Apple is reportedly gearing up to give its standard iPhone[1] a major performance boost next year. The company is expected to upgrade the base iPhone to 12GB of RAM, a 4GB increase over the current iPhone 17. This brings it on par with the iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and the recently introduced iPhone Air.
Industry insiders claim Apple has already asked Samsung, one of its main suppliers, to ramp up production of LPDDR5X RAM for the next-generation iPhone lineup. Samsung is reportedly producing these advanced memory modules only in 12GB and 16GB capacities.
The move to 12 GB of RAM is a strategic step toward enabling on-device AI capabilities. Running generative AI models locally is challenging with just 8GB of RAM, so a memory upgrade could make Apple’s base model more capable for AI-powered features in future iOS updates.
Reports also suggest Apple plans to shift to a staggered release cycle starting in 2026. Under this new timeline, the iPhone Pro models, and possibly a Fold or updated Air, would debut in Fall 2026. The standard iPhone 18 would then follow in spring 2027, giving Apple more room to fine-tune its hardware launches and marketing strategy.