Notebookcheck Logo

The Sony Xperia 1 II shows the performance limits of having 12 GB of RAM over 8 GB

Having 12 GB of RAM in a smartphone does not necessarily yield better performance than 8 GB. (Image source: Engadget Japan)
Having 12 GB of RAM in a smartphone does not necessarily yield better performance than 8 GB. (Image source: Engadget Japan)
Sony may be on the verge of releasing a version of the Xperia 1 II with 12 GB of RAM, but it will not necessarily offer any performance improvements on the standard 8 GB model. To that end, Geekbench has shown the performance limits of going from 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM, with marginal improvements in single-core and multi-core tasks.

It has been a few months since Sony unveiled the Frosted Black edition of the Xperia 1 II, a limited edition model that the company will launch in Japan on October 30. Codenamed XQ-AT42, the Frosted Black model not only has a new paint job, but has 12 GB of RAM to boot. Sony only sells the Xperia 1 II with 8 GB of RAM globally, although it will also be releasing a 12 GB 'Mirror Lake Green' model in Taiwan at some point.

However, the move from 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM appears to offer hardly any uptick in performance, at least based on an early Geekbench listing. When we reviewed the standard Xperia 1 II earlier this year, it scored 898 and 3,290 points in Geekbench 5.1/5.2 Single-Core and Multi-Core, respectively. By contrast, this 12 GB model scores 908 and 3,387 points in the same benchmarks, a negligible uplift over 1-2%. Ultimately, a difference of 1-2% is within a margin of error.

In short, this benchmark result should act as a reminder that buying a smartphone with 12 GB of RAM will not necessarily get you better performance than if you bought the 8 GB version. A smartphone with 12 GB of RAM may be able to retain more open apps than one with 8 GB, but the tangible differences are slim - if there are any. With that said, we would purchase the Frosted Black edition for its matte finish alone.

Sale off - Buy Sony Xperia 1 II 5G now on Amazon

The Xperia 1 II with 12 GB of RAM. (Image source: Geekbench)
The Xperia 1 II with 12 GB of RAM. (Image source: Geekbench)

Source(s)

Geekbench via GSMArena, Engadget Japan - Image credit

Read all 3 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 10 > The Sony Xperia 1 II shows the performance limits of having 12 GB of RAM over 8 GB
Alex Alderson, 2020-10-29 (Update: 2020-10-30)