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tech

iOS 27 sets aside 9GB to 16GB for Apple Intelligence; one tweak shrinks it

Users report Apple Intelligence taking roughly 15GB after updating to iOS 27, even where it is unavailable. Changing Siri's language reportedly cuts that to around 100MB.

By Sasha Shader, Software & Security Reporter ·

Edited by Dot Matrix, Editor-in-Chief

A smartphone lies on a desk beside a locked storage cabinet that fills most of the shelf, with one small drawer empty.
Illustration generated by AI. Illustration generated by AI.

After updating to iOS 27, iPhone owners are finding that Apple Intelligence has claimed a large share of their storage: around 15GB on many phones. 1

The amount varies by device. Some users see 16GB gone, others as little as 9GB. 1 Older phones with less room are hit harder: some 128GB iPhone 16 units reportedly have about 30% of storage taken up by iOS and AI, on top of space reserved for updates. 1

The space is taken even where the feature does not work. iPhone owners in the EU, where Apple Intelligence is not available, still lost a chunk of storage after updating. 1 A feature you cannot use that still pays rent in gigabytes.

Turning off Apple Intelligence or Siri does not give the space back. 1 Changing your Apple Account region is not recommended either, since it may require canceling subscriptions or spending down your balance first. 1

What you should do

Reddit users found a workaround that GSMArena says it confirmed. Apple Intelligence and Siri only work when the device and Siri languages are set to US or UK English. 1 If you still want Siri in English, pick Canadian, Irish, South African or New Zealand English for Siri instead. 1

That does not remove the problem entirely, but it shrinks the AI footprint to around 100MB. 1 GSMArena tried South African English on its own Siri, and the space came back after a reboot. 1

This rests on a single outlet’s testing plus Reddit reports. If Apple comments on the storage use or the workaround, that is the next thing worth reading.

Our read: Reserving space for a feature that is switched off, or unavailable in your country, is a poor trade, and the fix being a language setting suggests the allocation keys off the Siri language rather than whether you use the feature. Apple has also started pushing more aggressive ads for iCloud storage. 1 Worth watching whether the timing is coincidence.

Footnotes

  1. GSMArena, “Here’s how to reclaim 15GB of storage after iOS 27 update”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11

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