Apple’s latest iPhone lineup saw only the standard iPhone 17 ship with 8GB of RAM, while all other models came with 12GB. Industry sources now report that this gap will close with the iPhone 18, as Apple is expected to give all four models the same 12GB of RAM.
Reports from South Korea indicate that Apple has approached Samsung, its main memory supplier, to increase production of LPDDR5X RAM modules for the upcoming iPhone 18 range. The move is in response to the rising memory demands fueled by new on-device features, with a particular focus on boosting hardware capabilities to support advanced Apple Intelligence and multitasking next yea
The base iPhone has been fitted with 8GB of RAM since the iPhone 16 launched in 2024, and before that the iPhone 15 got by with 6GB – which is why Apple Intelligence only works on the iphone 15 pro and Pro Max from that series of handsets.
All the iPhone 16 models have 8GB of RAM, so it was only this year when the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max made the jump to 12GB. The iPhone Air also runs on 12GB of RAM, and shares the same A19 Pro chip as the Pro models (the iPhone 17 uses the standard A19).
This has a knock-on effect on performance and pricing as well of course, so it’s going to be interesting to see how Apple decides to differentiate between the various iPhone 18 handsets, if this key spec is the same across all of them.
following are the key features
- All iPhone 18 models equipped with 12GB RAM
- Powered by the next-gen A20 chip built on 2nm technology
- Improved speed and energy efficiency compared to previous models
- Slimmer Dynamic Island design for more screen space
- Possibility of a partly transparent back panel in select models
- Under-display Face ID sensors on Pro versions
- Enhanced main camera with variable aperture and 48MP sensor on Pro models
- Triangular lens camera layout continues
- Improved battery technology, especially in Pro Max models
- Revamped pressure-sensitive camera control button
- Custom C2 modem for advanced 5G and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity
- Deeper Apple Intelligence features in iOS 27 with better multitasking and AI capabilities
- Higher display brightness with adaptive refresh rates
- Likely support for Apple Pencil on some models
- The iPhone 18 could be in line for a RAM upgrade
- It might get 12GB of RAM to match the other iPhones
- More RAM means better support for AI features
