Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 could receive a significant hardware upgrade that would unlock more advanced AI features, all without increasing the phone’s starting price.
According to a new report from DigiTimes citing South Korean investment firm KB Securities, Apple is expected to equip the standard iPhone 18 with 12GB of RAM. That would be a substantial jump from the 8GB found in last year’s standard iPhone 17.
The additional memory is reportedly needed to support Apple’s most advanced on-device AI model, which powers new Siri improvements announced during WWDC 2026. Apple says the upgraded model enables more natural-sounding Siri voices and improved system-wide dictation accuracy, but currently requires 12GB of unified memory.
The report claims Apple plans to bring 12GB of RAM to the standard model, allowing more users access to the company’s latest AI capabilities without needing to upgrade to a Pro device. On top of that, Apple may keep pricing unchanged. KB Securities claims Apple is increasing orders for LPDDR5X memory chips from suppliers including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, while absorbing higher component costs rather than passing them on to consumers.
This would be a huge win for users, as the iPhone 17’s $799 starting price was already one of the best values in the smartphone market.
