The iPhone 18 may get the RAM upgrade it desperately needs
The standard iPhone 18 could get 12GB of RAM instead of the previously rumored 9GB, potentially giving it enough memory to run more of Apple’s on-device AI features.
The upcoming iPhone 18 may receive a significant memory upgrade, potentially doubling the RAM from its 8GB predecessor in the iPhone 17 to 12GB, according to analyst Jeff Pu's research note. This increase would bring the iPhone 18 in line with the 12GB RAM configuration seen in Apple's A20 chip, essential for running new features such as Advanced Dictation Preview and expressive Siri voices.
The additional RAM could also address concerns about the standard iPhone 18 lacking AI capabilities due to insufficient memory, as opposed to the more expensive iPhone 18e model, which might retain only 9GB. The RAM increase would be particularly noteworthy given Apple's ongoing struggles with DRAM shortages, which have delayed packaging for the A20 Pro chips.
Nevertheless, Apple is exploring alternative DRAM options from Chinese manufacturer CXMT to mitigate the issue. Despite the uncertainty around this prediction, the extra memory could impact pricing, potentially increasing the base iPhone 18 model's cost. While Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 18 in spring 2027, the decision on how to handle the added component cost remains to be seen.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Trends's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
