The standard iPhone 18 may not get the memory upgrade fans have been counting on. According to a new report from veteran Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is reportedly planning 9GB of RAM for the standard iPhone 18 not the 12GB widely rumored earlier this year.
Earlier reports claimed Apple intended to equip every iPhone 18 model with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, bringing the base model in line with the Pro lineup specifically to support Apple Intelligence. Kuo’s latest supply-chain checks tell a different story; both the standard iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e are expected to use 9GB RAM powered by the upcoming A20 chip, switching from the current 2GB×4 memory configuration to a new 1.5GB×6 die setup.
The reasoning ties directly to rising global DRAM prices colliding with Apple Intelligence’s actual memory requirements and manufacturing cost pressures. Still, 9GB represents a genuine improvement over the 8GB in the current iPhone 17, even if it falls short of matching the Pro models.
Importantly, this report doesn’t confirm anything about Pro model memory earlier rumors suggesting Pro models keep their 12GB remain unaffected. And not every analyst agrees with Kuo’s latest numbers, meaning the final configuration stays genuinely uncertain until Apple announces the device.
The timeline adds context: iPhone 18 Pro models are expected late 2026, while the standard iPhone 18 and 18e reportedly launch spring 2027 as part of Apple’s split-release strategy.
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