Apple Intelligence now takes up nearly twice the storage space it did at launch

Apple Intelligence, which is the most popular feature in Very bad Summing up texts and notifications, it quietly takes up more and more unused storage space. like Spotted by 9to5MacApple Intelligence went from calling for 4GB of available storage at launch in September 2024 to 7GB just four months later — nearly doubling the space it takes up on the device.

The jump in storage needs first appeared with Introducing iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2which was first made available to the public in early December and has been expanded to include the first set of Apple Intelligence features that debuted with iOS 18.1 and Sequoia 15.1. The December update introduced two innovative AI features: Image Playground, which creates images based on user prompts, and Genmoji, which allows users to create their own custom emoji.

Part of the reason these features require so much space is that Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing, so the models that run the features must be stored on the device. This is also why it is limited to devices equipped with the company’s own chips M1 or A17 or higher, you get access to features — while other chips can likely handle the processing, Apple wants its AI functions to run as smoothly as possible.

While on-device processing provides some additional privacy (although, surprise, Apple still scans your photos and other content to train its AI), it also means that every time a new Apple Intelligence feature is released, your storage space will likely shrink. The company is Planning to give Siri an AI overhaul Soon, Apple will likely continue to rely on AI for future OS updates, so expect it to continue filling up your available storage space for the foreseeable future.

What makes Apple Intelligence’s creep even worse is the fact that it’s next to… Nobody’s actually excited about it About using these features. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by… SellCell It found that 73% of iPhone owners who tried Apple Intelligence said it added “little or no value” to their phone experience.

Maybe that will change as Apple introduces new features that people actually want to deal with, but it will be interesting to see if the trade-offs are worth it. Users have already started complaining Battery drain Associated with Apple Intelligence operations. For now, it seems certain that Apple Intelligence’s main capability is just that Providing incorrect summaries of news articlesAll it costs you is an ever-larger chunk of your limited storage space and the need to charge your device frequently. I’m not sure this is a great value proposition.