> For example, Apple might make fewer iPhone 18 and let it sell out frequently. They’ll use their RAM supplies mostly for the Pro phones.
replyApple has a second option that may not be open to most other vendors - as they've just demonstrated with the MacBook Neo, they could cut the RAM in half on the budget models. One good cycle of optimising the hell out of their (almost entirely native) software stack, and iOS would once again sing on a 4GB SKU.
I doubt they'd consider that because it's a downgrade. If things get truly desperate, then maybe.
replyThe Neo is a downgrade versus the current MacBook Air too. Which is ok since it is also dramatically cheaper.
replyI don't necessarily expect them to cut memory on the existing models, but I could well see a 4GB iPhone e/mini showing up to shore up the bottom of the lineup, as the pro models get price increases.
The iPhone 18 is already being downgraded: https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/22/leaker-apple-downgrade-...
replyI mean, that's the correct short-term read, but if LLMs in hyperscalers remain commercially viable to the point of tying up memory for several years, and if that necessitates an expansion of memory fabrication to satiate unmet demand, and if that demand ends up getting hoovered up by AI companies again due to their unmet or delayed demand from technological adoption, then Apple et al may not have much of a choice but to adopt such a profound strategy change.
replyThere's a lot of 'ifs' there to be sure, but they'd be fools not to at least discuss the possibility internally and understand their options.