Apple has always managed to squeeze incredible performance out of the iPhone even though the company has a history of being notoriously stingy with RAM. As a point of reference, Samsung’s 2013 Galaxy S4 shipped with 2GB of RAM but Apple didn’t decide to jump on the 2GB bandwagon until it rolled out the iPhone 6s more than two years later.
Last year, Apple became a lot more RAM-friendly when it gave the iPhone 7 Plus 3GB of RAM, largely due to the device’s advanced dual camera system. Now comes word via Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri (via MacRumors) that the entirety of Apple’s 2017 iPhone lineup will feature 3GB of RAM. The analyst note additionally sheds some light on the storage configurations that will accompany each new iPhone model later this year.
As a quick refresher, it’s widely believed that Apple later this year will release three brand new iPhone models; an iPhone 7s, an iPhone 7s Plus, and an edgeless 5.8-inch iPhone 8 that, rumor has it, may be called the iPhone Edition.
Arcuri’s note reads in part:
In terms of memory/storage configuration, all three models will likely adopt 3GB RAM; the 4.7”/5.5” will likely have the same storage options as the current iPhone 7/7+ in 32/128/256GB while the 5.8” model looks to be only offered in two memory configurations: 64GB and 256GB. Finally, the 5.8” model will likely have extended battery life with two packs of batteries.
Arcuri doesn’t have a storied track record when it comes to Apple rumors, but his predictions regarding Apple’s upcoming iPhone lineup seem entirely plausible. Notably, his remarks regarding extended battery life on the iPhone 8 happen to align with a report from analyst Ming Chi-Kuo who this past February relayed that the device will feature a stacked logic board design which, coupled with a power efficient OLED display, will result in tremendous battery life.
Kuo’s note on the matter, originally published this past February, reads in part:
As battery material tech isn’t likely to see major breakthroughs in the next 3-5 years, mainboard area can only be reduced via stacked SLP, which makes space for larger battery and extended usage time. Thanks to stacked SLP, we expect the OLED iPhone to have similar dimensions to a 4.7” TFT-LCD iPhone, and have comparable battery capacity (equipped with around 2,700 mAh L-shaped 2-cell battery pack) to a 5.5” TFT-LCD iPhone.
As a final point, Arcuri writes that all of Apple’s 2017 iPhones will feature a Lightning connector with a USB Type-C connector on the other end for fast charging.
