TECH NEWS – One analyst says smartphones will have more RAM across the board in 2026, but that may not be the case in this year’s devices.

Rumors suggest that Apple will add 12 gigabytes of RAM to each model of the iPhone 17 later this year, as better specs could improve multitasking, running AAA games, and generative (content-creating) AI capabilities. However, now we hear that the Cupertino-based company is running into supply shortages that may not allow it to use more RAM across the entire product line. This leads us to conclude that it will be next year, with the iPhone 18 series, that Apple will have the chance to add extra memory everywhere.

According to a recent note from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be the only models to ship with 12GB of RAM, while the base model will remain at 8GB due to supply constraints. If these challenges persist, the analyst believes that 12GB of RAM will not become standard until later. Aside from supply chain issues, price increases are perhaps the biggest reason Apple will hold off on making 12GB RAM standard on all iPhone 17 models. This is especially true if Trump’s tariffs mean that US iPhone production will have to move to India by the end of 2026.

According to the latest estimates, the average selling price of switching from 8GB RAM to 12GB RAM is about 50% higher, so while Apple’s suppliers (Micron, SK Hynix) will benefit greatly from these orders, the iPhone manufacturer will see its parts bill increase. The only way they can cut costs is to have fewer devices with more memory, so the iPhone 17 could be the “sacrificial lamb” because it won’t sell as well as the Pro models, and the iPhone 17 Air could be a big seller because of its thinness… but all this is not official yet!

Source: WCCFTech, Medium