Apple’s gradual rollout of AI features to iPhones, collectively known as Apple Intelligence, comes with a growing storage cost. In recent months, the installation size has nearly doubled. Apple’s website now indicates a 7GB storage requirement, a significant increase from the initial 4GB needed with iOS 18.1. This expansion is directly attributed to the addition of new features like Genmoji, introduced in the iOS 18.2 update. Future updates are expected to further inflate this requirement.
The all-or-nothing approach to Apple Intelligence installation is noteworthy. Users cannot selectively install individual features; it’s a complete package or nothing. While this may not be a concern for users with ample storage space and minimal media consumption, it poses a potential problem for those regularly approaching their device’s storage limits. For these users, the expanding footprint of Apple Intelligence might outweigh its benefits.
The minimum compatible device, the iPhone 15 Pro, boasts a starting storage capacity of 128GB, leaving sufficient room for most users. However, the increasing demands of Apple Intelligence highlight the importance of considering storage capacity when adopting new software features, particularly those with an evolving and expanding feature set.