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All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

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All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.

iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature
The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM.

Kuo also said even the base-model iPhone 17 could be equipped with 12GB of RAM, but it will depend on whether supply chain shortages can be overcome. He said that Apple will make a final decision on the amount of RAM it will offer in the regular iPhone 17 model by May. Even if the base-model iPhone 17 sticks with 8GB of RAM, Kuo said he expects all models in next year's iPhone 18 lineup to have 12GB of RAM.

Currently, all iPhone 16 models come with 8GB of RAM, so going to 12GB would be a major increase. More RAM enables larger and more capable AI models to run locally, improving the speed, responsiveness, and complexity of tasks without relying heavily on cloud services. A fifty percent increase in allocable RAM would also allow for smoother multitasking, with AI processes operating in the background without slowing down active apps.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 17 lineup around its usual September timeframe.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air
Tag: Digital Chat Station
Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral), iPhone 17 Pro (Don't Buy), iPhone Air (Neutral)
Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

bollman Avatar
bollman
16 months ago
Of course. Everyone who bought an iPhone 16 to get Apple Intelligence are going to get pretty miffed when Apple releases iPhone 17 with 12MB RAM which, it turns out, is required for the useful AI functions.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radeon85 Avatar
Radeon85
16 months ago
That enormous lump on top looks ridiculous and is only going to add extra unnecessary weight. If that's what the next design truly looks like, then Apple should sack those designers and everyone who approved it.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
WarmWinterHat
16 months ago

You don't get it! If your device has 12 GB of RAM and the AI model uses up 8 GB of that, you'll only have 4GB of RAM left for the other applications...
..or keep Apple AI disabled and use the RAM for whatever else you want. That's my strategy, anyway.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThomasJL Avatar
ThomasJL
16 months ago
If the iPhone 17 line all have 12GB of RAM, it won’t be because Tim Cook cares about customers. It’ll be because he was forced to do it for Apple’s AI to run properly. Cook will always try to get away with giving customers as little as possible in order to save money to maximize profits. That’s precisely why the non-Pro iPhone 16 models still have the same USB 2.0 wired data transfer speeds that the iPhone 1 had, which was released in 2007.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
Nik
16 months ago
I am looking forward to the design changes, let's see how they look like in real life. It is quite common to think that it looks awful on renders but in reality it looks okay or even good.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
SMH4KIDIOT
16 months ago
I just find it ever so slightly funny that each year over the last few years they keep slowly increasing the RAM to finally catch up to android phones from 3-5 years ago. And you still have people claiming iPhones don't need more RAM meanwhile Apple themselves disagree.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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