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2027 iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e to Get 9GB RAM and A20 Chip

Sami13496 said:
You mean 8GB right?

Computers store and process data in binary, where everything is based on powers of 2:

  • 2^0 = 1
  • 2^1 = 2
  • 2^2 = 4
  • 2^3 = 8
  • 2^4 = 16
  • 2^5 = 32
  • 2^6 = 64

RAM chips themselves are designed with capacities that are powers of two because it makes the memory addressing hardware simple and efficient. For example, a chip might contain:

  • 512 MB
  • 1 GB
  • 2 GB
  • 4 GB
  • 8 GB
  • 16 GB
Manufacturers then combine these chips into RAM modules. That’s why you commonly see modules like 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, and so on.

9 GB?

It’s technically possible, but it would require combining chips in unusual ways, which:
  • Costs more to manufacture.
  • Complicates design and testing.
  • Doesn’t provide much market benefit.
Click to expand...
And yet my 2023 M3 Pro MacBook Pro has 18 GB RAM. Which means I can get smarter sounding Siri but my 2023 iPhone 15 Pro with 8 GB RAM I bought the same day as my MacBook Pro will not. I thought fragmentation was the special feature Android users got.
 
Sami13496 said:
You mean 8GB right?

Computers store and process data in binary, where everything is based on powers of 2:

  • 2^0 = 1
  • 2^1 = 2
  • 2^2 = 4
  • 2^3 = 8
  • 2^4 = 16
  • 2^5 = 32
  • 2^6 = 64

RAM chips themselves are designed with capacities that are powers of two because it makes the memory addressing hardware simple and efficient. For example, a chip might contain:

  • 512 MB
  • 1 GB
  • 2 GB
  • 4 GB
  • 8 GB
  • 16 GB
Manufacturers then combine these chips into RAM modules. That’s why you commonly see modules like 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, and so on.

9 GB?

It’s technically possible, but it would require combining chips in unusual ways, which:
  • Costs more to manufacture.
  • Complicates design and testing.
  • Doesn’t provide much market benefit.
Click to expand...
That is simply not true anymore.
You can buy RAM modules with 12 or 24GB capacity.

The iPhone 17 Pro series are using six 1.5GB „modules“ or dies.
 
EugW said:
The Neo 2 at 8 GB is not in Apple's best interests IMO, even despite the cost of memory these days. 12 GB from a software and OS point of view makes the most sense. They've already deemed an iPhone needs 12 GB RAM, and macOS generally is more RAM hungry than iPhones. And in fact, the Neo 1 already lags. 12 GB is the sweet spot, and they already have the 12 GB A19 Pro SoC in production so there's a strong chance they'll continue to use it. Cost is indeed an issue, but like I said before, I wouldn't be surprised if they raised the price again to accommodate it. However, I also said they can change the memory. So I wouldn't completely dismiss your prediction of a 9 GB MacBook Neo, but I certainly wouldn't count on it.

BTW, Apple says the latest AI features need 12 GB in an Apple Silicon Mac, but no such Mac even exists.

View attachment 2641192


Heh. Back in the day, way back in 2020, I had predicted a possible A14 MacBook. I was of course dead wrong, and it took 6 years for Apple to release something similar.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure the assumption there is only one Apple AI model is valid. Due to the memory crunch, we're clearly moving towards a bifurcated approach.

Yes, for consumers who want the "most powerful on-device model" they need 12GB RAM. The iPhone 18, 18e, new iPad won't have that, so they'll get the standard AI model.

Neo sits at the bottom of the rung. Why is there the expectation it gets the "Pro" AI model?
 
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JPack said:
I'm not sure the assumption there is only one Apple AI model is valid. Due to the memory crunch, we're clearly moving towards a bifurcated approach.

Yes, for consumers who want the "most powerful on-device model" they need 12GB RAM. The iPhone 18, 18e, new iPad won't have that, so they'll get the standard AI model.

Neo sits at the bottom of the rung. Why is there the expectation it gets the "Pro" AI model?
Click to expand...
There isn't just one AI model. It will still run on current 8 GB Apple Silicon Macs. However, don't you find it curious they specifically say the latest most powerful version needs 12 GB, when no such Apple Silicon Mac actually exists? IMO there is a good chance they are pointing to a 12 GB Apple Silicon Mac coming soon, namely the Neo 2.

Cobold said:
The iPhone 17 Pro series are using six 1.5GB „modules“ or dies.
Click to expand...
No it isn't. 6 x 1.5 GB = 9 GB. The 17 Pro series has 12 GB RAM.
 
jjudson said:
What the heck are people doing with their phones that they need this kind of power???

It's a freakin' PHONE...
Click to expand...
As mentioned in the above screen grab, iOS 27's latest AI features requires a bare minimum of iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Pro, meaning 12 GB RAM.

As for the A20 series chip, Apple continues to push the envelope for speed, because they can. While my iPhone 12 Pro Max is adequate, I definitely feel the speedup with my upgrade to the 17 Pro. Plus the mobile gamers appreciate the faster SoC, as apparently do the pro videographers.
 
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Slo Pesci said:
Since the 17 now has 120hz and always on display I dont think they could add anything to the 18 that would make me want it.
Click to expand...
Why would you in the first place?? You have an iPhone 17 which is the current newest model and will work very well for at least 4-5 more years.

Do that many people really upgrade their Apple hardware every year: ie get the latest model year in year out? I find that utterly wasteful.
 
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JoEw said:
So Apple's best AI features won't work on this device from day 1?

This company is a joke
Click to expand...
I’d hardly call the lame expressive-voice thingy one of Apple’s best AI features. The improved dictation is arguably more useful. Everything else will be available.
 
This would confirm that apple's siri enchanced text-to-speech / speech-to-text model needs 1GB or ram to run.

And that lines up with open ai's whisper local llm that's about a 1B parameter model.

I think apple should have optimize ios to use less ram to fit the siri enhanced llm. it would only need to cut 12% of the ram of an 8gb machine. And since ios27 runs on iphone 11 that has 4GB of ram, and local siri llm is 3b parameters ... theres your extra 1GB.
 
Carrier deals hide the true cost from consumers. The price increases (over the time) wouldn't have happened as much if everyone has to pay full price.
 
LFO8 said:
Why would you in the first place?? You have an iPhone 17 which is the current newest model and will work very well for at least 4-5 more years.

Do that many people really upgrade their Apple hardware every year: ie get the latest model year in year out? I find that utterly wasteful.
Click to expand...
I find it disappointing that year-after-year there remains a group of people that never seem to understand that new iPhones aren't targeted at those who bought a new iPhone just a year before. No, those new iPhones are targeted at people who bought 2-3-4-5 years ago, or who don't own an iPhone at all.
 
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After 2GB RAM, I thought they would go straight to 4GB, but they went with 3GB RAM for iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus, and many others, they eventually went with 4GB but went with 6GB first before going with 8GB. Now there are 12GB RAM iPhone models but it's weird to go with an odd number 9GB RAM at this point in time.
 
EugW said:
There isn't just one AI model. It will still run on current 8 GB Apple Silicon Macs. However, don't you find it curious they specifically say the latest most powerful version needs 12 GB, when no such Apple Silicon Mac actually exists? IMO there is a good chance they are pointing to a 12 GB Apple Silicon Mac coming soon, namely the Neo 2.
Click to expand...

I see that statement of 12GB required as guidance for WWDC attendees (developers) who are creating apps intended to work with Siri AI. It gives them an idea of how much overhead they need when developing their own app.

I doubt memory config is even close to being locked in for Neo 2. The situation is so dynamic these days. iPhone 18 is locked now because it’s a tentpole product for Apple with a defined release date.
 
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This is disappointing especially when Apple's latest and most powerful on device AI models require 12GB RAM. However this is possible to happen as it could help Apple to keep costs lower. Maybe the base 18 could also feature the same 8GB RAM.
 
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EugW said:
I find it disappointing that year-after-year there remains a group of people that never seem to understand that new iPhones aren't targeted at those who bought a new iPhone just a year before. No, those new iPhones are targeted at people who bought 2-3-4-5 years ago, or who don't own an iPhone at all.
Click to expand...
I'm getting the impression that prob more than a few renew their hardware every release cycle?

I don't have the numbers so I don't know if that's true. But that is an impression I get from quite a few on this forum at least.
 
cigz said:
Stupid if true. Like what is this additional 1GB supposed to do? No one's gonna feel the difference compared to 8GB
Click to expand...

JoEw said:
So Apple's best AI features won't work on this device from day 1?

This company is a joke
Click to expand...

AusMness said:
Literally what does this accomplish
Why 9
Not 12 or even 10 but 9?
Click to expand...

gummybear2026 said:
Apple just cannibalized their best selling base model iPhone 18. 1 extra GB of ram does nothing at all.
Click to expand...
Who says you won't notice a difference? I'm guessing that the advanced dictation/Siri voices can be done with 9 GB, otherwise why not just stick with 8 GB? Apple have said 12 GB previously, because that was the only option in a device with more than 8 GB.

This seems to be happening in GPUs too - rumours abound that the Nvidia RTX50 super refresh will start with 9 GB to stop VRAM filling up on medium or high settings.
 
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I fear Apple's AI strategy and marketing will not serve them well. Law of unintended consequences. Promote AI, but have a strategy that both relies on 3rd party data centers AND has features that require extra on-device memory and processing. Apple's customers are paying a high price to use Apple's native AI features. AI privacy is important, but Apple's solution may cost them sales.
 
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