New information indicates that Apple originally intended to equip the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone Duo with 16 GB of RAM, but ultimately that plan changed to use 12 GB of RAM.
According to a report published by MacRumors, the 16 GB RAM capacity was part of Apple's plans for these devices. However, the source did not specify when Apple had considered this capacity and when it decided to reduce it.
This information comes as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are currently considered with 12 GB of RAM; a capacity that, according to Xcode 27 data used to verify device memory, is the same as the RAM of the iPhone 17 Pro models.
The iPhone Duo is also expected to be equipped with 12 GB of RAM, although the Xcode data that confirmed the memory capacity of the Pro models has not yet included Apple's foldable phone.
Is memory shortage the reason Apple changed its plan?
Reports indicate that a global shortage of memory chips could be the main reason for Apple's change of plan. The price of memory units has recently risen, and this trend has coincided with growing demand from data centers and servers equipped with artificial intelligence.
Rising memory costs have now become one of the factors affecting device prices and Apple's production plans. Earlier reports had also been published about the impact of the DRAM chip crisis on the company's product supply in 2026.
Therefore, changing RAM capacity from 16 to 12 GB does not necessarily mean that Apple cancelled a feature ready for release. This change more likely indicates that the company had considered using higher memory capacity before finalizing device specifications and then changed its decision.
This matter becomes more significant as Apple tries to run more AI tasks directly on its devices. In such circumstances, RAM plays an important role in a phone's ability to run apps concurrently and process AI models.
However, the increasing global demand for memory chips can even affect the hardware specifications of products that reach users. It appears that competition to develop AI infrastructure, in addition to data centers, has now influenced decisions related to smartphone memory as well.
According to MacRumors, current information confirms the 12 GB capacity for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but full details about when Apple changed its plan and the final specifications of the iPhone Duo have not yet been determined.