The Pixel 9 phones have finally graduated from rumors to actual products that you can preorder online. But the rumors were all correct. Google gave the Pixel 9 phones several important upgrades, including one I speculated about weeks ago: Google boosted the RAM of all the new Pixel phones significantly compared to their predecessors.
Not only that, but Google confirmed that some of that RAM is exclusively tied to AI processes. Considering the rumors about the iPhone 16 floating around at the moment, this detail has me worried about Apple’s upcoming iPhones.
I never had any issue with the iPhone not rocking as much RAM as its direct Android rivals. iOS was always optimized to run on more limited resources. Apple gradually increased the amount of memory on its devices over the years, reaching 8GB with the iPhone 15 Pro models.
Apple announced at WWDC that Apple Intelligence would only run on the iPhone 15 Pros. All other current devices aren’t capable of processing Apple AI. I speculated at the time that Apple might need at least 8GB of RAM on its products for Apple Intelligence. Apple later confirmed this detail, though it stressed that the Neural Engine was the key component for Apple Intelligence.
Meanwhile, rumors say the iPhone 16 series will feature 8GB of RAM. Some reports claim 2GB of that will be reserved for Apple Intelligence processes. Separately, Apple has published research detailing ways to make large language models work on mobile devices with limited resources. This hinted the iPhone 16 wouldn’t get a big RAM boost this year.
Over on the Pixel side of things, all Pixel 9 Pro models come with 16GB of RAM. That’s 4GB of extra memory compared to the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold. The Pixel 9 also got a boost to 12GB of RAM. Again, it’s 4GB more than its predecessor.
In a briefing preceding the event, Google said that the Pixel 9 phone would be the first Android phone to use additional RAM to run Gemini Nano on-device AI experiences in a dedicated space. Google hasn’t specified how much RAM it’ll use for Gemini, and we shouldn’t assume the extra 4GB of memory is all dedicated to AI features.
But, as Android Authority points out, Pixel 9 users can’t reclaim that memory if they decide not to use any sort of AI features on the phone. For example, Pixel 9 turns Gemini into the default assistant. If you want the non-AI Google Assistant, you must disable Gemini. But you won’t get the AI-dedicated RAM back.
Google didn’t explain in detail how RAM works on the Pixel 9 phones during the keynote. However, the company did say that the Pixel 9 phones will be able to keep up with future AI advances thanks to the memory upgrade.
All of that makes me worry about the iPhone 16’s RAM upgrade. It’s not that I want Apple to bump the memory to 16GB because Google did it. I’m quite certain that Apple knows what it’s doing. The rumored 8GB of memory should run Apple Intelligence well enough.
My worries are related to the more distant future. Will Apple Intelligence 2.0 and beyond be able to run on the iPhone 16 hardware? Remember that most of Apple’s AI suite of apps and features should run on-device, too. That’s where local resources will be even more important.
On the other hand, Apple Intelligence is not even available to me, as Apple has not brought it to the European Union. It’ll be a while until I can test it and see how an iPhone with Apple Intelligence on board performs.
I will say that Apple’s specs decisions for the iPhone 17 series will be a key indication of what’s to come from AI phones in the next few years. Should Apple upgrade the memory significantly next year, it’ll be a strong signal that the iPhone 16 won’t last long as an AI device.
