Here’s one good thing about Apple Intelligence: All iPhones will have more RAM because of it

Long-promised Apple Intelligence features have finally trickled down to most iPhones, but the reactions are lukewarm. Early users weren’t very interested according to this survey, and there are reports that Apple is internally disappointed at just how little its users are interacting with AI.

Personally, I’ve found Apple Intelligence nice to have but not essential.

There’s one great thing about Apple Intelligence, though: Since it requires a lot of RAM to operate properly, Apple will reportedly be equipping all of its iPhone 17 models with 12GB of RAM. This is according to recent leaks from China, as well as reports from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

That’s a big step up from the 8GB of RAM that you’ll find in all of the iPhone 16 models. It’s also rare for Apple to increase the amount of RAM so dramatically in all of its new iPhones, even the most affordable among them, the iPhone 17.

The company doesn’t necessarily need to do it; current models support AI with just 8GB of RAM, and Kuo says Apple hasn’t yet decided whether it will launch all its new iPhones with 12GB of RAM. But the increase would likely make these iPhones super-smooth, and would pave the way for future, more advanced AI features.

Even if you don’t particularly care about AI, getting more RAM in even the basic model is good news for everyone, as it’ll make the phone quicker and more responsive — if Apple doesn’t increase the price, that is.

The iPhone 17 lineup is expected to be revealed in early September. Apple will reportedly add an entirely new, super-thin device to the lineup, possibly called the iPhone 17 Air.