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Apple iPhone 18e rumored to get surprising specs hike

Apple will reportedly give the iPhone 18e and base iPhone 18 a small specs hike to keep Apple Intellgence running smoothly on-device.

By Alan Friedman

Published: Aug 03, 2026, 12:37 AM

Apple iPhone 18

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Apple iPhone 18e rumored to get surprising specs hike | Image by PhoneArena

Now that a new version of the lower-priced "iPhone e" series is released annually, you can expect to see Apple play around with the features and specs every year as the prices of certain components drop. Next March, Apple will release the iPhone 18e, and one of the upgrades expected for the phone is a surprise due to the cost and availability of the component involved.

Two top analysts agree that the iPhone 18e will get a small increase in RAM

Let's get more precise, shall we? According to two top analysts, Ming-Chi Kuo of Taiwan's TF International Securities and GF Securities' Jeff Pu, Apple will hike the amount of RAM on the iPhone 18e from 8GB to 9GB. Apple requires iPhone models to sport 8GB of memory to support Apple Intelligence and 12GB to run enhanced AI dictation and Expressive Siri voices.

What makes this a surprise is that due to heavy demand for AI data centers, there has been a shortage of DRAM memory chips for smartphones, and prices for these chips have risen as well. It's all because the big three memory makers, Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix, have shifted their manufacturing capacities to produce High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips instead of DRAM. In this environment, it might be considered a surprise to see Apple hike the low-priced iPhone 18e from 8GB of RAM to 9GB.

Why HBM chips are so important to AI

Standard memory chips like DRAM are placed flat on a circuit board next to the processor. HBM chips stack memory dies vertically next to the processor to create a much wider data path that delivers massive bandwidth while using less power.

Last year's low-priced iPhone model, the iPhone 17e. | Image by PhoneArena

The latest generation of these chips, HBM4, doubles the data pathways of earlier generations. This allows data to be transferred at rates exceeding 2 TB to 3 TB per second, which is required to train advanced US models.

Rumored specs for the iPhone 18e

The iPhone 18e is expected to sport a 6.1-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1170 x 2532 and a 60Hz refresh rate. The phone will be powered by the 2nm A20 application processor and is rumored to be available with storage options of 256GB and 512GB. The back of the phone features a 48MP single camera, while the front-facing camera is rumored to weigh in at 24MP.

What the small hike in RAM means to the iPhone 18e and base iPhone 18

The jump to 9GB of RAM from 8GB might not seem like much, but it will allow the phone to run Apple Intelligence more smoothly on-device instead of running these tasks through the cloud. The basic iPhone 18, rumored to be released this March alongside the iPhone 18e, is also expected to be equipped with 9GB of RAM, up from 8GB found on last year's model.

Like to read about the iPhone? Check out these articles:

Despite strong fiscal Q3 iPhone sales, Apple's shares plunged $20.

Apple plans to make the iPhone 20 a glass slab.

Siri AI improves more in latest iOS 27 beta.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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