iOS 16 Could Be Heavy And Might Require More RAM: Here's Why

A new set of leaks suggest that the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphones might ship with a huge 8GB RAM, which is 25 percent more than the 6GB RAM found on the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro series of smartphones.

RAM or random-access memory is much faster than storage memory and is used to keep apps and software in short-term memory for easy access and faster loading. Given this latest update, Apple has always been shipping iPhones with less RAM when compared to their Android counterparts.

While most flagship Android smartphones offer 12GB of RAM, the iPhone 13 Pro only offers 6GB RAM. Given the fact the upcoming iPhone 14 is shipping with 8GB RAM, we expect the upcoming iOS 16 to be a bit heavy in features and functionality, which might require more RAM to keep everything in memory.

Besides, the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are also said to include a 48MP camera for the first time ever on an iPhone. This could also be the reason to ship 8GB RAM on these devices, as the additional random access memory will be used as a camera buffer to shoot photos quickly with lower shutter lag.

Bad News For Older Generation iPhones?

If the additional amount of RAM is being offered to improve the camera capability of the device, then there is nothing to worry about. However, if it is related to iOS 16, this will not be great news for previous generation iPhones.

While the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro offer 6GB RAM, models like the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13, and the iPhone 13 mini just offer 4GB RAM. If we go back to another generation, devices like the iPhone XR just offer 3GB RAM.

If iOS 16 is a major software released that requires more RAM to function smoothly, then these devices might not get all the features supported on the iOS 16. Not just that, some of the iPhone models might even start to hang due to hardware limitations. Again, these are just speculations and we don't have any concrete proof to prove the same, so take this news with a pinch of salt.

iOS 16 Launch

We should get our first official glimpse at iOS 16 during WWDC 2022 and the OS will officially land on iPhones (stable version) by the end of 2022 along with the launch of next-generation iPhones. One has to wait at least until WWDC to know more about iOS 16 and how it could affect their iPhones, especially models which are currently a few years old.

Apple is long known for offering as many as five major software updates to the iPhones and the company is likely to continue. If the iOS 16 brings a major change in the feature set and architecture which needs more RAM, Apple might restrict some of those features to the high-end iPhones, which is a bummer.

Via