Apple increases the 5 GB RAM limit in iPadOS for supported devices

The new iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 may offer better performance than many laptops thanks to their Apple M1 SoCs, but iPadOS still presents hurdles that macOS does not. One issue with iPadOS is how it handles RAM, although this only applies to the latest iPad Pro models. As it stands, iPadOS can allocate up to 5 GB of RAM, 1 GB less than the previous maximum for an iPad Pro. Apple's new models support up to 16 GB though, which iPadOS renders useless currently.

MacRumors has noticed that the latest iPadOS beta allows developers to bypass this memory limit, potentially allowing apps to utilise the RAM volumes that the new iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 offer. Developers must ensure that their app 'still behaves correctly' when allocated up 5 GB of RAM, though.

Ultimately, it remains unclear what apps, if any, need more than 5 GB of RAM. As it stands, Apple frames the removal of its RAM limit as an:

...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.

Nevertheless, we could imagine apps that like Adobe Illustrator, Lightroom, Photoshop or Capture One Pro could benefit from more RAM. Apple will release iPadOS 15 in the autumn. The first public beta should land at some point in July.

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