iPhone 18 Rumored to Feature 50% More RAM

Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 could feature 50% more memory than its predecessor, according to Korea's The Bell.

iPhone 17 Colors
With its latest iPhone lineup, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max feature 12GB of memory. This is a significant increase of 4GB more their predecessors, largely driven by the demands of on-device artificial intelligence processing.

The iPhone 17 is the only new model to continue to feature 8GB of memory. It looks like that will change with the ‌iPhone 18‌, with Apple reportedly seeking memory parity across all four models. Apple has apparently asked Samsung, a key supplier of RAM for the ‌iPhone‌, to increase its supply of LPDDR5X chips for the next ‌iPhone‌ lineup.

Samsung's high-performance LPDDR5X launched in 2024 is only available in 12GB and 16GB configurations, making another standard ‌iPhone‌ with 8GB of memory unlikely. Apple is also said to be in talks with SK Hynix and Micron for additional mobile DRAM supply.

The ‌iPhone Air‌ 2, ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro, ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max, and foldable ‌iPhone‌ are expected to launch in the fall of 2026, with the ‌iPhone 18‌ and ‌iPhone‌ 18e following in the first half of 2027.

Related Roundup: iPhone 18
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Apple Sports App Preview Feature

Apple Sports App on iPhone Now Available in More European Countries

Monday November 17, 2025 6:27 am PST by
The free Apple Sports app on the iPhone was released in additional European countries today, including Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Ukraine, and others. The app was already available in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Austria, France, Germany,...

Top Rated Comments

MacUserFella Avatar
4 weeks ago
At this rate, in 2040, iPhones will have 300GB of RAM and Macs will still only START at 16GB
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cjsuk Avatar
4 weeks ago
Apple: "Maybe if we add even more RAM this time our AI proposition will work".
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cjsuk Avatar
4 weeks ago

Can someone please tell me what they are doing on their phone that makes 8gb of ram not enough?

Since 8gb on a phone is good enough for 99% of people why not just lower the price of the phone a few bucks instead?
The ML models that they want to run on the device that no one wants require a hell of a lot of RAM.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nozuka Avatar
4 weeks ago

At this rate, in 2040, iPhones will have 300GB of RAM and Macs will still only have 16GB
With mac you get as much as you buy.

With iPhone you are stuck with what it has.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Slo Pesci Avatar
4 weeks ago
Can someone please tell me what they are doing on their phone that makes 8gb of ram not enough?

Since 8gb on a phone is good enough for 99% of people why not just lower the price of the phone a few bucks instead?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BruiserBear Avatar
4 weeks ago

Can someone please tell me what they are doing on their phone that makes 8gb of ram not enough?

Since 8gb on a phone is good enough for 99% of people why not just lower the price of the phone a few bucks instead?
1. Apple doesn’t price things “a few bucks” cheaper, especially for iPhones.
2. iPhones sell incredibly well. Why would Apple make them cheaper?
3. While you may not understand the important of RAM, it makes a difference in how the device operates on a daily basis. Reopen and app you had open earlier and it has to reload? That won’t happen as much if you have more ram for various things to remain saved to.
4. As others have mentioned, AI features will need more RAM to run well going forward, so having more RAM on your devices just means they are future proofed for longer.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)