Following recent reports that the entire iPhone 17 lineup would benefit from a RAM upgrade to 12GB per device, a new report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that things might not be quite that simple.
Writing in a post on the X social network Kuo says that the 12GB of RAM boost will only be available on Apple's best iPhone, leaving people with the option of buying the iPhone 17 Pro Max or settling for less RAM in their handset.
If this turns out to be accurate, those buying an iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Slim/Air, or iPhone 17 Pro will receive handsets with 8GB of RAM inside. That'll be enough to handle Apple Intelligence, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have 50% more RAM to aid performance.
All the RAM
Kuo's X post says that it "can be expected that stronger device-side AI will be the main selling point of iPhone 17 Pro Max." He also confirmed that the other iPhones, including the rumored iPhone SE 4, will have just 8GB of RAM.
Apple Intelligence requires at least 8GB of RAM so there is no doubt all of the new handsets will support the technology, but it's possible that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will offer even more advanced AI capabilities thanks to the additional RAM on offer. However, it's also possible that the RAM could be used elsewhere including more advanced photography and videography features.
The report also claims that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will sport a new heat dissipation solution, while the other models will make do with a less-capable graphite sheet solution.
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