On Thursday, a rumor surfaced that Apple may be giving the iPhone 17 a long-awaited upgrade, which is the good news. The bad news is that it’ll cost you.
More and more rumors and leaks about the iPhone 17 Air and the rest of this year's iPhone line-up are popping up as we get closer to the eventual launch in the second half of the year, most likely in September.
Earlier this week a hands-on video of an iPhone 17 Air mockup leaked and now we’re getting word that Apple is planning to significantly increase the memory in at least three iPhone 17 models.
Unfortunately, that might not be good news for some iPhone users.
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Apple plans pricey spec bump for the iPhone 17
The good news is that Apple is reportedly planning to increase the RAM in the iPhone 17 from 8GB to 12GB.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in a blog post on Thursday that Apple is aiming to give the iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and Air 12GB of RAM, and potentially the base iPhone 17, as well (although it sounds like this is still up in the air due to supply concerns). According to Kuo, by 2026, all new iPhone models will have 12GB of RAM.
That’s good news, especially if you want to use your iPhone for tasks like AI or gaming. Unfortunately, there’s a downside.
The bad news is that more RAM could lead to a higher price. As Kuo points out, the average price for 12GB RAM units compared to 8GB units is about 50% higher (hence why you usually have to pay extra for spec increases).
Apple doesn’t allow you to customize the RAM in your iPhone, so that extra cost will presumably go directly into a higher starting price. Unfortunately, this may just be adding fuel to the fire since Apple was already grappling with potential price increases due to Trump administration trade tariffs that are impacting the entire iPhone supply chain.
Right now, we’re in the midst of a 90-day pause on some of those tariffs, but it’s impossible to predict what the situation will be like in September, the most likely month for the iPhone 17 launch. At this point, though, it’s all but certain the iPhone 17 line-up will be more expensive than the current line-up.
We expect more leaks and rumors about the iPhone 17 and its price as we get closer to WWDC 2025 and a potential September iPhone event, so stay tuned for more info.
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