Apple Intelligence features should roll out to compatible iPhone models with the iOS 18.1 update starting in the US, which could roll out sometime next month. Ahead of the release, the Cupertino-based tech giant has revealed how much storage space these features will require. Details have been released in the latest iOS 18.1 Developer Beta 5 update. It is noted that the storage requirements are quite high and some users may need to free up space before they can download and install the update.
How much storage will be required to run Apple Intelligence?
In the support documentation for the recently released iOS 18.1 Developer Beta 5 update, Apple details the amount of on-device storage required to access the new artificial intelligence (AI) features shown earlier this year. In a section titled “Supported Devices,” the company stated, “Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models, and iPad and Mac models with M1 and later. iPhones require 4 GB of storage space*.”
It should be noted here that this 4GB of storage space will be required in addition to the space to install the iOS 18.1 update. This means that the next stable version of the operating system will be a significant update for all users. While this shouldn’t affect those users who own a compatible large-storage iPhone model, iPhone owners who purchased the base 128GB variant may find themselves running out of storage.
Since there is still time before the company rolls out the update, users should try to free up some space on their devices. This can be done by using iCloud storage or an external hard drive to store large videos, photos and other files. Namely, the support document only mentions iPhone devices, not other devices that will also get Apple Intelligence.
In addition, the company also stressed that the on-device storage requirements for Apple Intelligence will increase as more features are added in the future. Users will also have to adapt to this. In the future, this could make the 128GB variant of the iPhone model unpopular, and the company could follow Samsung’s path and introduce a line directly with 256GB storage and above.
