The base iPhone 17 could be the only model in Apple’s 2024 smartphone lineup equipped with 8GB of RAM instead of 12, like the entire iPhone 16 family.
If true, then the entry-level iPhone 17 will probably be the only model in this year’s iPhone 17 family to have the same amount of RAM as the iPhone 16 lineup: 8GB. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should boost the RAM to 12GB to improve the performance of the various Apple Intelligence features.
MacRumors notes the information came via “Fixed Focus Digital,” the leaker that doesn’t have a lengthy track record but has correctly called for the “iPhone 16e” name before Apple officially unveiled the device.
Base iPhone 17 could remain stuck at 8GB of RAM
The leaker provided claimed RAM capacities for the upcoming iPhone 17 family in a Weibo post, which matches with the information provided earlier by revered Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
- iPhone 17: 8GB
- iPhone 17 Air: 12GB
- iPhone 17 Pro: 12GB
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: 12GB
Both Kuo and “Fixed Focus Digital” said earlier that all iPhones coming down the pike in 2025 would be equipped with 12GB of RAM but they were unsure about the base iPhone 17 model due to potential RAM supply constraints.
And here’s the RAM amount for the models in the iPhone 16 lineup:
- iPhone 16: 8GB
- iPhone 16 Plus: 8GB
- iPhone 16 Pro: 8GB
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 8GB
Constrained RAM is the primary reason why more complex Apple Intelligence requests are offloaded to the cloud. With a RAM increase, iPhones could run more AI models locally, improving the performance of various AI features. Extra RAM is also better for multitasking and system responsiveness. Apple’s silicon chief Johny Srouji said in a YouTube interview with Geekerwan that having more RAM also “helps immensely” for tasks like high-end gaming.