Apple enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, expected to debut this fall, potentially alongside the company’s first foldable iPhone. In contrast, the standard iPhone 18 and the new iPhone 18e are rumored to be released in the spring of 2027. While the upcoming lineup is anticipated to feature more RAM, it seems that these enhancements may still fall short when it comes to supporting two advanced Siri AI features, which require specific hardware capabilities.
The heart of the issue lies in Apple’s AFM Core Advanced model, which powers Innovative features such as Advanced Dictation Preview in iOS 27 and the new expressive Siri voices. This model operates locally on devices, but it has a significant prerequisite: a minimum of 12GB of RAM.
More Memory May Not Be Enough
According to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s lower-end iPhones slated for release in the first half of 2027 will be powered by the A20 chip and will increase RAM from 8GB to 9GB. Despite this upgrade, Forbes warns that the iPhone 18 and 18e may still not meet the requisite specifications to harness Apple’s advanced Siri features.
iOS 27 will bring tighter system-level integration with Apple Intelligence. My latest industry checks suggest Apple’s lower-end 1H27 iPhones, powered by the A20 chip, will move to 9GB DRAM (1.5GB × 6 dies), up from 8GB (2GB × 4 dies) in the current A19 models, to keep the system…
— 郭明錤｜Ming-Chi Kuo (@mingchikuo) June 26, 2026
Currently, Advanced Dictation Preview is available on devices like the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air running the iOS 27 beta. Notably, the standard iPhone 17 and even the iPhone 16 Pro lack this feature due to their 8GB RAM limitation.
Advanced Dictation Preview boosts accuracy and automatically manages punctuation and capitalization while users are speaking. Meanwhile, expressive Siri voices are designed to enhance the user experience, making Apple’s assistant sound more natural and adaptable. If the 12GB RAM requirement remains fixed, the standard iPhone 18 models may miss out on these innovative capabilities.
The Pro Models Should Have the Edge
Although Apple has yet to officially announce the iPhone 18 lineup, Kuo suggests that the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the anticipated foldable iPhone will retain the 12GB of RAM. This differentiation indicates that Apple may be steering consumers towards the Pro versions for a richer feature set.
Alleged design of iPhone 18 Pro. Macworld
This potential feature split may appear to be a strategic move by Apple to encourage purchases of higher-end models, but the dynamics of RAM capacity are influenced by multiple factors. The tech giant has already implemented price increases across its iPad and Mac lines due to rising RAM costs, and it’s projected that the iPhone 18 Pro models could experience a price increase of approximately $200.
Additionally, Apple is reportedly seeking governmental approval to procure RAM from China’s CXMT, as it negotiates a supply crunch that complicates the inclusion of advanced AI capabilities in its more affordable models.
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