This year's entire iPhone 16 lineup received 8GB of RAM to power Apple Intelligence features, and it looks like we can expect 12GB in future models.
A previous report suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro Max would get 12GB, and now it looks like that could be true for both iPhone 18 Pro models …
Apple Intelligence Requires 8GB of RAM</h2>
It appears that 8GB of RAM is the minimum required for Apple Intelligence features to work.
All four iPhone 16 models get 8GB, unlike last year's models, where the standard and Plus models got 6GB, and the Pro and Pro Max got 8GB. The latter are the only older iPhones that have access to Apple Intelligence.
Future iPhones to Get 12GB
Even before the iPhone 16 launched, Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro Max would get 12GB next year. He said that this would not be the case with the smaller iPhone 17 Pro. If true, this would be the first time Apple has used RAM as a differentiator between the two Pro models.
Looking further into the future, Weibo user A mobile phone chip expert reports that at least one iPhone 18 model will switch to a new, denser chip packaging method, and that it will include 12GB of RAM.
The 2nm A20 processor in the 2026 Apple iPhone will use a new packaging method. APTS has been changed from the original InFo packaging method to WMCM. Memory will also be increased to 12GB, and the entire network will be announced in 2 years.
Apple chip maker TSMC has become a leader in System-on-a-Chip (SoC) technology. Instead of using separate chip packages for the CPU, GPU, RAM, etc., all of these chips are integrated into a single unit. A variation on this theme is known as a multi-chip module (MCM), and TSMC is expected to be the first to release the most advanced form in a 2nm chip in 2026.
A mobile phone chip expert says we can expect this latest tech to debut in the iPhone 18 lineup, with 12GB of RAM as part of the package. The insider has a respectable track record, having been the first to report that the A16 chip would be exclusive to two iPhone 14 Pro models, and that Apple is developing its own 3nm chips for its AI servers.
Both iPhone 18 Pro models will likely get 12GB
It's unclear from the original report which 2026 models will get the RAM boost. However, Kuo previously suggested that the 2nm process required for the new packaging approach would be limited to the two Pro models, suggesting that both models would get 12GB of RAM.
That doesn't rule out the possibility, however, that non-Pro models could also get 12GB of RAM in their less advanced chips.
Images: Lumafield/iFixit
