Apple Intelligence now takes up almost twice as much storage as it did at launch

Apple Intelligence, a feature that is best known for its extremely bad summary of texts and notifications, it quietly takes up more and more of your unused storage space. As spotted by 9to5MacApple Intelligence went from requiring 4GB of available storage at launch in September 2024 to 7GB just four months later, almost doubling the amount of space it takes up on a device.

The jump in storage needs first appeared with the introduction of iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2which was first available to the public in early December and developed the first set of Apple Intelligence features that debuted with iOS 18.1 and Sequoia 15.1. The December update introduced two generative AI features: Image Playground, which creates images based on user suggestions, and Genmoji, which allows users to create their own custom emojis.

Part of the reason these functions require so much space is that Apple Intelligence uses the process of the device, so the models that feed the functions have to be stored in the device. This is also why only the devices are equipped with the company’s chipsets M1 or A17 or higher, get access to the features – while other chipsets could handle the processing, Apple wants its AI functionality to run as smoothly as possible.

While on-device processing offers some additional privacy (also, surprise, Apple is always scanning your photos and other content to train AI), also means that every time a new Apple Intelligence feature is released, your storage space is likely to be reduced. The company is plans to give Siri an AI overhaul soon, and Apple will likely continue to lean into AI for future operating system updates, so expect it to continue to fill your available storage space for the foreseeable future.

What makes the Apple Intelligence creep even worse is the fact that close no one is really all that excited about the use of these features. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Sell ​​Cell found that 73% of iPhone owners who tried Apple Intelligence said it added “little to no value” to their phone experience.

Maybe that will change as Apple introduces new features that people really want to engage with, but it will be fascinating to see if it’s worth it. Users have already started complaining battery discharge associated with Apple Intelligence operations. For now, it seems certain that the main capability of Apple Intelligence is provide incorrect summaries of news articlesand all it costs you is an ever-larger chunk of your limited storage space and the need to charge your device more often. I’m not sure that’s a great value proposition.