New Report Lists RAM Amounts in iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Models

[MacRumors]

Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new report that aligns with previous rumors.

The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Taiwanese market intelligence firm TrendForce, which cited "current market information and analyst projections."

The base model iPhone 17 will have 8GB of RAM, matching the amount included in all iPhone 16 models, according to TrendForce.

Here is an overview of TrendForce's RAM expectations:

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

In April, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max would each have 12GB of RAM.

Here are the RAM amounts for iPhone 16 models:

• iPhone 16: 8GB
• iPhone 16 Plus: 8GB
• iPhone 16 Pro: 8GB
• iPhone 16 Pro Max: 8GB

Increased RAM can contribute to faster overall performance, and it can be particularly beneficial for multitasking and Apple Intelligence.

Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9.

Article Link: New Report Lists RAM Amounts in iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Models

 

[SilmarilFinder]

Perfect for running local LLMs for privacy
/s

 

[NauticalDan]

A report about the findings in a report that cited earlier reported information.

“Helllllllloooooo” - just seeing how far my voice travels in the echo chamber.

 

[vertsix]

I'm surprised they didn't just double it. But then again Apple has been struggling lately and needs every penny they can get, I understand.

 

[MVMNT]

So... a report based on just guesswork?

 

[Biro]

I’d really like to know if one would have full use of that 12 GB of RAM if AI is turned off… or whether a part of that RAM is dedicated for AI.

 

[Mity]

Why not make it 16GB like high-end Android phones so the phones last longer? What's the incremental cost? Less than $5?

 

[Plutonius]

Is this report just another rumor ?

 

[AusMness]

This is one of the things I'm looking forward to / hoping happens so I have another reason to ignore the awful back design

 

[John Connor]

Not sure you needed to list the iPhone 16 models individually. Could just say they all had 8GB.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why not make it 16GB like high-end Android phones so the phones last longer? What's the incremental cost? Less than $5?

Because this way they keep the upgrade cycle shorter.

If it weren't for the camera tinkering, folks would already have almost no reason to get new iPhones.

Keeping the RAM as "barely enough" makes it so they can do things like "introduce a resource intensive visual update to iOS" and perhaps get a bit of upgrade action when devices suddenly don't feel as snappy.

 

[adonis72]

Not sure you needed to list the iPhone 16 models individually. Could just say they all had 8GB.

Probably written by an LLM

 

[Dimitrisger]

Man, leaks are so bad lately that all we see is recycled articles about stuff we already know….at this point just stay silent til the event, it’s just 5 days away

 

[AdamHarbour]

Enough to run Mac OS when connected to a monitor !

 

[VisceralRealist]

The one positive effect of AI being shoved down our throats: forcing larger amounts of RAM in every device.

 

[ThailandToo]

So 8GB of Memory was sufficient for 20 years in MacBooks and now a simple iPhone needs 12GB. Apple is so far behind in giving the proper amount of memory and it’s all due to greed and wanting users to need to upgrade. Sad business model.

 

[ErneX]

So 8GB of Memory was sufficient for 20 years in MacBooks and now a simple iPhone needs 12GB. Apple is so far behind in giving the proper amount of memory and it’s all due to greed and wanting users to need to upgrade. Sad business model.

What is the proper amount? Never felt I needed an specific ram amount on a phone.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

What is the proper amount? Never felt I needed an specific ram amount on a phone.

The proper amount is whatever is necessary so that Safari tabs never need to reload.

 

[krspkbl]

What does it even matter? Apple isn't doing anything exciting with AI.

AI needs all the RAM you can throw at it. 12GB is pathetic in 2025 even for a smartphone with no AI capabilities.

My MacBook Air has 16GB which is long overdue as standard. Apple knows they couldn't get away with 8GB anymore but 16GB is actually a joke. I do a lot of AI work and the thought of even trying to do anything AI related on my MacBook makes me laugh. I have actually just put my MBA up for sale on eBay to get rid of it. Whatever I get for it will go towards replacing my RTX 5090. I want an RTX Pro 6000 lmao.

My main PC has 96GB (64GB RAM and 32GB VRAM) and even that limits me at times. I wish I had 128GB RAM and 96GB VRAM. Actually, I wish had x2 GPUs with 96GB each. So that's a total of 320GB RAM. And yes, I could hit that limit without even trying. There are some workflows/usage cases where my 32GB RAM simply isn't enough and I keep running into memory errors. I try to run as much as I can locally but my small RAM capacity is holding me back so I find myself more and more paying £90-200/month to ChatGPT/Claude services. My next PC will focus on obtaining as much RAM as possible. 128GB and 96GB is the minimum upgrade for me.

I respect Apple for being privacy focused (or at least that's what their marketing team wants you to believe) but running local models only means you are getting much less quality and you're always going to be behind the competition. Local AI models are dumb as hell. Trust me, I've downloaded loads of them. They're OK for basic questions but if you want to have good reasoning/image generation/coding then forget about it. When it comes to coding, even the basic ~£20/month paid tiers of ChatGPT/Claude hold you back a lot.

If Apple actually manage to release a useful AI product they need to have 24GB or even 48GB RAM as standard on Mac. iPhones should be 16GB.

 

[ThailandToo]

You never had your browser refresh or your phone freeze due to needing more memory. That’s shocking.

What is the proper amount? Never felt I needed an specific ram amount on a phone.

 

[EugW]

More memory than my latest model M4 iPad Pro.

 

[eliteoOSX27]

You never had your browser refresh or your phone freeze due to needing more memory. That’s shocking.

My 16E has 8 gigs, it runs fine. I don’t believe a simple iPhone needs 12 gigs of RAM. Apple probably just wanted it in there.

 

[eliteoOSX27]

Because this way they keep the upgrade cycle shorter.

If it weren't for the camera tinkering, folks would already have almost no reason to get new iPhones.

Keeping the RAM as "barely enough" makes it so they can do things like "introduce a resource intensive visual update to iOS" and perhaps get a bit of upgrade action when devices suddenly don't feel as snappy.

.. barely enough? Which iPhone do you own that has barely enough RAM that you are seeing a performance decrease?

 

[EugW]

My 16E has 8 gigs, it runs fine. I don’t believe a simple iPhone needs 12 gigs of RAM. Apple probably just wanted it in there.

8 GB is indeed fine but it seems Apple increases allowed RAM usage for apps over time. It will be interesting to see the differences in app behaviour between 8 and 12 GB in a few years' time.

For example, several years ago 4 GB was fine for an iPhone, but I wouldn't want to buy a 4 GB iPhone now. BTW, the RAM (with its support for AI features like Photos Cleanup) was a major reason I recently bought a 16e over a 15.

 

[ThailandToo]

My 16E has 8 gigs, it runs fine. I don’t believe a simple iPhone needs 12 gigs of RAM. Apple probably just wanted it in there.

Look, they had 2 then 4 GB for the longest time and they all sucked. They couldn’t even update the OSes for a long time because of the skimping on RAM. My point is 12GB in an iPhone is more than MacBook Airs sold last year that were really low on RAM not that 12GB isn’t enough for an iPhone. Geez….