iPhone 17 Pro Rumors: 12GB RAM, Narrower Dynamic Island for Pro Max

[MacRumors]

It's an iPhone 17 rumor frenzy this week courtesy of Jeff Pu, an analyst who has sources within Apple's supply chain in Asia.

While the iPhone 16 lineup is still months away from being announced, rumors about the two-generations-away iPhone lineup typically begin to surface about a year-and-a-half before launch. For example, almost exactly a year ago, we learned that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively.

12GB of RAM

In a research note with investment firm Haitong, Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will be equipped with 12GB of RAM. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro models have 8GB of RAM, and the iPhone 16 Pro models are also expected to have 8GB of RAM. The increase would contribute to improved performance for multitasking on the iPhone.

The alleged RAM amounts across the iPhone 17 lineup:

• iPhone 17: 8GB
• iPhone 17 Slim: 8GB
• iPhone 17 Pro: 12GB
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 12GB

How that compares to the iPhone 15 lineup:

• iPhone 15: 6GB
• iPhone 15 Plus: 6GB
• iPhone 15 Pro: 8GB
• iPhone 15 Pro Max: 8GB

Narrower Dynamic Island on Pro Max

Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a "much narrowed Dynamic Island" as a result of the device adopting a smaller "metalens" for the Face ID system.

This would be the first size reduction for the Dynamic Island since its iPhone 14 Pro debut.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors: 12GB RAM, Narrower Dynamic Island for Pro Max

 

[JPack]

That suggests iPhone 16 Pro/Max is still 8GB RAM. Doesn't bode well for complex on-device AI processing.

 

[Isengardtom]

Isn’t 8GB enough on a phone? They’re still selling it on a Mac 😅

 

[infinitejest]

I thought they said under the display Face ID and camera in 2025?

 

[Andres Cantu]

So tired of the regular size Pro getting the short end of the stick. I thought all that would be over when the X was released.

 

[Hal~9000]

Narrower Dynamic Island on Pro Max

Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a "much narrowed Dynamic Island" as a result of the device adopting a smaller "metalens" for the Face ID system.

Well that’s going to piss off the Pro users greatly… 😬

 

[NicosAccount]

Dang it that's more ram than my new m3 air 😛

 

[xxray]

I thought they said under the display Face ID and camera in 2025?

FWIW, Ross Young said it got delayed an extra year.

 

[Unity451]

Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a "much narrowed Dynamic Island" as a result of the device adopting a smaller "metalens" for the Face ID system.

Weird... it's almost like the whole Dynamic Island thing was only put in place to hide the holes and not because Apple really believed it was a feature that would improve the UI. Go figure. 🙄

 

[Ilde]

This is becoming quite annoying. I left Oneplus devices because its 6 months new phone launching did not help to decide when get one of the models (you can wait five months, for sure). This hunger for what is coming causes what is used to be called "anxiety".
Yea, yea, yea, I know what some of you will tell me...

 

[CmdrLaForge]

I wonder when we finally get notchless iPhones and even more so notchless MacBooks !!!

 

[lenningj]

🤦‍♂️too soon

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

So tired of the regular size Pro getting the short end of the stick. I thought all that would be over when the X was released.

I was under the impression that Apple would never release an iOS version that supports a Pro Max but not the regular Pro from the same year...

But I guess I just made that up, because thus far, Apple has never dropped support for any Pro or Pro Max yet, and they never said anything regarding supporting them differently from any other devices.

IDK, the Pro Max has a larger screen, so isn't it reasonable that it'd need more RAM so that it can smoothly handle rendering more at once? Isn't RAM generally the constraint on how high a resolution can be on an external monitor + how many external monitors can be connected? Seems like the same thing here to me...

 

[Newgoblin49]

Gurman is crying in a corner , digging into his Haagen Dazs

 

[Take Flight]

Anyone else notice that a lot of apps apparently don't make use of the available RAM?

I am annoyed how often you go back to an app that is open in the background and it has completely reset back to the home page/start screen. Especially annoying with food and retail apps where it completely erases things in your cart etc.

 

[cocky jeremy]

I can't wait until the dynamic island is gone. Not because it bothers me, because I barely notice it. My reason for that is to see what the next big rumor is that will take several years to come out.

 

[bradman83]

Would that make it the Dynamic Atoll instead?

 

[Bigg Macc]

Only pro max? The upswell continues.

 

[brofkand]

I thought they said under the display Face ID and camera in 2025?

That was before they sold the lazy engineering of a bigger notch that is more obtrusive as the "dynamic island"

 

[JPack]

Isn’t 8GB enough on a phone? They’re still selling it on a Mac 😅

M-series chips can do virtual memory swap, but not A-series.

 

[Hot Apple Cider]

Dynamic Islet

 

[bradman83]

Weird... it's almost like the whole Dynamic Island thing was only put in place to hide the holes and not because Apple really believed it was a feature that would improve the UI. Go figure. 🙄

I'm reminded of a quote from a trashy daytime talk show I saw years ago where the daily topic was "You're Too Fat to Be a Drag Queen." One of the queens stood up, snapped their fingers and said "If you can't hide it, decorate it!"

That's what Apple did with the camera holes (to equally garish effect).

 

[Victor Mortimer]

I thought they said under the display Face ID and camera in 2025?

I don't want that to happen. Would make it a lot harder to put a sticker over the camera.

I'd probably have to open up the phone and disconnect wires.

 

[IMPOSSIBLEMAN]

Enough with the silly upsell to the Pro Max. We don't want gigantic phones. 17 Pro is already big enough.

 

[cocky jeremy]

I don't want that to happen. Would make it a lot harder to put a sticker over the camera.

I'd probably have to open up the phone and disconnect wires.

Why though? There is a light that tells you if the camera is being used.