Apple's iPhone 14 apparently got a big RAM upgrade, while the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max did not
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Even by Apple standards, the Cupertino-based tech giant did a pretty bang-up job keeping its hot new products a secret ahead of yesterday's big announcement event, preventing among others the early reveal of the iPhone 14 Plus and Watch Ultra names, as well as the incredibly ingenious Dynamic Island feature exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.
While plenty of inside information on all those next-gen gadgets (as well as the "regular" iPhone 14, Apple Watch Series 8, and AirPods Pro 2) was reliably and prematurely leaked, a number of rumors bandied about in the last few months unsurprisingly proved inaccurate.
In short, not really. It's true, most of the best Android phones money can buy right now come packing at least 8GB RAM, with many ultra-high-end industry newcomers starting at 12 gigs these days and going all the way up to 18GB... at fitting prices.
All iPhone 14 models are created equal in at least one way
Pondering an iPhone 14 or 14 Plus pre-order for tomorrow, September 9? We might have some good news for you. Thinking instead of purchasing the $999 iPhone 14 Pro or $1,099 iPhone 14 Pro Max as soon as possible? Then we're sorry to disappoint you.
That's right, MacRumors has it on good authority that all four members of Apple's latest high-end handset family come with a 6GB RAM count, contradicting speculation from all the way back in December 2021... and February 2022 of a 2 gig advantage for Pro and Pro Max variants.
Last year's iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, mind you, did hold such an edge in the memory department over the non-Pro iPhone 13 and 13 mini, packing 6 instead of 4 gigs of the good stuff.
But Apple has interestingly decided to upgrade the vanilla iPhone 14 compared to its predecessor while keeping the Pro and Pro Max RAM counts unchanged and of course aligning the iPhone 14 Plus with all the others.
Pre-order the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus right now
Because Apple itself never likes to confirm this type of information, hardcore multitaskers could still cling on to their hopes of seeing the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max released with 8GB RAM on deck, although the chances of something like that materializing now are almost non-existent. But hey, at least we have one potential iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max feature to already be excited about.
Should iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max buyers care?
But there's a reason why Apple never mentions this technical detail at its product launch events, in its press releases, or even on its otherwise very detailed specs-dedicated webpages. Simply put, iOS multitasking is not and has never been a problem on devices like the iPhone 13, 13 mini, or third-gen iPhone SE, all of which offer a "measly" (by modern Android high-end standards, at least) 4GB RAM.
That suggests future iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max users will all be happy with how their handsets are able to juggle multiple tasks, activities, and apps at the same time. We also fully expect Apple to keep all these devices (and their humbler non-Pro predecessors) in mind when building the next few iOS versions, making it so that you won't notice any deficiency in this department if 2023's iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max do end up taking the leap to 8GB RAM.
You can be among the first to own the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max:
Of course, iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max owners will still have plenty of reasons to feel superior to those willing to settle for an iPhone 14 or 14 Plus, with a significantly faster processor in tow, as well as the aforementioned Dynamic Island trick, a 48MP primary camera, an extra telephoto lens, an arguably sleeker and stronger design, and a smoother screen with 120Hz refresh rate support.
On top of it all, there's also a possibility that the iPhone 14 Pro duo will feature a faster LPDDR5 RAM technology than the LPDDR4X iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, as tipped by a couple of sources in recent months, although that remains to be confirmed after the handset family actually starts shipping.
Things that are NOT allowed: