Apple’s AI Bloat: Now Chugging 14GB of Storage Just to Say Hello
Apple is once again testing the limits of user patience—and disk space. The latest updates for Apple Intelligence are ballooning in size, proving that fancy voice assistants apparently come with a massive, permanent storage tax.
The latest system requirements for Apple Intelligence show that local machine learning models are now devouring up to 14GB of storage space. While the initial roll-out of these features was content with just 8GB, the hunger for more silicon real estate has grown significantly. This expansion primarily targets the AFM Core Advanced model, which powers Siri's new, arguably more human-like, expressive voice capabilities and refined dictation.
These upgraded demands specifically apply to the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, as well as the iPhone Fold and Air. Interestingly, other devices supporting Apple Intelligence remain capped at the previous 8GB threshold. Meanwhile, high-end hardware like iPad units with the M4 chip, Mac devices with M3 or better, and the Vision Pro featuring the M5 chip are now also sliding into this 14GB requirement, with some tasks demanding a minimum of 12GB of RAM.
Since its inception in iOS 18.1 back in 2024, the storage footprint of these models has been on a relentless climb. What began as a modest 4GB requirement has tripled in a little over a year, leaving users with base-model storage to question if their phone is for apps or just a glorified home for an increasingly verbose AI.
It is fascinating to watch Apple convince the world that hoarding gigabytes for a slightly better-sounding voice assistant is a feature rather than a hardware obsolescence tactic. With storage needs scaling faster than most people can delete old photos, the strategy of forcing hardware upgrades through software bloat has never been more transparently aggressive.
Source: Apple Support
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