iPhone 11 could be hiding extra 2GB of camera RAM

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iPhone-11-Pro-camera
Google won't let original photos go free.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new iPhone 11 lineup may be hiding an additional 2GB of RAM allocated exclusively to its camera.

We learned this week that iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max pack 4GB of system RAM for everyday tasks. But it now appears there could be more, fenced off for one important funtion.

Apple has made huge improvements in camera performance for the newest iPhone lineup. They all ship with Ultra Wide lenses, improved Smart HDR, and a long-awaited Night mode.

Another new feature, Deep Fusion, will roll out later this year. And based on Apple’s recent keynote, it’s going to enable the best, most detailed photos you’ve ever shot on a smartphone.

None of this comes cheap, of course. It takes a tremendous amount of power to deliver this functionality — so much so that the iPhone 11 Pro camera could have its very own RAM.

Is iPhone 11 hiding more RAM?

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith has been digging around inside Xcode to uncover new details about Apple’s upcoming products.

Troughton-Smith confirmed on Wednesday that all 2019 iPhone models have 4GB of system RAM, which is accessible by iOS and visible to the user. He now says there could be another 2GB.

“Several people have now suggested to me that there may just be an extra 2GB of RAM dedicated to the camera” on the Troughton-Smith tweeted on Thursday.

“All of this new photo stuff & Deep Fusion doesn’t come cheap, it seems. I have no way of verifying these details right now, and to the user it wouldn’t be visible anyway.”

A total of 6GB of RAM?

If this is the case, then the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max pack a total of 6GB of RAM, but a third of it would only be accessible to the camera. And that could be huge.

Not only would this be an incredibly interesting indicator of how much power those new cameras really require. But it would also mean other functions won’t be impacted by camera use anymore.

Background apps won’t need to be killed when you take photos and videos because the camera won’t need to steal RAM that is already being used up in other places.

Wait for iPhone 11 firmware

That additional 2GB of RAM has not been confirmed yet, however.

We won’t know exactly how much RAM the new iPhone lineup is packing until firmware for it is readily available. That will come when the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max launch on Friday.

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