If the 2025 iPhones Get 12 GB of RAM, Why Not the iPads?

I'm going to go ahead and make a prediction: the upcoming iPad Pro with the M5 chip will be upgraded to 12 to 16 GB of RAM. This is based on nothing but a rumor — the same one suggesting the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro will jump from 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM — but it makes sense. If the upgrade doesn't happen this year, it'll almost certainly happen next year.

Let’s be real: 8 GB just isn’t cutting it anymore — not in the age of AI.

Apple was late to the AI game. Way late. While companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft were rapidly pushing forward with LLM-powered features, Apple’s AI presence was mostly background stuff — Photos, auto-categorization, etc. Meanwhile, Siri was stuck spinning its wheels while ChatGPT and others raced ahead.

Apple had to scramble to catch up. And when it did, it likely ran into a hard limitation: RAM.

From my experience running a few LLMs on a MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM, I can tell you — even that can feel tight. Apple’s own models might be more efficient, sure, but even 8 GB probably isn’t enough for what they want to do going forward.

Need more evidence? Apple no longer sells Macs with 8 GB of RAM. For years, they insisted 8 GB was “enough” thanks to tight integration between hardware and software. That was probably true — before the AI boom. But now, with LLMs and AI features becoming core to the experience, 8 GB just doesn't cut it.

And let’s not forget the delay of Apple Intelligence features — especially Siri. It’s a sign that Apple might have underestimated just how much performance and memory these new features require.

Which brings me to this: after years of wondering what the purpose of a 16 GB iPad Pro was, we may finally have an answer — Apple Intelligence.

Now the question becomes whether the upcoming base iPad Pro will get 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM. The tech enthusiast in me hopes for 16 GB, but knowing Apple — and considering its hardware-software optimization — it might try to get by with 12 GB. Still, I'm betting on 16 GB. Why? Because it also gives Apple a convenient excuse to raise prices, especially with rising costs and renewed pressure from Trump-era tariffs.

So what does that mean for the iPad? Simple: a RAM upgrade is coming. If Apple wants Apple Intelligence to run smoothly across its product lineup — iPads included — it needs more RAM. The iPhone 17 Pro is rumored to get 12 GB. That likely reflects the minimum Apple has determined is needed to run its next-gen features efficiently.

Bottom line: the future of Apple hardware is AI-first, and that means more memory across the board — starting with the iPad Pro.