by Tim Hardwick
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.
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 Air, iPhone 17 Pro
Tag: Digital Chat Station
[ 44 comments ]
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Top Rated Comments
Radeon85
6 hours ago at 03:44 am
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: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nik
5 hours ago at 03:47 am
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: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat
5 hours ago at 04:11 am
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: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechWhisperer
5 hours ago at 03:48 am
This rendition does not look great. Upped RAM is nice but long overdue.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abatabia
5 hours ago at 04:00 am
Probably just me but I’m bored with the 17 already.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Cockney Rebel
5 hours ago at 04:16 am
That looks much nicer than the last render I saw.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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