The iPhone 18 may be much better at running Apple Intelligence.
Citing Korean outlet The Bell, MacRumors reports that the base iPhone 18 may get a 50% bump in RAM. According to The Bell, Apple has already petitioned companies like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron for higher orders of LPDDR5X RAM for next year’s iPhones. It should be noted that Samsung currently only sells LPDDR5X RAM in either 12 GB or 16 GB configurations.
This increase would put the base iPhone 18 at 12 GB of RAM, in line with the higher-end Pro models and the possible (if unlikely) iPhone Air 2. For reference, the current iPhone 17 has only 8 GB of RAM, while the Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max each have 12 GB of RAM.
Of course, this is currently speculation and should be taken with a large grain of salt. Still, with Apple continuing to push Apple Intelligence (its flavor of AI) and on-device AI models, the company’s handsets are going to need more RAM. While 8 GB of RAM is likely sufficient for most consumers and their day-to-day demands, AI models are notoriously memory-intensive, so bumping the base iPhone 18 up to 12 GB of RAM to accommodate an on-device model is likely.
We will know for certain when Apple announces the iPhone 18, likely in the Fall of 2026.
Sam Medley – Senior Tech Writer – 1492 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2016
I’ve been a computer geek my entire life. After graduating college with a degree in Mathematics, I worked in finance and banking a few years before taking a job as a database administrator. I started working with Notebookcheck in October of 2016 and have enjoyed writing news and reviews. I’ve also written for other outlets including UltrabookReview and GeeksWorldWide, focusing on consumer guidance and video gaming. My areas of interest include the business side of technology, retro gaming, Linux, and innovative gadgets. When I’m not writing on electronics or tinkering with a device, I’m either outside with my family, enjoying a decade-old video game, or playing drums or piano.