no mention of speed or performance increases in the ‌Apple Watch‌ marketing materials, but it's useful to have confirmation.

Internally, the ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 5 is using an updated display that allows for always-on functionality, there's a new compass feature, and 32GB storage, but otherwise, the ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 5 appears to use the same internal components as the Series 4.

Troughton-Smith's Xcode digging has also uncovered new information about the updated 10.2-inch seventh-generation iPad. It is equipped with 3GB RAM, up from 2GB in the previous-generation version.


Apple's new ‌iPhone‌ and ‌Apple Watch‌ models are set to officially launch on Friday, September 20, and teardowns will soon unveil even more information about the new devices. The new seventh-generation ‌iPad‌ will be available on September 30.

Update: Troughton-Smith now says that he's hearing conflicting information about the RAM in the iPhones and is going to look into it further in the firmware.



Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 6, iPad, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now), iPad (Buy Now), iPhone 11 (Neutral), iPhone 11 Pro (Neutral)
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HVDynamo
18 weeks ago


I was thinking about getting an Apple Watch S5 as my first Apple Watch, but it feels dumb to buy when there are no performance upgrades and sleep tracking and more significant features are most likely coming next year.


If it's your first apple watch, you get all of the features that have been introduced since 2015 as new to you... If you keep waiting for next year because it will be "better" you will be waiting forever. Now is the time to buy one if you are going to. I have an original Apple watch, and plan on upgrading to the S5 as soon as they hit store shelves.
Rating: 4 Votes
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xxray
18 weeks ago
I was thinking about getting an Apple Watch S5 as my first Apple Watch, but it feels dumb to buy when there are no performance upgrades and sleep tracking and more significant features are most likely coming next year.
Rating: 3 Votes
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EugW
18 weeks ago


I was thinking about getting an Apple Watch S5 as my first Apple Watch, but it feels dumb to buy when there are no performance upgrades and sleep tracking and more significant features are most likely coming next year.

More memory and always-on screen are pretty big upgrades IMHO.
Rating: 3 Votes
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ThisBougieLife
18 weeks ago
You wouldn't think this would be so hard to verify. It's back and forth between 4 and 6 since it was announced. Let's just compromise and say it has 5. :P
Rating: 3 Votes
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Donnation
18 weeks ago
I'm a little disappointed in the watch. I am going to try the always on display to see if its something I like but I was actually hoping for some performance improvements. At the very least I was hoping for some battery improvements. If you use the watch to work out as well as for things like maps the battery takes a major hit and usuallly needs to be charged up if you have a late night. Was hoping for some improvements there, but maybe next year.
Rating: 2 Votes
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nordique
18 weeks ago


Shouldn't be a problem since iOS still doesn't have real multi-tasking.


Exactly.

And on iPads which do have real multitasking, even 3GB is enough for that! (mini 5, iOS 13, 3 apps at once - no issues whatsoever)

People are in a furor about this because expectations were incorrectly elevated and now it seems “less than”

I don’t recall an uproar about iPhone 7 or 8 having the same 2GB ram as the 6s being an issue

4GB is probably more than these phones need. When iOS gets real multitasking abilities then perhaps this becomes an issue down the road, but by that point, people complaining about this now will probably have upgraded 1-2 times by then.

When iOS demanded it, Apple has always increased the ram appropriately.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Jeremy3292
18 weeks ago


Other current phones do not use dedicated RAM for the camera AFAIK. The previous iPhones never have either.


Yes, so why would Apple feel the 11 Pro's would need a dedicated 2 GB of RAM? How much dedicated processing power do cameras need? Seems wild to me, presuming we can trust these rumors.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Brien
18 weeks ago
Surprised the S5 isn’t more efficient.
Rating: 2 Votes
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EugW
18 weeks ago
Hmmm... I don't buy it. That twitter thread is talking about 4 GB system RAM + 2 GB dedicated camera RAM in the new iPhone Pros. However, it would be unlikely to have 6 GB RAM with 2 GB of that dedicated to the camera. If it were to have 6 GB, all 6 GB would normally be available to the OS, and then the camera would use up to 2 GB as needed by killing resident applications if necessary. I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but this 4+2 GB claim sounds more like wishful thinking than anything else.

The confirmation of 3 GB for the 10.2" iPad is a big relief... or it would have been if that linked tweet hadn't been deleted. So who knows? Is it 3 GB or not? That link ('https://t.co/KeFSV7pT5p') certainly doesn't inspire confidence:



Rating: 2 Votes
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Abazigal
18 weeks ago

A Pro Phone with 4GB of Ram in 2019........:rolleyes:


My iPad pro comes with 4 gb of ram as well.

At the end of the day, it’s not going to impact my enjoyment of the device. All the ram in the world isn’t going to change the fact that Samsung phones have no software or services ecosystem to speak of, and that’s really why I love my Apple devices at the end of the day.

Not saying I wouldn’t mind more ram, but it is what it is, and life goes on.
Rating: 2 Votes

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