Apple's iPhone 17 lineup could feature a notable RAM divide, with the base model potentially missing out on a rumored memory boost coming to the more high-end models.
According to leaker Fixed Focus Digital on Weibo, the iPhone 17 will stick with 8GB of RAM while the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will jump to 12GB. The leaker previously revealed the iPhone 16e name before its official announcement, lending some credibility to their claim.
For comparison, Samsung's latest Galaxy S25 models, which launched earlier this year, all come with 12GB of RAM. Google's Pixel 9 also comes with 12GB of RAM.
The leaker's information tallies with earlier predictions from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who suggested the same 12GB upgrade for the Air and Pro models. Kuo expressed uncertainty about the base iPhone 17's RAM configuration getting an upgrade due to potential supply constraints, and he has not provided an update on his thoughts since his original April prediction.
All current iPhone 16 models ship with 8GB of RAM, which meets Apple Intelligence's minimum requirement. The base iPhone 17 maintaining this amount would still support Apple's AI features, though the extra memory in higher-end models could enable more sophisticated processing and better gaming performance.
The iPhone 17 lineup is expected to launch around mid-September.
