FILE PHOTO: A man uses an iPhone 7 smartphone to demonstrate the mobile payment service Apple Pay at a cafe in Moscow, Russia, October 3, 2016.
FILE PHOTO: A man uses an iPhone 7 smartphone to demonstrate the mobile payment service Apple Pay at a cafe in Moscow, Russia, October 3, 2016. Reuters/Maxim Zmeyev/File Photo

The iPhone 8 is expected to come out later this year sporting an OLED display that signals the transition from the old-age TFT-LCD screens. There could be delays happening, mostly attributed to the availability of the screen display. But it may not be the only one with the mobile DRAM market also dealing with supply issues.

iPhone 8 limited to 3 GB RAM for now

According to a recent report from market intelligence firm TrendForce, the tight supply situation will last through the entire year. The RAM to back up the iPhone 8 needs all the power it can get but the report further stresses that the Cupertino company will stick to just 3 GB of RAM – at least for 2017.

The piece was part of their predictions on how much RAM mobile devices will have before 2017 ends. They believe that phones will have a 3.2 GB RAM on average until the end of the year which is already an improvement. In 2016, the average memory capacity was just 2.4 GB on the average, GSM Arena reports.

iPhone 8 pricing structure concerns

With potential shortages on available DRAM chips, Apple may be forced to skim the market for suppliers who can deliver. Pricing is expected to vary and that alone becomes a cause for concern on the cost structure of the iPhone 8.

If true, this means Apple will be dealing with two component issues tied up to the iPhone 8. With a new OLED display screen, higher RAM support can help in ensuring better performance for the device. The best example would be the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Both devices come with AMOLED displays and are backed by 4 GB RAM (LPDDR4). Unless Apple makes use of some power-friendly OLED display, seeing the iPhone 8 come with 3 GB of RAM raises some questions on performance rendering.

Apple could offset that with lesser features for ample power management for the iPhone 8. But if that is the case, expect a lot of Apple loyalists to be disappointed.

The iPhone 8 will be joined by two other devices still sporting the old TFT-LCD display. These are the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, both sporting just 2 GB of RAM.

Most have their eye on the iPhone 8 and release date issues have been suggested. From a simple OLED display issue, it seems that the Cupertino company has more component issues to work on before 2017 comes to a close.

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