The iPhone 17 still has many months to go before its official release. But rumors are starting to give some fairly precise outlines. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has just added a stone to the edifice in a short post where he suggests that at least three of the four models would see their capacity in RAM improve.
As a reminder, the iPhone 17 should be available as follows:
- iPhone 17, the base model;
- iPhone 17 Air, an ultra-thin model that replaces the Plus;
- iPhone 17 Pro, the small Pro;
- iPhone 17 Pro Max, the large Pro.
For the analyst, it is certain and certain, the last three would benefit from 12 GB of RAM from now on, against 8 GB previously. The base model, on the other hand, could retain the previous configuration.
Apple is reportedly currently deciding on the matter and is expected to make its decision sometime in May. Fears of supply difficulties are weighing in the balance, of course, as is the additional cost this represents, which would amount to around 50%. The analysis adds that whatever happens, the iPhone 18s planned for 2026 would all move to 12 GB of RAM. This might motivate some to wait a year?
RAM has become a strategic issue
Because RAM, once a rather uninteresting component on smartphones, has become a much more important issue over the past two years with the explosion of generative AI among the general public. Indeed, while its responsiveness may seem impressive, it requires a large amount of information preloaded into the device's memory. This is why the old 6GB RAM configurations have disappeared. The same goes for MacBooks with 8GB of RAM, which have been ejected from the catalog.
If 12 GB becomes the new standard for Apple, we can therefore fear that the basic iPhones with 8 GB of RAM will have to do without certain advanced features.
Will this help to right the ship for Apple Intelligence? The user experience around the Apple brand's suite of AI features seemed quite disappointing to us. It is unlikely that a simple component change will be enough; the problem is deeper. Development delays, but also the difficulty in finding THE feature that wins over users, are undoubtedly more pressing issues.
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