Virtual RAM (VRAM) or memory extension is a feature that most smartphone brands have slowly adopted. Nokia Mobile has also followed suit and introduced the memory extension feature on its latest smartphones. The feature allows the users to designate a part of the user storage towards RAM. The phone will then use this designated storage space to store the app state so that the apps can be resumed faster. The amount of virtual RAM that can be added varies from model to model.
You will experience a snappier smartphone experience with VRAM, especially if your smartphone has low physical memory. As such, the Nokia C-series devices, with around 2GB of onboard RAM, should benefit significantly from the feature. On the other hand, smartphones like the Nokia G22 with 4GB of onboard RAM may not experience much difference in performance.
Which Nokia smartphones support memory extension?
It is currently available in Nokia G and C series. The supported devices include Nokia G22, Nokia C22, and Nokia C12 (including Nokia C12 Pro and Nokia C12 Plus). In the future, Nokia Mobile will likely introduce the memory extension feature on most of its smartphones.
Support for old phones: Although it is a software feature, Nokia Mobile will not introduce the memory extension on older devices that were released without this feature.
How to enable or disable memory extension?
The memory extension feature is disabled by default because it can degrade the storage chip faster (more details). However, it can make the overall smartphone experience better, even if it lasts a little lesser. You can enable it by following the steps below:
- Make sure you have free storage space on the phone.
- Open the Settings () app.
- Navigate to the Memory sub-setting.
- Look for the Memory extension option.
- Enable the toggle () to turn on the memory extension feature.
The system will require a reboot to set up the feature. Your storage space will be consumed and the virtual RAM will start working. The phone will use it to save the state of apps to allow for a faster app-loading experience. The virtual RAM is not a clear replacement for active real-time physical memory (which will remain as per hardware specs).