I like the flat sides. And honestly, one can choose a case that changes the way the phone feels in the hand, be it more rounded or flat. The point is, I don't think this is a universal concern.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 18 to Use Enhanced 2nm Chip Tech Integrating 12GB RAM
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes. But... what about Iphone 19??? 🙄
Apple's 2026 iPhones will use TSMC's next-generation 2-nanometer fabrication process in combination with a new packaging method that will integrate 12GB of RAM, a reputable source of accurate predictions about Apple's plans has claimed.
In a Weibo post on Tuesday, Chinese-language user "Phone Chip Expert" said Apple's A20 chip in iPhone 18 models will switch from the previous InFo (Integrated Fan-Out) packaging to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging, while memory will be upgraded to 12GB.
In terms of the differences in packaging method, InFo allows integration of components, including memory, within the package but focuses more on single-die packaging where memory is typically attached to the main SoC (such as DRAM placed on top or near the CPU and GPU cores). It's optimized for reducing the size and improving the performance of individual chips.
WMCM, on the other hand, excels at integrating multiple chips within the same package (hence the "Multi-Chip Module" part). This method allows more complex systems, such as CPUs, GPUs, DRAM, and other custom accelerators (e.g., AI/ML chips) to be tightly integrated in one package. It provides greater flexibility in arranging different types of chips, stacking them vertically or placing them side by side, while also optimizing communication between them.
As for memory, all current iPhone 16 models feature 8GB of RAM, which is considered to be the minimum requirement for Apple Intelligence. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said he expects next year's iPhone 17 Pro to feature 12GB of RAM, so it could be that Apple will make it a new standard across the succeeding iPhone 18 series.
Having said that, Kuo also believes that only "Pro" models in the iPhone 18 series are likely to use TSMC's next-generation 2nm processor technology because of cost concerns. Meanwhile, it's not clear whether the fabrication tech and the memory size are indelibly intertwined in Apple's plans.
Nanometer Generations
Terms like "3nm" and "2nm" describe generations of chip manufacturing technology, each with its own set of design rules and architecture. As these numbers decrease, they generally indicate smaller transistor sizes. Smaller transistors allow more to be packed onto a single chip, typically resulting in increased processing speed and improved power efficiency. This year's iPhone 16 series is based on an A18 chip design built using a second-generation "N3E" 3nm process.
TSMC plans to start manufacturing 2nm chips in late 2025, and Apple is expected to be the first company to receive chips built on the new process. TSMC generally builds new fabs when it needs to increase production capacity to handle significant orders for chips, and TSMC is expanding in a major way for 2nm technology.
The leaker "Phone Chip Expert" has a track record of accurate predictions. They were first to correctly reveal that the standard iPhone 14 models would continue to use the A15 Bionic chip, while the more advanced A16 chip would be exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models. More recently, they were the first source of information about Apple developing its own AI server processor using TSMC's 3nm process, targeting mass production by the second half of 2025.
Article Link: iPhone 18 to Use Enhanced 2nm Chip Tech Integrating 12GB RAM
Believe me I have been searching for years now to get a case that recreates rounded sides and they don't exist, at least not in the US. If they did the problem wouldn't exist. Please feel free to provide a link for a phone case that recreates the same sides of an X/11 iphone that I can buy in the US because like I said, I have been looking for years and haven't found any.
The flat sides are an abomination. It makes the phone so uncomfortable and downright painful at times to hold.
Apple pays the same price (or probably even less compared to most manufacturers due to volume) for RAM chips.
A 64-bit float doesn't magically use less memory on iOS than it does on Android, that doesn't make any sense. Tests have shown that most multiplatform apps consume very similar amounts of memory across both platforms (iOS and Android) - many apps are using a multiplatform framework that - again - doesn't magically run better under iOS. The way iOS parks background apps could be more efficient than what Android does, but - yet again - not double as efficient.
Your argument about about battery usage is almost a 1:1 quote from an Apple spokesperson and I'd argue that more RAM saves CPU cycles (and therefore battery) because apps would have to reload less frequent. In my post, I talked about Safari reloading (something actually happening on my 16 Pro), and all the pages that need reloading then execute endless lines of JavaScript again - you bet that consumes more energy than the device still having Safari ready in RAM. Saying more RAM is "completely unnecessary" is complete bs.
10mm tech? Guys, bring out the breadboards! We're going back to non-integrated circuits!
I wonder how integrating all of the chips into a single package will affect cooling? Can they keep the chip (& phone) cool when running intensive games, photo editing apps, or AI without throttling performance too much.
I guess you are not aware that there are memory chip sized at 6 GB these days. In fact, that's what's in the iPad Pro M4. At least in the tear down units, apparently they are actually 6 GB chips with 2 GB per chip deactivated.Memory always comes in pairs for optimal performance, how did they get 12, assuming they use two memory or four memory on silicon, they should come out for even number like 16.
BTW, 3 GB chips and 12 GB chips also exist.
I also have issues with apps refreshing after using the camera app. But I’m curious how close to 1:1 it is to compare the effect of more RAM on iPhone to more RAM on Android—ie. do the 12GB Android phones refresh less than 8GB iPhones?
Me neither, ultimately—for any of my devices. I care about UX, and only if my UX suffers do I look at specs. Many people here seem to treat specs as an end in themselves. They want their device to hit a certain number just for the sake of it or for bragging rights or something, irrelevant to how it affects their actual UX. I don’t understand the logic.
For the love of God, just increase the battery life with these silicon efficiency gains - I do NOT need my phone to be faster than my laptop.
Come on dude. You know iOS is massively more efficient with memory management than that bloated Android crap.
iPhone is leaps and bounds better than any other phone with its 8GB, so 12 will be even better!
This obviously depends on a lot of factors, where the biggest difference on the Android side would be apps that run inside the Java VM (or whatever the current iteration Android uses is called, ART (Android Runtime)?). These apps tend to use more memory on Android, at least while actively running in the foreground.
But other than that, native apps have very similar memory footprints. The way Android and iOS manages memory is actually not that different. Both can use memory compression - called zram on Android (it's in the Linux kernel, no special sauce) and I don't know if Apple's solution has a special name - but they're both very similar in what they do, essentially compressing inactive/unused memory pages to free up memory for apps that are active. So no, the memory management of iOS isn't magically more efficient. It blows my mind that people actually believe Google's engineers are too incompetent to implement a memory management solution on par with iOS.
So yeah, there might be cases where iOS uses less memory than an Android device with the same set of apps. But with a different set of apps it'd be very similar (or sometimes even the other way around). I don't have an Android device handy to test it right now, but you could attach diagnostic tools (included with Xcode for the iPhone, and Android Studio for Android devices) to monitor exactly what happens when an app is moved to the background and how much memory each version takes in comparison.
Overall, I'm confident that a 12 GB Pixel 8 Pro has less issues with app refreshes than an 8 GB iPhone 16 Pro, and with the 16 GB Pixel 9 Pro it's likely no contest. I highly doubt you can get Chrome to reload after using the Pixel's camera app.
Thanks for the insight. Are there a significant number of Android apps that run inside Java VM? I wonder if Android phones include higher RAM just to make sure those run ok, even if it’s not the majority of apps. In other words, I wonder if those apps didn’t exist at all, would Android phones still tend to have more RAM than iPhones? Impossible to know probably, just thinking out loud.
The real issue is Android supports multitasking and Apple does not. That is a primary driver for needing larger amounts of RAM. The actual question should be: Should a mobile phone support multitasking?
Seems to me, it is sort of useless to compare RAM requirements between a single task and multitasking operating systems.
Oh FFS.
Garbage collected systems use about 2x the heap of non-GC systems. This is well attested.
The extent to which this translates into “more memory required” (given that there is more to memory usage than just heap) depends on many details; but if your starting point is a refusal to acknowledge basic technical facts, don’t be surprised when no-one in the know is interested in engaging with you…
All apps written in Java/Kotlin would be running inside a VM of some sort, so quite a lot of apps. Chrome is mostly written in C++ though, and many more demanding applications like games aren't running inside a VM either. Android phones would probably have as much RAM as they have now either way as it's also something that sets them apart from other Android manufacturers and this kind of "spec race" was always more of a thing in the Android world. The Pixel 9 Pro having 16 GB of RAM is probably also related to Google's AI strategy, but there's no doubt it also helps with keeping apps open.
See my post after the one you quoted where I state that there are many Android apps written in Java/Kotlin that are then indeed using more memory (at least in the foreground). I unfortunately don't have a recent Android device at home right now and I can't find a lot about background app memory usage for recent Android and iOS versions, but if you have hard numbers, feel free to share!
To those who disagree, how does Apple care and how have they not cheapskated on RAM? They do it and have done it for years. And when any tech savvy person asks, it’s to save battery power. I don’t believe Apple was ready for AI to come on this fast. That’s why the iPhones 15 and older don’t and will never run it even though they can run ChatGPT fine.
How about the camera filters? They could easily have implemented that in iOS for every iPhone every made.
To me it’s not just a function of RAM, but a company that wants to milk every dollar they can from customers. One time, I walked in with an iPhone 13 Pro, the newest version iPhone at the time, and the “genius” tried to sell me a new iPhone. I get that’s what employees are taught to do. I heard it the last time I was in the store, albeit the person had an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the employee was trying to talk the CUSTOMER into an upgrade rather than just replace the battery.
I think Apple’s real customers are their shareholders. That’s who they care about. Everyone else can get screwed over and Tim loves it.
Should have been 16GB in all systems five years ago or at least when they came out with M-series SoCs.