4 GB more RAM: Will it finally be available for everyone in the iPhone 18?
Reports from China claim that Apple plans a general RAM expansion for the next but one iPhone due to new packaging. A 17 series is said to receive 12 GB earlier.
iPhone 15 Pro: Here it's still 8 GB.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch)
When it comes to RAM expansion, Apple is usually stingy with its smartphones compared to the Android world. For example, it was not until the iPhone 16 that all models came with 8 GB of RAM to make Apple Intelligence possible. In contrast, only the Pro versions of the predecessor iPhone 15 received 8 GB – while the standard model and the Plus version remained at 6 GB. According to the latest rumors from China, this is set to improve with the iPhone 18 at the latest: Allegedly, all models will then have at least 12 GB of RAM. The reason for this is a new packaging method for the 2-nanometer process that Apple wants to use for the upcoming A20 SoC, writes the user "Mobile Phone Chip Expert" on the Chinese short message service Weibo.com.
More diversity in the SoCs
The truth of the report remains unclear – "Mobile Phone Chip Expert" has already been correct in the past, knowing in advance that Apple would only equip the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max with the then new A16 chip. According to him, TSMC is switching to WMCM packaging for the A20, building the system-on-chip (SoC) as a wafer-level multi-chip module instead of using the current InFo ("Integrated Fan-Out") process. WMCM helps to place components more freely in the package. This would allow Apple to build more "diverse" SoCs and make easier gradations between the chips – plus the possibility of having enough space for 12 GBytes in the package.
Videos by heise
According to earlier reports, Apple will already install 12 GByte in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but then still in the old packaging. This would help to differentiate the Pro Max model from the Pro model. It is still unclear what Apple will use the additional 4 GBytes for –, but they could help to speed up AI applications because larger models can be stored in RAM. It is still unclear whether WMCM in the A20 will really come with 12 GB for all iPhone 18 models or whether only the Pro models (i.e. Pro and Pro Max) will be supplied.
A18 and A18 Pro different chips
Apple uses two versions of the A18 in the iPhone 16 –: a standard and a Pro version. However, closer analysis shows that these are two different chips. The A18 processor in the two cheaper models is not a reject of the Pro chip, in which parts of the graphics unit and the cache have been deactivated.
Instead, Apple has designed two completely separate processors and ordered them from chip contract manufacturer TSMC using N3E technology, according to investigations by Chipwise and TechInsights. This might have been easier for Apple using WMCM.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
