It’s not out yet, but there’s already a reason to wait for the iPhone 17
Apple does not usually announce the amount of RAM it puts into its iPhones. This latest rumor suggests that waiting for the iPhone 17 and skipping the iPhone 16 might be worth it, if you are feeling jealous of the Pixel 9/9 Pro memory configuration. The Google Pixel phones of this year come in two different sizes: 12GB for the entry-level model and 16GB for the Pro version. Apple’s iPhone is expected to have more RAM next year.
The speculation comes from Weibo, the Chinese social network where leaks reign supreme. The post is from the “Mobile phone chip expert” cited by Apple blogs before. When translated into English, the post reads:
If you want to change AI iPhone, maybe 2025 iPhone 17 is a good choice. This year’s [iPhone 16] has only 8GB of memory, mainly AI on the cloud side. The next year’s model [iPhone 17] will have 12GB of RAM and include more edge AI apps. For those who want to change iPhone with limited budget, of course, local tyrants need not consider it.
I’m not sure who the tyrants this post refers to are, though everything else I’m reading here makes sense. Google increased the memory in this year’s Pixel flagships due to AI being the main focus. It’s not hard to imagine that Apple will follow suit, since it is about a full year behind other companies in adopting AI. As I mentioned, it’s annoying that Apple does not advertise the amount of memory in its devices like the Android world. It wasn’t until I read an Apple blog that I found out. The base model Pixel 9 has four fewer GB than the current iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max. Apple’s software is tweaked differently for memory management, as it controls everything that it creates.
Still, with Google bumping up its entire lineup by 4GB, Apple might consider doing the same, especially as it moves more of Apple Intelligence onto devices.
Apple Intelligence is still a burgeoning concept among users in the walled garden. Apple Intelligence has not been included in the public iOS 18 Beta. Apple Intelligence will be a hybrid system, with some processing done on the device and the rest in the cloud. Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers (PCC) are touted for their privacy and security. We’ll learn more soon. Apple will unveil the iPhone 16 at Glowtime on September 9th.
