Apple Intelligence, the AI initiative on iPhone models, requires that an iPhone sport a minimum 8GB of RAM to support features such as email and website summarization, Clean Up, Writing Tools, and more. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus only have 6GB of RAM compared to the 8GB of memory on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. That is why those models cannot run Apple’s AI features.
All four 2024 iPhone 16 models are rumored to come with 8GB of RAM which is why all iPhone 16 models will run Apple Intelligence. It also points to the possibility that record numbers of iPhone owners will be upgrading to a new iPhone 16 model this year. As for next year, the rumors have been all over the place.
There have been rumors about all four iPhone 17 models being equipped with 12GB of RAM so that all of the phones, which would include the new iPhone Air, could support more complex AI features. By equipping all iPhone 17 models with 12GB of RAM, even those buying the lowest-priced 2025 iPhone 17 model will be able to enjoy the same AI features as the guy who shelled out a larger sum of money to buy the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Interestingly, in 2025, for the first time in iPhone history, the Pro Max model will not be the most expensive model next year. That dubious honor is expected to belong to the new iPhone 17 Air even though this model’s rumored specs aren’t anything to write home about. Reliable leaker Ice Universe earlier this year posted a roadmap showing a starting price of $1,299 for the iPhone 17 Air and $1,199 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Roadmap for the iPhone 17 models expected to be released in 2025. | Image credit-Ice Universe
According to
a tweet written by the most reliable Apple analyst of all time, TF International’s Ming-Chi Kuo, reports claiming that all four 2025 iPhone models will carry 12GB of RAM are wrong. Kuo says that only the
iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature that amount of memory. This will allow Apple to promote the
iPhone 17 Pro Max as being able to support even stronger device-side AI.
“Pro Max currently accounts for nearly 40% of new phone shipments, and contributes most significantly to Apple’s revenue and profits among hardware products. The differentiation strategy of equipping Pro Max with the strongest specifications (not only a screen size larger than Pro) is expected to continue.”-Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple analyst TF International
We’ve already reported that Kuo has said that only the iPhone 17 Pro Max will get a vapor chamber in combination with graphite sheets to prevent the phone from overheating. The other models in the series will receive only the graphite sheets. The vapor chamber is a small sealed chamber filled with liquid that evaporates when exposed to heat. The heat dissipates away from the source (usually the chipset) where heat damage could be very destructive to the phone.