With the iPhone 16, Apple increased the amount of RAM to 8GB so it can properly run upcoming Apple Intelligence features. And further RAM increases could be on the cards as Apple Intelligence evolves, if the latest report about a future iPhone is any indication.
According to a report on Weibo by “Mobile phone chip expert,” the iPhone 18 will feature a new A20 chip that includes 12GB of RAM:
The 2nm processor A20 of the 2026 Apple iPhone will adopt a new packaging method. APTS has been changed from the original InFo to the WMCM packaging method. Memory will also be upgraded to 12GB, and the whole network will be announced 2 years in advance.
The person behind “Mobile chip expert” states in their Weibo profile that they have 25 years in the integrated chip industry. That person has also made accurate predictions in the past. “Mobile chip expert” also reported in August that the iPhone 17 will have 12GB of RAM, a reported echoed by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
While Apple Intelligence isn’t officially available yet, it’s already had an effect on the company’s products. For the feature to work the way Apple wants it to work, the iPhone, iPad, and Mac need more RAM, a component the company has been stingy with historically. But with the new iPhone 16, Apple increased the amount of RAM in the device, and is rumored to do the same with the upcoming base M4 MacBook Pro.
AI features like Apple Intelligence are processor-intensive, so having enough RAM is important for an optimal experience. As Apple Intelligence evolves, it could become more demanding of the processor, which could explain why Apple is set to increase RAM in future devices.
The report also mentions that the A20 chip in the iPhone 18 will be manufactured using an enhanced 2nm process. This falls in line with a report from the beginning of this year that said that Apple was looking into the 2nm process for its iPhone 17 in 2025.
The nanometer process refers to the production of the chip, and 2nm allows for increased transistor density over the current 3nm used for the A18 and A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro respectively. The higher the transistor density, the better the performance and power efficiency. The enhanced 2nm process for the A20 chip in 2026 would introduce improvements from the standard 2nm process.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.