Apple's lower-end iPhone 18 models, expected to be announced in spring 2027, will feature 9GB of RAM for improved Apple Intelligence support, according to a new analyst report.

Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the lower-end models, likely to be the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, will have 1GB more RAM than the outgoing iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e.

As for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Kuo expects those phones to sport 12GB of RAM. This matches the current iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

More RAM per die

Writing in a post on the X social network, Kuo says that the spring iPhones will use A20 chips that have 1.5GB x 6 dies. This figure is up from the 2GB x 4 dies that are used in the A19 models.

Extrapolating to the A20 Pro, it's expected that Apple's chips will have 1.5GB x 8 dies, resulting in 12GB.

The reason for Apple's decision to give its budget models more RAM is a desire for improved Apple Intelligence performance, the analyst believes. The additional RAM is "to keep the system running smoothly under AI workloads."

Unclear expectations

Apple announced iOS 27 during its WWDC event on June 8, 2026. The update will bring new AI features, including Siri AI, to iPhones this fall.

Kuo's report would make sense in this context. Apple will surely want to ensure that all new iPhones are as performant as possible when using iOS 27's latest features.

However, it's unclear what additional AI performance the jump from 8GB to 9GB would afford the spring iPhones.

We already know that Siri AI can run on any device with 8GB of RAM. We know that because iOS 27 and its new Apple Intelligence features are compatible with those devices.

The only wrinkle is Apple's new on-device AI models. Those are limited to the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air thanks to 12GB of RAM.

It's unknown whether an iPhone 18 with 9GB of RAM would also be capable of supporting on-device models. All we know now is that iPhones with 8GB don't, and iPhones with 12GB do. Where the cutoff between those two figures is, is unclear.

If everything goes the way it is expected to, Apple will announce the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max alongside the iPhone Ultra this fall. Then, the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will debut in the spring of 2027.