Nearly a week after the grand unveiling of the iPhone 16 series, Apple has finally confirmed one of the key specs for these new flagship phones: all of the models in the range are fitted with 8GB of RAM.
As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple executive Johny Srouji confirmed the 8GB amount in an interview with Geekerwan. Apple doesn’t include RAM in the official spec sheets for its iPhones, for whatever reason, so some detective work is usually required to establish how much memory these handsets have inside.
A few days ago, code spotted in an official Apple developer tool suggested that all the iPhone 16 models were indeed fitted with 8GB of RAM, and now we have confirmation. Last year the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max had 8GB of RAM inside, while the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus made do with 6GB.
That means it’s an upgrade for the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus – but the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max haven’t got any extra RAM this year. It also means there’s less of a distinction between the standard and the Pro models.
Specs compared
The lack of a RAM boost is a little disappointing, especially considering Apple Intelligence is on the verge of rolling out: AI tasks take up a lot of memory, especially when the processing is done on device, so extra RAM definitely helps there.
It also means Apple’s phones are well behind their Android competitors when it comes to this particular spec. The newly launched Google Pixel 9, for example, is fitted with 12GB of RAM, and while the Samsung Galaxy S24 has 8GB of RAM inside, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ups that to 12GB.
However, these raw specs don’t necessarily tell the whole story: as Apple has full control over every part of the iPhone design and architecture, it’s often able to add optimizations and tweaks that make up for lower-level specs. Battery capacity is another example of this – iPhones can often match their rivals on battery life, even with smaller batteries.
With iOS 18 rolling out tomorrow and Apple Intelligence appearing shortly after that, we’ll have to wait and see how this 8GB of RAM affects software performance. In the meantime, check out our iPhone 16 hands-on review.
