Smartphone RAM capacity of 8GB has been considered adequate for everyday mobile use, but the development of artificial intelligence features is beginning to change memory requirements on devices. According to Android Authority, 8GB of RAM is still sufficient for running applications and games, but is no longer enough if users want to enjoy the latest AI features that run directly on the device.
AI models processed locally must be loaded into RAM to work quickly. Direct AI processing on the device offers advantages such as faster response times, better privacy, and the ability to work without an internet connection, since sensitive data does not need to be sent to cloud servers.
However, these AI models require RAM capacity of several gigabytes to remain active and respond to user requests. For example, Google Pixel's Gemini Nano 4 model has a Gemma 4 E2B variant that is 4.2GB in size, whilst E4B reaches 5.9GB, so phones need 12GB of RAM or more to run other applications simultaneously.
The increased RAM requirements also apply to Apple devices. Apple Intelligence initially required 8GB of RAM, making the base iPhone 15 and older models with 6GB of RAM ineligible for the feature. With iOS 27, RAM requirements increased to 12GB for features such as Expressive Voices and improved dictation, so only the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air support Apple's latest AI features.
As a result, 12GB of RAM is likely to become the new minimum threshold for smartphones wanting to run the latest AI features. Users who want to use their smartphone for several years while still having access to the latest AI features are advised to choose as much RAM capacity as possible.