iPhone 18 With 9GB RAM Still Won't Support Two New iOS 27 Features

[MacRumors]

The lower-end iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will be equipped with 9GB of RAM, up from 8GB in the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a social media post, Kuo said the 1GB increase in RAM will ensure that Apple Intelligence features continue to run smoothly on the pair of devices.

The higher-end iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable "iPhone Ultra" will each have the same 12GB of RAM as the iPhone 17 Pro models, added Kuo.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone Ultra in September this year, while the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and a second-generation iPhone Air will reportedly be released around March 2027.

Even with an increased 9GB of RAM, two new Apple Intelligence features coming with iOS 27 will not be available on the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, including the ability to customize the expressiveness and pace of Siri's voice and a "major boost in accuracy" for speech-to-text dictation. This is because the latest advanced on-device Apple Intelligence model powering those two features requires a minimum of 12GB of RAM.

Here are the confirmed RAM amounts for the iPhone 17 series:

• iPhone 17e: 8GB
• iPhone 17: 8GB
• iPhone 17 Pro: 12GB
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 12GB

The rumored RAM amounts for the iPhone 18 series and iPhone Ultra:

• iPhone 18e: 9GB
• iPhone 18: 9GB
• iPhone 18 Pro: 12GB
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: 12GB
• iPhone Ultra: 12GB

The second-generation iPhone Air will presumably have 12GB of RAM, too.

RAM and NAND storage chips are currently expensive due to a supply shortage, resulting in Apple raising prices on more than a dozen products last month. For now, iPhones avoided price increases, but analysts have estimated that the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e could cost $100 to $200 more than the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e.

Article Link: iPhone 18 With 9GB RAM Still Won't Support Two New iOS 27 Features

 

[svish]

Might be only two features for now but think as and when more Apple Intelligence features are added, some of them will be available only on the Pro models going forward.

 

[JosephAW]

The leaked specs if they’re true make the new iPhone 18 more interesting to consider upgrading. 🙄📱😎🩻

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

Might as well keep iPhone 17 as the cheaper model.
Forget the 18
Will be worse upgrade than the base 13 to 14 was 🤣 but at a HIGHER Cost 😵

 

[sw1tcher]

Even with an increased 9GB of RAM, two new Apple Intelligence features coming with iOS 27 will not be available on the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, including the ability to customize the expressiveness and pace of Siri's voice and a "major boost in accuracy" for speech-to-text dictation. This is because the latest advanced on-device Apple Intelligence model powering those two features requires a minimum of 12GB of RAM.

Is this not available for the iPhone?

 

[gleepskip]

The horizon is iOS 28+, not 27. Buy accordingly if you want AI doodads.

 

[AlanMarron]

And to think that I replaced my iPad Gen 9 with an iPad Air M2 (8 gig RAM) in order to access the AI promised in iPadOS 18.

 

[senttoschool]

They were almost certainly planning 12GB for iPhone 18 and 16GB for iPhone 18 Pro before this RAM crisis.

 

[Veoronox]

If this is true, the Iphone 18 will flop hard.

 

[BornAgainMac]

The iPhone 17 looked like a really good deal this year until I saw this news. Glad I wanted a telephoto lens last year.

 

[macvicta]

This just dampened my enthusiasm for the 18 Pro Max I’m planning to buy.

 

[kiranmk2]

Do we know 9 GB won't be enough for those features or is it just speculation from MacRumors? I mean, why increase the amount of RAM in a RAM pricing crises if it doesn't add anything otherwise? Apple pretty much had to say that the features need 12 GB RAM because the only options are 8 GB or 12 GB - saying they needed 9 GB would just confused people and give away a specification of devices that are still 9 months from release.

 

[Nyx1]

This the downfall Apple just if CEO care more about semiconductor in past. Apple not gonna fall like this.

 

[jarman92]

And to think that I replaced my iPad Gen 9 with an iPad Air M2 (8 gig RAM) in order to access the AI promised in iPadOS 18.

To be clear, you will be getting the AI promised in iPadOS 18, in iPadOS 27.

 

[citysnaps]

Might be only two features for now but think as and when more Apple Intelligence features are added, some of them will be available only on the Pro models going forward.

No worries... Almost everyone here last year said they'd immediately disable/remove Apple AI on their iPhones.

What's funny, is that I suspect most of them will now vociferously complain that iPhones with 9GB of RAM won't support some Apple AI features.

 

[jarman92]

Do we know 9 GB won't be enough for those features or is it just speculation from MacRumors? I mean, why increase the amount of RAM in a RAM pricing crises if it doesn't add anything otherwise? Apple pretty much had to say that the features need 12 GB RAM because the only options are 8 GB or 12 GB - saying they needed 9 GB would just confused people and give away a specification of devices that are still 9 months from release.

Good question, and tbh I'm not even sure Apple ever said those features require 12 GB RAM (or even more than 8 GB RAM), they just said that they're limited to devices that happen to have 12 GB.

Edit: I stand corrected (see below).

 

[hovscorpion12]

Do we know 9 GB won't be enough for those features or is it just speculation from MacRumors? I mean, why increase the amount of RAM in a RAM pricing crises if it doesn't add anything otherwise? Apple pretty much had to say that the features need 12 GB RAM because the only options are 8 GB or 12 GB - saying they needed 9 GB would just confused people and give away a specification of devices that are still 9 months from release.

We do know based on OS 27 that Apple is limiting how Siri sounds to 12GB only.

8GB models across all products are already not getting these features.

1. Available on iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPad models with M4 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, Mac models with M3 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, and Apple Vision Pro (M5).

 

[sully54]

What this tells me is how last minute new Siri/Apple Intelligence features were finalized because hardware is usually finalized at least a year from production.

 

[jarman92]

If this is true, the Iphone 18 will flop hard.

Lol because people in the market for the base iPhone are definitely basing their purchase decisions on whether they can customize Siri's expressiveness 😂

 

[McWetty]

I suspect Apple is banking on AI models becoming more efficient in the near future. They are trying to walk the fine line between RAMageddon prices and keeping phone prices reasonable. iOS 28 may have a Siri where 9Gb is plenty. Then again… wouldn’t be the first time something was “built for Apple Intelligence” and fell short.

 

[now i see it]

Google has stated that on-device AI is going to require 24GB of RAM to run well …. so iPhone still has a long way to go. It’ll still be starved on the Pro phones that have a paltry 12GB.

 

[MilaM]

Google has stated that on-device AI is going to require 24GB of RAM to run well …. so iPhone still has a long way to go. It’ll still be starved on the Pro phones that have a paltry 12GB.

At the pace Apple is adding RAM to their devices we will have to wait another 10 years to run good local models.

 

[jz0309]

Google has stated that on-device AI is going to require 24GB of RAM to run well …. so iPhone still has a long way to go. It’ll still be starved on the Pro phones that have a paltry 12GB.

how much RAM do the Google Pixels have? last time I checked - 16, so yea, your statement makes total sense

 

[NicosAccount]

If this is true, the Iphone 18 will flop hard.

look, feelings, habits and price drive those sells buddy, most people dont know what RAM is and wont have heard about a random ai feature.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

I don't care for AI or Siri so these "features" don't matter to me.