You update your iPhone to iOS 27, everything looks fine, and then the “Storage Almost Full” warning pops up. Nothing else changed. No new apps, no photo binge. The space just went missing, and the culprit is Apple Intelligence.
Owners have reported the feature holding between 9GB and 16GB of storage after the update, with around 15GB the most commonly quoted figure, according to user reports collected by GSMArena on November 1. Apple has not disputed the reports, and its own support page, published October 22, puts official numbers on it: Apple Intelligence can need up to 14GB of free space on the iPhone Duo, iPhone 17 Pro models and later, and iPhone Air, and up to 8GB on every other supported iPhone. Apple adds that usage can temporarily run higher during and shortly after an update, while new models download and older ones are removed.
The reason is simple. Apple Intelligence runs mostly on your phone, not in the cloud, so its models live in your storage. The feature runs on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 models or later, and it downloads automatically with the update. There is no separate opt-in, and no prompt warning you about the space.
Turning it off does not give the space back
The obvious fix does not work. Turning off Apple Intelligence or Siri stops the features running, but the downloaded model files stay on the phone. GSMArena’s reporting is clear on this: disabling the features did not free the space for the users it cited. iOS 27 has no setting that deletes the models, and no “delete Apple Intelligence models” button anywhere in Settings.
That is what makes this different from an ordinary storage hog. You cannot uninstall it, you cannot delete its files, and switching it off only stops it running. On a 128GB iPhone, where the system and the models together can eat a quarter of the phone, that is a real problem.
Check how much space it is using on your phone
Before doing anything, get your own number. Go to Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage, and wait for the list to load. Apple Intelligence appears as its own entry. Note the figure, because you will want to compare it after any change.
While you are there, the usual cleanups still help if you want to keep the AI features. Offload apps you have not opened in months, turn on optimised storage for photos, and delete downloaded videos you have already watched. Those steps free real space, just not the space Apple Intelligence is holding.
The Siri language trick that frees almost all of it
There is one workaround that genuinely shrinks the footprint, and it comes from users rather than from Apple. Apple Intelligence and the new Siri only work when your device language and Siri language match a supported option, in practice US or UK English. Change Siri’s language to an English variant Apple Intelligence does not use, restart the phone, and the models shrink to about 100MB, according to GSMArena’s testing on November 1.
Here are the steps:
- Open Settings and tap Siri. On some versions the menu is called Apple Intelligence and Siri.
- Tap Language and choose Canadian, Irish, South African or New Zealand English. These are the variants named in GSMArena’s report.
- Wait for the Siri voice and language download to finish, then restart your iPhone.
- Go back to General, then iPhone Storage, and compare the Apple Intelligence figure with the one you noted. GSMArena reported about 100MB remaining after testing with South African English.
That is a real reclaim of roughly 9 to 15GB. The catch is that you lose Apple Intelligence and the new Siri while the language is set that way. The old Siri still works, but the AI features stop. If you want them back later, switch Siri’s language back to US or UK English and the models will download again, so keep an eye on your storage when you do.
Treat this as a user-tested tip, not an official fix. Apple has made no statement on the storage reports, and its requirements page lists English as a supported language without naming which regional versions count, so the list of variants comes from GSMArena’s testing rather than from Apple. Results may vary between iOS versions, and Apple notes that changing Siri’s language can interrupt Apple Intelligence availability while the new language downloads.
Should you do it, or wait for iOS 27.3?
It depends on how tight your storage is and how much you use the AI features. If you are on a 128GB iPhone and the warning keeps appearing, the language change is the only reported method that works, and it is free. If you use Writing Tools, the new Siri and the other Apple Intelligence features daily, the trade is probably not worth it, and the ordinary cleanups are the better move.
The next point release to watch is iOS 27.3, which is in beta now and expected in December. It brings back the redesigned Health app and extends Siri further into system apps, but Apple has said nothing about the storage reports, so there is no promise of a fix in it. Until Apple confirms one, treat a smaller footprint as a hope, not a plan.
If you do try the language trick, remember it is reversible in a minute. And if you have just come off the waitlist for the new Siri, our guide to turning Siri AI on covers the setup, while our report on Apple’s agentic Siri plans explains where the assistant is heading next, and why those on-device models are only going to get bigger.
