iPhone 17 Pro Rumors: 12GB RAM, Narrower Dynamic Island for Pro Max

It's an iPhone 17 rumor frenzy this week courtesy of Jeff Pu, an analyst who has sources within Apple's supply chain in Asia.

iPhone 17 Pro Max Smaller Dynamic Island Feature 1
While the iPhone 16 lineup is still months away from being announced, rumors about the two-generations-away iPhone lineup typically begin to surface about a year-and-a-half before launch. For example, almost exactly a year ago, we learned that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively.

12GB of RAM

In a research note with investment firm Haitong, Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will be equipped with 12GB of RAM. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro models have 8GB of RAM, and the iPhone 16 Pro models are also expected to have 8GB of RAM. The increase would contribute to improved performance for multitasking on the iPhone.

The alleged RAM amounts across the iPhone 17 lineup:

  • iPhone 17: 8GB
  • iPhone 17 Slim: 8GB
  • iPhone 17 Pro: 12GB
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: 12GB

How that compares to the iPhone 15 lineup:

  • iPhone 15: 6GB
  • iPhone 15 Plus: 6GB
  • iPhone 15 Pro: 8GB
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max: 8GB

Narrower Dynamic Island on Pro Max

Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a "much narrowed Dynamic Island" as a result of the device adopting a smaller "metalens" for the Face ID system.

This would be the first size reduction for the Dynamic Island since its iPhone 14 Pro debut.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17 Pro
Tag: Jeff Pu
Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

Isengardtom Avatar
22 months ago
Isn’t 8GB enough on a phone? They’re still selling it on a Mac ?
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
22 months ago
That suggests iPhone 16 Pro/Max is still 8GB RAM. Doesn't bode well for complex on-device AI processing.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andres Cantu Avatar
22 months ago
So tired of the regular size Pro getting the short end of the stick. I thought all that would be over when the X was released.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Take Flight Avatar
22 months ago
Anyone else notice that a lot of apps apparently don't make use of the available RAM?

I am annoyed how often you go back to an app that is open in the background and it has completely reset back to the home page/start screen. Especially annoying with food and retail apps where it completely erases things in your cart etc.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NicosAccount Avatar
22 months ago
Dang it that's more ram than my new m3 air ?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unity451 Avatar
22 months ago

Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a "much narrowed Dynamic Island" as a result of the device adopting a smaller "metalens" for the Face ID system.
Weird... it's almost like the whole Dynamic Island thing was only put in place to hide the holes and not because Apple really believed it was a feature that would improve the UI. Go figure. ?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)