Apple Intelligence is officially available as part of the iOS 18.1 public beta, and will no doubt be heading to non-beta users at some point in the near future — unlocking everything Apple’s on-device AI has to offer. But when that actually happens you’re going to need to make sure you have enough space on your phone, because all that AI software has to go somewhere.
The good news is that, at launch at least, Apple Intelligence is only going to need 4GB of storage space. That’s according to a new Apple support document for the latest iOS 18.1 beta at least. Apparently all iPhones will have to give up 4GB of storage space for Apple Intelligence — on top of the space needed to install iOS 18.1.
Apple hasn’t specified how much free space iPads and Macs will need before they can install Apple Intelligence, or how storage requirements may increase in future.
That’s right, Apple has placed a caveat on this feature noting that 4GB is how much space is needed to install Apple Intelligence in its current state. Adding that “Storage requirements for on-device Apple Intelligence models will increase as more features roll out.”
Apple hasn’t said how much more space you’ll need, and chances are even it’s not too sure about what future requirements might look like. But it does mean that’s something you’re going to need to be aware of, especially if you’re rocking an iPhone with 128GB of storage. All that space can fill up very quickly, and nobody wants to find themselves trashing files and apps just to make sure there’s enough space for another update.
But since Apple Intelligence was apparently the spark that forced Apple to upgrade the iPhone 16’s RAM to 8GB, perhaps the same can be done for storage space. I’ve argued that 128GB is no longer adequate, and the prospect of sacrificing even more of that space doesn’t really appeal — even if it is for AI.
So if you haven’t picked up an iPhone 16 yet, it might be worth spending a little extra for a 256GB model. Or picking up an iCloud storage subscription to keep the bigger files, like photos and videos, stored out in the cloud.
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