Interested in the iPhone 12? Wondering how much RAM the iPhone 12 has? Here’s a breakdown of how much RAM each iPhone 12 model has…
Apple’s iPhone 12 range of phones did two things that no other iPhone had done before. They were the first iPhones to support 5G and, second, they were the first iPhones to come with OLED displays across the board – 2019’s iPhone 11 came with an LCD screen.
Launched during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, Apple’s iPhone 12 still sold very well. Although it was the iPhone 12 mini that was the poorest performing model, indicating that Apple’s long-standing base of users has now well and truly moved on from smaller iPhone models.
The base iPhone 12 model was the most popular model in the series, with the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max coming in second and third. But what is the difference – with respect to RAM – between the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the iPhone 12 Pro?
How Much RAM Does The iPhone 12 Have?
The entry-level iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini – meaning, the non-Pro models – both ship with 4GB of RAM. Apple’s more expensive iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max ship with 6GB of RAM each. This is one of the main reasons, alongside improved camera modules, why the Pro models are more expensive than the standard iPhone 12 and 12 mini.
PinFor comparison’s sake, the iPhone 11 range – including the Pro models – all shipped with 4GB of RAM. This means Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have an additional 2GB of RAM when compared to Apple’s 2019 flagship models. And it is this fact, alongside the iPhone 12’s A14 CPU, that makes the iPhone 12 Pro so much faster than the iPhone 11 Pro.
iPhone 13 Pro Max RAM
The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, similarly, both ship with 6GB of RAM each, while the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini come with 4GB. All of Apple’s iPhone 13 phones run Apple’s new A15 CPU, however, so performance is noticeably faster on the newer models – upwards of 20% in some areas, according to Apple.
Why Doesn’t Apple Use 12GB of RAM?
The main reason why Apple doesn’t use 12GB of RAM inside its iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, or any iPhone for that matter, is because it doesn’t need to use that much RAM.
iOS and Android are designed very differently, and one of the main differences between the two operating systems is how they manage memory – iOS is a lot more efficient. It can do more with less, basically.
This is why up until very recently, Apple’s iPhones – despite running the same amount of RAM as budget-priced Android phones – were still beating flagship Android phones in performance benchmarks. Apple has always been a fan of doing more with less. The upshot of this is that you’ll pay less for the phone – RAM isn’t cheap.
The nature of the way iOS is designed, alongside the advancements Apple has made with its custom silicone, means that Apple can extract more performance from 6GB of RAM than any Android phone running 12GB of RAM and the latest and greatest Qualcomm CPU.
This is why firms like Google are now actively looking to develop their own custom chips. They want to be able to do what Apple is doing with its M1 and A-Series chipsets.
