iOS and iPadOS 15 Betas Allows Developers to Request Access to More RAM

A new upgrade to Apple’s iPhone and iPad software will bring big performance updates to some apps.

A new report from MacRumors explains that a new developer tool will let developers request access to more RAM on iPhone and iPad. Currently, apps are limited by Apple, on the iPad apps can only use 5GB of RAM, despite the fact Apple’s M1 iPad Pro comes with as much as 16GB of RAM.

“Add this entitlement to your app to inform the system that some of your app’s core features may perform better by exceeding the default app memory limit on supported devices,” explains Apple. “If you use this entitlement, make sure your app still behaves correctly if additional memory isn’t available.”

An increased memory limit is only available on some device models. Call the os_proc_available_memory function to determine the amount of memory available. Higher memory use can affect system performance.”

Apple’s developer documentation does not clarify how much additional RAM apps will be able to access in this mode. This entitlement will also only be available in selected “supported devices.” This makes sense as older iPhones and iPads do not have the same amount of RAM as found on the newer models.

You will likely to notice a performance improvement while using heavy apps and games on your iPhone or iPad if it’s a recent model with 6GB or more RAM.

Photo and video editing apps can definitely benefit from access to additional RAM as they will be able to keep more layers in memory. Unlike macOS, there’s no concept of a swap memory on iOS and iPadOS, so if the system or app runs out of memory, it will simply force close or work very slowly.