After the recent update to iOS 18.2, Apple Intelligence has increased its storage requirements on iPhones, which may be a concern for users with lower storage capacities. According to PhoneArena, the space occupied by Apple Intelligence has risen from 4 GB to 7 GB. This change is particularly notable for users of devices like the iPhone 15 Pro with 128 GB of storage.
Apple Intelligence’s increased footprint has raised questions about its impact on device performance. While Samsung’s Galaxy AI, particularly its Live Translate feature, has garnered praise for its functionality, Apple Intelligence has yet to make a similar impression beyond enhancements like the integration of ChatGPT with Siri.
With the introduction of new features such as Image Playground and Genmoji in the iOS 18.2 update, the required storage for Apple Intelligence has now reached 7 GB. This translates to approximately 5.5% of the total storage on the 128 GB iPhone 15 Pro. Users of the higher-capacity iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max models, which start at 256 GB, may find this change more manageable.
Experts speculate that Apple Intelligence may continue to demand more storage in future updates, potentially leading Apple to increase the minimum storage options for its iPhone lineup. This could be akin to how RAM was upgraded from 6 GB to 8 GB in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models to better support Apple Intelligence.
While users do have the option to disable Apple Intelligence, concerns persist regarding whether this action will fully free up the occupied storage. Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the features provided by Apple Intelligence will justify the additional storage consumption or if Apple will need to optimize the system for a more efficient user experience.
