The iPhone 17 Pro may finally get this basic upgrade - and yeah, it's about time

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. | Image Credit - PhoneArena

A new rumor corroborates our earlier expectations that the iPhone 17 Pro may get a welcome upgrade in the RAM department.

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are expected to be unveiled in September as per tradition. Recently, we've heard some quite the strange rumors about a huge redesign, the likes of which you may or may not appreciate. But whether the new Pro iPhones may look like a strange take on the Google Pixel or not, one is clear: they will most likely flaunt Apple Intelligence.

And for that, power is needed. We've previously heard rumors about Apple upgrading the iPhone 17 Pro Max from 8 gigs of RAM for the sake of running heavy Apple Intelligence-related processes. However, now, a new rumor corroborates what we've been expecting based on how much force generative AI needs. It's getting more likely now that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max may come with 12GB of RAM.

Analyst Jeff Pu of GFHK Tech Research corroborated the expectations about 12 gigs of RAM on the Pros in a note to investors seen by 9to5Mac. According to Pu, the RAM upgrade is necessary for the growing demands of generative AI.

Reportedly, the analyst said that the Pro iPhone 17 models will upgrade to LPDDR5 12GB of RAM, which would contribute to a 3.5% increase in smartphone DRAM overall year-on-year thanks to the estimated 100 million new iPhones.

Phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra also come with 12GB of RAM. Actually, Samsung's Galaxy S series Ultra phones have had a 12GB RAM option for quite some time now, and as usual, Apple is late to the party (better late than never, right?). Meanwhile, on the Android front, we're already starting to see a new standard with 16GB of RAM.

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max came with 8GB of RAM and the non-Pro models with just 6GB of RAM (yep, in 2023). Of course, to feed the ever-RAM-hungry Apple Intelligence, Apple equipped the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus with 8 gigs of RAM. The recently announced iPhone 16e also has 8GB of RAM, and the lack of RAM is mainly the reason why older iPhones can't run Apple Intelligence.

What this rumor also shows is that (hopefully) Apple Intelligence will need a bigger amount of RAM, which means that it may have even more features. Of course, Apple still has to deliver on the promises it made with the iPhone 16 series, and hopefully, Apple Intelligence's abilities will grow even more for the 17 series.

This also indicates that maybe some of the yet-unknown Apple Intelligence features may only be available on the 12GB-RAM-equipped iPhone 17 Pro.

The iPhone 17 series is likely to be announced in September, and if recent rumors and leaks are to be believed, it would be somewhat peculiar. First, we have the rumored redesign for the Pro models, then, we've also been hearing about a superslim iPhone 17 Air (reportedly measuring 5.5mm at its thinnest part), which may also look Pixel-esque and is said to replace the Plus model.

It's still a bit early to know which rumors are accurate, but one is almost certain: the new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are very likely to come with 12GB of RAM. And maybe, some exclusive Apple Intelligence features. Hopefully, not just promises about exclusive Apple Intelligence features.