Flashback: Android 4.4 KitKat optimized the OS for phones with just 512MB of RAM

23 January 2022
This sugary treat changed how Android works on the inside to improve the user experience on low RAM devices.

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  • J
  • Jadoo4Q
  • IL8
  • 14 Jun 2022

Scram, 23 Jan 2022Back when anticipation for new Android releases was festive... moreMy dad had windows phone and it felt so smooth. You forgot webOS on Palm and HP, it now died into a TV operating system that can’t do much than YouTube Netflix Hulu prime Disney hbo etc.

    • J
    • Jadoo4q
    • IL8
    • 14 Jun 2022

    Nexus One, 23 Jan 2022Google engineers used a gimped Nexus 4 with 512 MB RAM, dua... moreModern iOS does good on low RAM but it’s CPU usage is horrific

      • M
      • Mariocrafter
      • IL8
      • 14 Jun 2022

      Nexus One, 23 Jan 2022KitKat was the best Android version pre-Material Design era... moreAndroid 12 is not catered to teenage girls much. It’s more trying to be like iPhone.

        • T
        • The Mariocrafter
        • IL8
        • 14 Jun 2022

        Nexus One, 23 Jan 2022Best Nexus for me: Nexus 5 (came with KitKat) Best Pixel ... moreDessert names still exist internally.
        Android 10 is Queen Cake
        Android 11 is Red Velvet Cake
        Android 12 is Snow Cone
        Android 13 is Tiramisu
        Android 14 is Upside Down Cake

          • J
          • Jadoo4
          • IL8
          • 14 Jun 2022

          Anonymous, 24 Jan 2022Boring normie-numbered naming scheme. Agree
          Desserts made the OS unique. Numbers are boring
          I still use the internal dessert names!

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • XRM
            • 25 Jan 2022

            And next android13, how to optimize 12gb Ram phone can running smoothly ...

              • N
              • Noda tech
              • XIx
              • 24 Jan 2022

              I have galaxy tab pro 8.4💘
              I'm use android 4.4.2 kitkat💘
              But i want galaxy note 3 and all galaxy note hahaha😂😂💘
              I'm used s4 active but it's bad soooo bad😭😳😠😡😬😂
              I want go to ios home hahaha😂😂😂😂💘

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • sUS
                • 24 Jan 2022

                Anonymous, 24 Jan 2022The naming was stupid not exciting, thankfully the naming ... moreBoring normie-numbered naming scheme.

                  Anonymous, 24 Jan 2022LOL. What are you babbling about? You talk about comprehens... moreOnly one blabbing here is you. Go take a look at yourself in the mirror. If you don't have one, use your selfie camera. Result wouldn't be much different.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 70d
                    • 24 Jan 2022

                    Cyberchum, 24 Jan 2022Comprehension! You are going off on a tangent. Would vir... moreLOL. What are you babbling about? You talk about comprehension, but you don't even understand my post. English is probably not your native language. Nobody wants to change anything.

                      Anonymous, 24 Jan 2022I wonder if I have to explain every single thing. "so ... moreComprehension!

                      You are going off on a tangent. Would virtual RAM had worked as well as zRAM did? If yes, explain how. If no, what are you going on about? It didn't then, and it wouldn't now, and what you're quoting never implied that it'd now. It was stated OBVIOUSLY for clarity sake, so readers don't confuse virtual RAM and zRAM as same thing.

                      Is it that you became so smart that undertaking simple things became such complex for you? Know what? Comprehend it however you like, mate. In the end, you ain't gonna get it to change!

                        Good old days when every update meant an upgrade, not just switching themes

                          In those days CyanogenMod was available in play store. Its was also provided on some devices out of box.
                          Those were the days.
                          N also I miss these SWEET names.

                          Now they are boring 1,2,3,4..13,14,.... The excitement was different for names🤩🤞

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 70d
                            • 24 Jan 2022

                            Cyberchum, 24 Jan 2022Try again, because there's absolutely no way the state... moreI wonder if I have to explain every single thing. "so such a scheme wouldn’t have worked as well as zRAM." implies that right now the virtual RAM feature works as well as zRAM (which is not true). If it worked as well as zRAM, why would zRAM be used? Storage is much bigger than memory. It should have been rewritten to something like: "but such a scheme is less effective than zRAM because storage is much slower than memory." There would have been no confusion at all if it had been the case.

                              Google and Nestlé, a perfect capitalistic combination.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • StU
                                • 24 Jan 2022

                                Nexus One, 23 Jan 2022Best Nexus for me: Nexus 5 (came with KitKat) Best Pixel ... moreThe naming was stupid not exciting, thankfully the naming makes sense now

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • IJK
                                  • 24 Jan 2022

                                  Anonymous, 24 Jan 2022Bloating while removing or restricting features from older ... moreRight?? Like not even being able to use wifi direct. What a pain.

                                    Never used Android until I got a Pixel. Best operating system I have ever used was Oreo.

                                      Anonymous, 24 Jan 2022"so such a scheme wouldn’t have worked as well as zRAM... moreTry again, because there's absolutely no way the statement "so such a scheme wouldn’t have worked as well as zRAM" implied that zRAM is no longer being used.

                                      You're misconstruing what's written. It simply implied what it said: virtual RAM expansion wouldn't have had similar effect on KK as zRAM did, because eMMC storage used in those phones was significantly slower than the UFS storage mostly used today. And you'd have known this if you used Roehsoft RAM Expander back then. It's this simple, I don't know why you're having trouble understanding it.

                                      zRAM and virtual RAM are entirely two different techniques, not iterations of the same technique. So, saying that one wouldn't have worked as well as the other doesn't necessarily mean that one is missing. The former is compression of a block of the actual RAM for swap, from kernel level; while the latter is allocation of small portion of storage to support the actual RAM.

                                      Comprehension!

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • IJK
                                        • 24 Jan 2022

                                        I really miss those days. Gosh modifying KitKat roms on a note 2 was the best.
                                        The hacks, mods, and features back then. And back when exynos was superior too.
                                        Man nothing could touch the note back then.
                                        Those were fun days and tech was advancing so rapidly. Now people would think there's just no room for improvement but there's still so much room. The companies have just gotten greedy and lazy.
                                        Now no removable battery, no sd slot, no headphone port, and soon to come no sim. Just expensive thin glass slabs that cost more and more. But the screen is brighter and it has 5 more cameras... yay...