Apple Intelligence was supposed to be the highlight of iOS 18, a signature feature unlike anything available on competing devices. That’s what Apple sold us on at WWDC 2024, delivering an exciting vision for a more personal AI experience on mobile devices.
Nearly a year later, the AI-powered smart Siri assistant that should be able to surface contextual information from apps and even let us control in-app actions via voice isn’t here. It’s a rare miss for the company and a very shameful one. Apple essentially promised Apple Intelligence would offer an AI experience unlike anything available on competing devices, only to realize a few months later it could not provide it as soon as it thought it could.
Apple used that Apple Intelligence experience as a marketing tool to sell the iPhone 16 series as AI-ready phones. Without the upgraded Siri, the iPhone 16 isn’t as exciting.
Despite my disappointment, I still believe Apple can deliver the AI experience it promised last year, even if it takes longer, even if rivaling AI experiences are more exciting right now. I’m also sure that Apple has even bigger plans for Apple Intelligence on iPhone, and the latest developments on the iPhone 17 rumors front further reinforce my thinking.
We have another report that says Apple is giving at least two iPhone 17 models a big RAM upgrade, which can only be tied to the future of AI on iOS.
Reliable leakers told us late last summer that at least one iPhone 17 model, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, would get 12GB of RAM. By late February, leakers said both iPhone 17 Pro models would get the same upgrade. Things escalated quickly in the past few weeks, with a report saying the iPhone 17 Air will also feature 12GB of RAM and another claiming all four models will feature the same amount of memory.
We now have a report from Korean-language site ETNews that mentions the iPhone 17’s 12GB RAM upgrade, providing more details than the usual leakers and insiders.
The report claims that Apple will give the iPhone 17 Pro models 12GB of RAM, rather than all four models. Apple is reportedly tasking Samsung with supplying 70% of the memory stock necessary for the iPhone 17 series.
The report says that considering about 100 million new iPhones are sold in the first year after their release, Samsung’s memory would account for 70 million of them. The rest will be divided between SK Hynix and Micron.
That figure isn’t necessarily accurate, considering Apple usually manufactures up to 90 million new iPhones in the first year alone. iPhone 17 manufacturing has already started, so Apple will likely make that many iPhone 17 units this year alone, with production to continue next year until the iPhone 18 series comes out.
While the iPhone 17 Pro models would account for the majority of iPhone 17 supply, we’ll never get a count from Apple. Also, Apple sells well over 200 million iPhones every year, with the mix favoring the newer generation.
What I’m getting at is that the ETNews estimate is wrong, or they meant the figure to represent cumulative iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max sales for the first year.
Figures and suppliers aside, the report makes it clear that the RAM upgrade is all about artificial intelligence. While ETNews doesn’t mention new Apple Intelligence features, it points out that AI phones like the iPhone can offer faster AI experiences if they feature more built-in RAM.
As a reminder, Apple gave all iPhone 16 models 8GB of RAM, including the cheaper iPhone 16e version. Even if Apple Intelligence has disappointed buyers, it has given them better hardware for the same cost.
While Apple will only reveal the new Apple Intelligence features coming to iOS 19 at WWDC next month, it’s likely looking to futureproof the devices that will run those next-gen Apple Intelligence features to ensure they’ll continue to be great AI phones for several years. We’ve seen this happen with the Macs, as all MacBooks ship with at least 16GB of RAM, even older models that Apple sells.
I’d expect Apple to do the same thing with many iPad versions, especially the higher-end ones.
As a reminder, Apple Intelligence has another big advantage over competitors. Most AI features are supposed to run on-device, which is where Apple’s A-series chips shine. However, iPhones also need plenty of RAM for on-device AI tasks.
Speaking of costs, it’s unclear whether the iPhone 17 series will see price bumps this year. Trump’s tariffs might make price increases inevitable.
Whatever the case, the 12GB RAM upgrade will increase costs for Apple. ETNews says 12GB memory modules are about 50% more expensive than the 8GB RAM Apple used in the iPhone 16. Unofficial estimates say those 8GB LPDDR5X memory models cost $17, $5 more than the 8GB LPDDR5 RAM Apple used in the iPhone 15 Pros.
We won’t know how much RAM the iPhone 17 models will feature until September. However, the Apple Intelligence features Apple wants to bring to iPhone users this year will be revealed officially at WWDC 2025 in June.
In a worst-case scenario where Apple Intelligence continues to disappoint for at least another year, iPhone 17 buyers will still get a good perk out of Apple’s efforts: Much better hardware.
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