Base iPhone 18 Tipped to Get These Two Pro-Level Upgrades - MacRumors
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Base iPhone 18 Tipped to Get These Two Pro-Level Upgrades

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The base iPhone 18 model that Apple is expected to release by March 2027 will be equipped with 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB in the iPhone 17, according to analyst Jeff Pu.

iPhone 17 Colors
Pu's latest assessment, if accurate, would see the iPhone 18 gaining the same amount of memory as the iPhone 17 Pro models. Analyst Dan Nystedt claimed the same RAM upgrade for the iPhone 18 back in April.

That said, their predictions conflict with the most recent report on the subject from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said both the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e would have only 9GB of RAM. This would prevent the devices from supporting some Apple Intelligence features.

However, Pu agrees with Kuo that the lower-cost iPhone 18e – also coming in the spring – will come with 9GB of RAM, based on his own sources and supply chain information. Both models are expected to be powered by the A20 chip.

Interestingly, Pu additionally believes that the regular iPhone 18 will feature a narrower Dynamic Island. Most of the rumors about a smaller Dynamic Island have pertained to the iPhone 18 Pro models, but Chinese leaker Ice Universe has also claimed the smaller Dynamic Island will be adopted across the iPhone 18 lineup.

Related Roundup: iPhone 18
Tag: Jeff Pu
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Top Rated Comments

D
DanneP
6 hours ago at 04:11 am

looking forward to this base 18 release next month!.. 🙏
It's not going to be released until early 2027.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
tomtad
5 hours ago at 04:53 am
The regular iPhone remains the GOAT.

Also can we stop using this term 'base'. If anything the base iPhone is the 17e and the 17 mid-range.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
klasma
6 hours ago at 04:23 am
Maybe it’ll be 9GB for the base storage model and 12GB for the higher storage ones, like with the Pixel, and like with the iPad Pros.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
Sanmi
7 hours ago at 03:42 am
“Sure Jan”
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
tonmischa
6 hours ago at 04:14 am
Since Siri AI will need 12 GB of RAM to do everything "on-device", it makes sense that the base iPhone gets a RAM update too.

It would be embarrassing for Apple to introduce new iPhones in March 2027, none of which would be able to run the new Siri AI properly.

Apple is late to the AI game; everything depends on getting the feature out to as many people as possible.
My tip: 12 GB for Base and Air2, 9GB for 18e.

Base will be more expensive, but you can always get the 18e if you need cheap.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
tonmischa
5 hours ago at 05:34 am

Not “everything”. You will be missing “Expressive Siri voices” and “More Advanced Dictation” with 8GB, the rest will still work.
Isn't that what I said? Sorry, I'm not a native speaker.

You need 12 GB to load the newest SiriAI model that includes the voices and does everything "on-device". 8 GB will only be able to load a smaller model that is not as powerful and that has to rely on Cloud-Computing to do some of its tasks.

Since "on-device" and "expressive voices" are huge selling points (yes, they are), it would make sense to push the newest model into the hands of as many customers as possible. Especially because Apple needs to convince people that SiriAI is a worthy addition to the AI market.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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