Apple has confirmed that the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models are equipped with 8GB RAM, an upgrade from the 6GB RAM in last year’s base models. Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, confirmed this in an interview with Chinese YouTube creator Geekerwan.
Srouji explained that the increase to 8GB RAM was driven by the need to support Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of artificial intelligence features. “We have extensive data on what enables certain features, and Apple Intelligence is a crucial feature that we wanted to support,” Srouji said. “We evaluate different configurations for computation, memory bandwidth, and capacity to ensure the best performance. Apple Intelligence was a key factor in our decision to increase the RAM to 8GB.”
Previously, Apple stated that 8GB RAM is required to run Apple Intelligence, which is why AI-powered tools were not available on the base iPhone 15 models.
In addition to supporting Apple Intelligence, the 8GB RAM is expected to enhance performance in various areas, including graphic-intensive gaming. Srouji noted, “The 8GB RAM will greatly benefit other applications, such as high-end gaming, including AAA titles.”
At the iPhone 16 series launch event last week, Apple announced that several AAA gaming titles, including Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which were previously available only on Pro models, will now be accessible on the base iPhone 16 variants. The increased RAM, combined with the ray-tracing capabilities of the new A18 chip, will significantly enhance the gaming experience on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models.
First Published: Sep 16 2024 | 11:50 AM IST
