One Of Apple’s Biggest Misses With The iPhone 16 Series Was Failing To Bring A 12GB RAM Upgrade To The ‘Pro’ Models This Year

It was revealed shortly after the iPhone 16 launch that all four models announced by Apple this year feature 8GB RAM, making it a rare moment when the company decided not to introduce a specifications difference in the memory category. The RAM upgrade for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus pretty much means that every device from this year’s lineup can seamlessly run Apple Intelligence’s generative AI features, with room to accommodate additions in the future.

However, we firmly believe that it was a missed opportunity for the technology giant to introduce some differentiation to the four models, and it should have started with giving the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max a 12GB RAM upgrade. Anyone keeping up with Apple’s plans knows that it punched iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus owners in the gut as these devices cannot run any of the company’s generative AI features as they feature just 6GB RAM. This will undoubtedly make customers livid as last year’s ‘non Pro’ models are barely a year old at this point.

Customers will instead have to wait an entire year to see that 12GB RAM upgrade while spending more money because the memory bump might be exclusive to the 2025 ‘Pro’ models

A combination of a capable Neural Engine and sufficient RAM is mandatory to run Apple Intelligence, so it makes sense why the entire iPhone 16 series ships with 8GB RAM. Unfortunately, the Cupertino firm has given customers one reason less to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, which can potentially reduce the ‘Average Selling Price’ (ASP), which is a key metric for tracking iPhone revenue. In fact, the only difference between the A18 and A18 Pro chipsets this year is a single GPU core, giving customers even less incentive to spend some extra cash.

It appears that on the hardware specifications front, Apple did little to bring some meaningful exclusive features to the lineup, but according to rumors, the company is expected to go back to its previous stance with the iPhone 17 launch. A previous report stated that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have 12GB RAM, hinting that the less expensive iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus will be retained at 8GB RAM count. Now, we are not downplaying how beneficial 8GB of RAM is on the iPhone.

In addition to running Apple Intelligence, the upgrade opens up a ton of doors for running AAA games natively on every iPhone 16 model. Last year, only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max had the hardware prowess to fire up those titles. Furthermore, the multitasking headroom will increase substantially, allowing users to open up various apps in succession and keep those apps running in the background for prolonged periods. These benefits would have expanded had the iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max featured 12GB RAM, but let us see how this decision impacts sales for the year.

If you have not yet placed your pre-order for any iPhone 16 model because you feel that the iPhone 17 lineup will offer you more value, we have highlighted some reasons why you should wait for the launch next year. If you have any other opinions to share or if you believe that Apple truly had a missed opportunity this year, let us know in the comments.