An analyst said back in May that Apple may reuse the iPhone 16‘s A18 chip on the base iPhone 17 model this year and could ship both it and iPhone 17 Air with 8GB of RAM. But now he’s changed his tune.
All other members of the iPhone 17 family will reportedly use a newer A19 chip and sport 50% more RAM.
Update: As noted in the post below, GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu predicted in May that the base iPhone 17 would stick with iPhone 16’s A18 chip. But now he cites in a note seen by outlets like 9to5Mac that supply chain reporting indicates the base model will use the A19 chip expected in the Pro models. And only the base iPhone 17 may offer just 8GB of RAM, while the Air and Pro models will start at 12GB.
iPhone 17 may reuse iPhone 16’s internals
Apple will supposedly rejig its iPhone lineup in a big way this year, replacing the Plus model with a super-slim Air. The Pro models will switch to a more powerful A19 Pro chip, fabricated on TSMC’s cutting-edge N3P node. They will apparently also feature a redesigned rear camera island.
A research note from analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities indicates the company will not show the same affection to the base iPhone 17 (via MacRumors). It will purportedly use the same A18 chip as found on the iPhone 16. Even the RAM capacity will remain the same at 8GB.
This is despite other iPhone 17 models, including the iPhone 17 Air, reportedly packing 12GB of RAM. It will allow the phones to run AI features smoothly in the future.
Furthermore, Pu believes Apple will utilize a new metalens proximity sensor technology in the upcoming iPhones. This will seemingly allow the company to reduce the Face ID sensor size and make the Dynamic Island smaller. A previous rumor suggested that Apple could limit this change only to the flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max.
iPhone 17 hardware changes may fail to impress
From a hardware viewpoint, the only notable upgrade could be a 24MP front camera and a slightly bigger 6.3-inch 120Hz display. Despite the bump in screen size, the iPhone 17 would remain the smallest model in Apple’s lineup. The iPhone 17 Air will supposedly pack a 6.55-inch screen despite its slim frame.
So far, rumors suggest the base iPhone 17 will bring only incremental improvements over the iPhone 16. If anything, this move will help Apple push more users towards its Air and Pro models, boosting its average selling price (ASP).
Cult of Mac writer David Snow contributed to this report.
This post first published on May 30, 2025, and republished with an update on July 15, 2025.
Rajesh has been closely following and writing about the latest happenings in the world of mobile for nearly a decade now. While he prefers Android, he does not deny the superiority of Apple’s products and ecosystem.
