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Despite a worldwide memory shortage it looks like the days of 8GB of RAM on the baseline iPhone are coming to an end. But experts disagree about the precise numbers.
Apple’s baseline iPhone is reportedly about to get a boost to its RAM allocation, and potentially a very substantial one. This is particularly surprising in light of the memory shortage currently afflicting the consumer tech industry and causing cost headaches for Apple and many of its rivals.
The claim comes from a new research note by Jeff Pu (via MacRumors), in which the analyst predicts that next spring’s iPhone 18 will have a whopping 12GB of RAM. That’s a 50 percent jump from the 8GB on the iPhone 17, and would bring the baseline model in line with the currently top-end iPhone 17 Pro.
(By that point, of course, this fall’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will have taken the 17 Pro’s place at the top of the Apple range, and they may boast even more than 12GB of RAM. But that isn’t currently expected to happen, since 12GB is more than enough to run AI applications smoothly and anything more would inflate their cost to manufacture.)
The idea that the iPhone 18 will have 12GB of RAM isn’t entirely new. Another analyst made the same claim in April, and one Weibo expert made the call as long ago as October 2024. Mind you, the latter expert also claimed the iPhone 17 would get 12GB of RAM, which clearly didn’t work out.
Such predictive anomalies, sadly, are typical in this area. And while three analysts have separately pointed to the iPhone 18 getting 12GB, it’s worth pointing out that one recent and extremely credible source disagrees. In June, Ming-Chi Kuo, citing his latest industry checks, predicted that Apple’s “lower-end 1H27 iPhones, powered by the A20 chip, will move to 9GB DRAM.” That was the last word on the subject until this week.
Aside from being a highly respected figure in the industry, Kuo has logic on his side. RAM is ruinously expensive at the moment, and Apple is currently fighting for its life trying to keep iPhone prices reasonable. What’s more, the company loves to maintain a clear hierarchy between its entry-level and premium products, and while it doesn’t publicly disclose RAM specs, the marketing team will want to dangle the carrot of superior performance if you spend a little more.
So on balance, and even though he’s outnumbered, we’d narrowly favor Kuo’s prediction of 9GB at this point. That’s still an improvement, however, and considering current market conditions we may be lucky to get even that.
The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in spring 2027, alongside the iPhone 18e. For all the latest news and rumors, bookmark our regularly updated iPhone 18 superguide, which covers both budget models.
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