Apple is expected to upgrade the base iPhone to 12GB of RAM – 4GB more than the iPhone 17, and the same as the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air.
According to industry sources, Apple has asked key supplier Samsung to increase its supply of LPDDR5X RAM for the next iPhone lineup. Samsung reportedly only makes LPDDR5X RAM in 12GB and 16GB modules.
The bump up to 12GB will allow the base model iPhone to run AI models on-device, which is hard to pull off with 8GB of RAM.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
According to reports, Apple will move to a staggered release schedule starting in 2026. That means we’ll get the iPhone Pro models (and a potential Fold or Air) in the Fall of 2026, and the base model iPhone 18 in the Spring of 2027.
Source