Apple intends to improve artificial intelligence by implementing cutting-edge HBM memory in its 2027 iPhone models.
To stay ahead of the curve in the release of electronic devices - in this case, smartphones - you always have to choose the most advanced, and sometimes also the most expensive, technology.
Apple is known to be working on a variety of technological innovations that we'll see around the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, and according to ETNews, one of the most notable of these innovations will be High-Bandwidth Mobile Data Storage (Mobile HBM).
Simply put, HBM is the latest development in the field of random access memory (RAM), capable of organizing memory chips in a vertically stacked structure, connecting them via silicon holes, thus enabling faster signal transmission compared to traditional memory.
This may sound familiar to you, as this technology has so far been used in AI servers, but it is now being adapted for mobile devices in the form of Mobile HBM.
This means that this portable version maintains high data processing performance while simultaneously reducing power consumption and the physical space occupied by RAM chips.
How will this impact the future of the iPhone? Well, the new iPhones will be able to process complex AI models directly on the device without requiring a connection to the cloud, which negatively impacts, for example, reduced battery life.
As for its compatibility with the iPhone, the aforementioned media outlet indicates that Mobile HBM will connect directly to the GPUs in future iPhones, allowing for the execution of large-scale AI tasks locally.
Apple has reportedly already held talks with leading memory manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which are developing their own versions of Mobile HBM.
These methods could enter production after 2026, which coincides with the potential launch of this technology in iPhones in 2027, the year that marks the device's 20th anniversary.
However, it should be noted that manufacturing mobile HBM memory is much more expensive than current LPDDR memory, which could further increase the already high costs of the device.
It is also said that this could exacerbate thermal issues in thin devices, such as the iPhone, especially the Air models.
There's still a lot to learn about the 20th anniversary iPhone, but there's already talk that it may feature a completely borderless display that curves around all four sides of the device.