Apple Intelligence is eating 15GB on your iPhone. Here’s how to cut it to 100MB with iOS 27 update

Apple’s iOS 27 update has caused an unexpected storage issue for some iPhone users, with Apple Intelligence reportedly taking up around 15GB of internal storage. The allocation varies across devices, with some users reporting that as much as 16GB has become unavailable, while others have noticed around 9GB being taken up. The problem is particularly frustrating for people who cannot use Apple Intelligence in their region but are still seeing their available storage shrink after updating.

A workaround shared by Reddit users and tested by GSMArena could reduce the space Apple’s AI features take to around 100MB. However, it involves changing a Siri setting rather than deleting the downloaded AI files directly.

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Why is Apple Intelligence taking up so much storage?

According to GSMArena, the storage issue has also affected users in regions where Apple Intelligence is unavailable. Some older iPhones with lower storage capacities are affected more. For instance, certain 128GB iPhone 16 models reportedly have around 30% of their storage occupied by iOS and AI, in addition to space reserved for software updates.

Simply disabling Apple Intelligence or Siri doesn't appear to free up storage. Changing the country or region associated with an Apple Account is also not recommended, as it could require users to cancel subscriptions or spend their remaining account balance before switching.

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How to reduce Apple Intelligence storage on your iPhone

GSMArena reports that changing Siri’s language to an unsupported English variant can bring down Apple Intelligence’s storage allocation to around 100MB. GSMArena says the AI features discussed in the report work when both the device and Siri languages are set to US or UK English.

If you still want to use Siri in English, try selecting English (Canada), English (Ireland), English (South Africa), or English (New Zealand) under Siri’s language settings. GSMArena tested English (South Africa) and found that the storage issue was resolved after restarting the iPhone.

The workaround does not eliminate the allocation entirely, and some Apple Intelligence features may no longer be available with the unsupported language setting. It is not an official fix from Apple.

GSMArena also noted that Apple has been promoting its iCloud storage service more aggressively, encouraging users to subscribe and back up their data.