Apple Intelligence Takes Up 15GB After iOS 27
Users report the on-device AI feature occupies large amounts of internal storage even where it is not offered, such as the EU.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Users who updated to iOS 27 report Apple Intelligence occupies around 15GB of internal storage, with allocations ranging from 9GB to 16GB depending on the phone. Disabling Apple Intelligence or Siri does not restore the space.
Why it matters
Storage on a 128GB iPhone can be heavily consumed by iOS and AI features, limiting space for photos, apps and files. Apple has also begun pushing more aggressive advertising for iCloud storage upgrades.
Storage on a 128GB iPhone 16 can see about 30% consumed by iOS and AI, and reports indicate the space is not recovered by turning Apple Intelligence or Siri off. Changing Siri's language to South African English reduced the feature's footprint to about 100MB in testing.
The players
Apple
Apple is the California-based technology company that develops iOS and the Apple Intelligence feature at the center of the storage complaints.
The details
Users report that updating to iOS 27 caused Apple Intelligence to take up internal storage even in regions such as the EU where the feature is not available. A workaround reported in testing was to switch Siri's language to an unsupported variant such as South African English, which reduced the feature's storage to about 100MB after a reboot.
Timeline
November 1, 2026: Article published on the iOS 27 storage issue
The Tech Race
The storage demands of on-device AI models in iOS 27 illustrate the trade-off Apple faces as it competes with rivals by building generative features directly into consumer hardware. Pressure on limited base storage is also pushing Apple toward more aggressive iCloud subscription offers.
If you update to iOS 27 on a 128GB iPhone, check Settings storage to see how much space Apple Intelligence is using before you add more photos or apps. Changing Siri's language to an unsupported variant may recover space, though the reported workaround has been tested only in limited conditions.
The takeaway
Storage on newer iPhones is increasingly shared with on-device AI, so checking how space is allocated after a major update can prevent surprises. Users facing shortages should weigh iCloud options against freeing local space manually.
Further reading
Explore more on Artificial Intelligence to see how on-device models are reshaping consumer devices.
Source note: This article includes information reported by GSM Arena.
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