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Apple is reportedly no longer lagging behind the standard iPhone in terms of RAM: The iPhone 18 is expected to upgrade to 12 GB, thus catching up with the Pro models. According to a new report, the remarkable thing is the price – it's said to remain the same despite the more expensive components.
Apple is increasingly aligning the memory configuration of its iPhones with the requirements of its AI features. According to a report by South Korean firm KB Securities, as reported by DigiTimes, the regular iPhone 18 will be released with 12 GB of RAM to support Apple's most powerful on-device model and its associated Siri features. This move fits into the overall picture for the iPhone 18, which had already indicated that the standard model would have the same amount of RAM.
Why the standard model needs more memory
The reason for this is a specific technical hurdle. In its Siri announcement at WWDC 2026, Apple confirmed that the most powerful model will enable more expressive Siri voices and significantly more accurate system-wide dictation – and that both features require 12 GB of unified memory. This requirement is one of the prerequisites for the new Siri, which ties some of its functions to the latest hardware.
Among the current iPhones, only the iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max meet the requirement. The iPhone 17 is excluded because it only has 8 GB of RAM. According to the report, this gap will disappear with the iPhone 18, as Apple will increase the storage of the base model to 12 GB.
More storage, but no higher price
The real kicker of the report concerns the cost. Despite the increased RAM, the price of the iPhone 18 is expected to remain unchanged. Apple has reportedly asked its RAM suppliers to increase the delivery of LPDDR5X chips for the upcoming iPhone lineup.
According to KB Securities, Apple continues to purchase mobile DRAM from the three largest memory manufacturers – Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron – at prices above market levels. The company reportedly intends to absorb the additional costs itself rather than pass them on to customers.
Not the first indication of the memory jump
This is the second time there has been talk of a uniform storage configuration across the iPhone 18 series. In October, the Korean media outlet The Bell reported that the iPhone 18 would have 50 percent more storage than its predecessor. This new assessment thus supports a long-standing assumption.
When the iPhone 18 is expected to be released
The timeline suggests a two-stage market launch. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone Ultra are expected in fall 2026. The iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2, and iPhone 18e are expected to follow in the first half of 2027.
Apple closes the storage gap in the standard iPhone
Should the report prove true, Apple would be blurring the lines between standard and Pro models – specifically regarding a component that is becoming increasingly important for the growing number of AI features. The fact that the company would absorb the higher storage costs itself, rather than passing them on to the sales price, would be the truly surprising detail, given the current tight storage market – and remains, until an official announcement, a prediction from analysts. (Image: Shutterstock / Ringo Chiu)
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