Is 12GB of RAM enough for a high-end smartphone?

Despite the fact that many top smartphones already hit the market with 16GB, 18GB or even 24GB of RAM, the reality is that the “standard” is not yet this. The high-end reference models, such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, hit the market with “only” 12GB of RAM.

An amount of memory that honestly no longer impresses, and in fact, instead, already worries some potential consumers. Is 12GB of RAM enough for 4, 5 or 6 years of intense use? Which is the number of years that the vast majority of manufacturers now present as the official period of support via software. A very acceptable period of time, given that we are talking about a device costing almost €1500?

Well, let’s go in parts.

Is 12GB of RAM enough for a high-end smartphone?

Therefore, to understand the meaning of this amount of RAM, we already have some mid-range devices hitting the market with 12GB of memory available, as is the case with Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 13 Pro+.

Well… The reality is that no one knows yet.

In my personal opinion, I would like to see a base model of the S24 Ultra with 12GB, as well as another slightly more expensive model with 16GB, in order to give consumers some kind of choice. However, a smartphone is not a computer, and as such, in the vast majority of cases it does not need to have the same RAM capacity.

The applications, despite becoming increasingly complex, are still much simpler compared to a real PC program.

Yes, it is true that we now have Artificial Intelligence arriving in force, and this could mean a boost in technical requirements.

However, once again, neither manufacturers nor enthusiasts know what kind of impact AI will have on the market, even with the arrival in force of intelligent algorithms full of potential to offer many good features.

Furthermore, the vast majority of news is being processed in the cloud, and not on the smartphone itself. Therefore, despite all the outcry that there was saying that at least 18GB of RAM would be needed… That hasn’t happened yet, nor should it happen in the next few years. (Locally processed AI on the smartphone is still years away).

In short, in my most honest opinion, it is very likely that 12GB will be more than enough for the near future (2~3 years). More than 4 years already wrinkled my nose, because 4 years in the world of technology can really mean a lot. However, it is very likely that other components will begin to present problems with prolonged use before RAM memory, as is almost always the case with the battery.