Apple No Longer Hiding Apple Intelligence Storage Space Info in macOS 15.4

[MacRumors]

With the second beta of macOS 15.4 that was released earlier in March, Apple changed System Settings to hide how much local storage space Apple Intelligence takes up on a Mac.

Making the change led to accusations that Apple was trying to hide the size of Apple Intelligence, and so with the fourth macOS 15.4 beta that came out today, Apple made Apple Intelligence's storage requirements easy to find once again.

To see Apple Intelligence storage space, you can go to System Settings > General > Storage and click the info button next to the macOS listing. That brings up a popup that shows the version of macOS installed and the storage space taken up by Apple Intelligence and it's the same way that System Settings works in the current release version of macOS Sequoia, 15.3.2.

It is possible that the missing Apple Intelligence storage feature in the earlier macOS 15.4 beta was a bug. Users who had System Integrity Protection (SIP) disabled were able to see the information without issue, and Apple appeared to have made the Apple Intelligence storage assets unavailable to anyone with SIP enabled.

For reference, SIP protects the Mac by preventing unauthorized code from being run, and it can only be turned off in Recovery Mode. Disabling SIP is typically only used by developers testing apps, and most users always have it on. Given that Apple returned the Apple Intelligence storage space listing to all users, it was perhaps something unintentional, though it remains unclear.

Apple says that Apple Intelligence can consume up to 7GB of storage space on a Mac, though it appears to be taking up more space on some Macs in macOS Sequoia 15.4. Apple Intelligence requires dedicated storage space because it downloads machine learning models and assets to Apple devices so that some functions can be run locally.

Disabling Apple Intelligence is the only way to keep the feature from using up space on a Mac.

Article Link: Apple No Longer Hiding Apple Intelligence Storage Space Info in macOS 15.4

 

[jz0309]

It is possible that the missing Apple Intelligence storage feature in the earlier macOS 15.4 beta was a bug

amazing that it being a bug is even a consideration in this day and age on MR ...
another "nothing burger" story

 

[turbineseaplane]

Nice

All it needs is a "delete Apple Intelligence" button right there also, and we are all wrapped up here

 

[sw1tcher]

Disabling Apple Intelligence is the only way to keep the feature from using up space on a Mac.

Until Apple decides to automatically enable Apple Intelligence for everyone, turning it into an opt-out feature. And then when you install any sort of OS update, it will re-enable Apple Intelligence again.

PSA: iOS 18.3.2 Re-Enables Apple Intelligence If You Turned It Off

With new iOS software updates, Apple has been automatically turning Apple Intelligence on again even for users who have disabled it, a decision that...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Living the Dream]

Until Apple decides to automatically enable Apple Intelligence for everyone, turning it into an opt-out feature. And then when you install any sort of OS update, it will re-enable Apple Intelligence again.

PSA: iOS 18.3.2 Re-Enables Apple Intelligence If You Turned It Off

With new iOS software updates, Apple has been automatically turning Apple Intelligence on again even for users who have disabled it, a decision that...

www.macrumors.com

Weird I've never had it turn itself back on

 

[paulcons]

So I went poking on my 15.3.2 release system. What I found was it seems I have close rto 21G for the OS AND 104G for "system data." 125G! The hell is that? Seems way way excessive, anything I can do about it? Frankly I am way more concerned about my iPad & phone... mostly my phone because it houses a big chunk of my music library and is the sound of my life outside the building I live in!

 

[ignatius345]

Bought a new MacBook at the Apple Store the other day, and the sales person was really keen on making sure I was aware of Apple Intelligence. She was very nice, and I didn't have the heart to tell her "I shut it off because it was doing nothing for me"

 

[CalMin]

Hmm... so they addressed needing more than 8GB RAM for Apple Intelligence. When will they start us on more than 256GB SSD?

 

[Plutonius]

I think that they were probably not wanting to show how much storage space was used.

 

[paulcons]

I shut if off on my iPad because Siri was just awful, took way too long to do what I commanded. Plus I'd say something like "siri, timer, 25 minutes" and after a LONG pause it would say "how long." Another was my saying "siri temperature." The response was "I can't because I don't know where you live." That happened about half the time. Turned it off and it was way more responsive with none of this "I don't know shizz" nonsense.

 

[CSM2000]

How are the 7GB of space utilized by A.I. recovered once Apple Intelligence is turned off? I'd much rather have the space than A.I. capabilities.

 

[rizzo41999]

Weird I've never had it turn itself back on

It did for me, which was strange. Proceeded to turn it off, manually.

 

[Astuces iOS]

How are the 7GB of space utilized by A.I. recovered once Apple Intelligence is turned off? I'd much rather have the space than A.I. capabilities.

Um good question... useless storage for buying a new iPhone/iPad/Mac with more storage maybe

 

[DrJR]

Hard to hide the fact failure takes a lot of storage.

 

[dandyryan]

i have chatgpt already i dont need apple intelligence that steals my 256GB base storage and barely even works.
i kind of love using it as a fast google translate though. double tap ⌘ -> "whats (x) in spanish"

 

[t0rqx]

THIS is the real reason they upgraded the storage, mot because they love their customers. You transfer cash to them to use your storage for their services. These services eventually will sell your data for their revenue.

 

[Christoffee]

If it gets too big, we might see the base storage upgraded!

 

[CSM2000]

Um good question... useless storage for buying a new iPhone/iPad/Mac with more storage maybe

Apparently, we're stuck with the space not showing up as available. The OS will reassign as needed when your SSD/HD runs out of space. Too bad Apple doesn't let the user decide if they want their A.I. in the first place then respects the decision in subsequent upgrades. Ridiculous!

If Apple Intelligence Is Getting in Your Way, Here's How to Turn It Off Right Now

I won't hold it against you if you'd rather pass on Apple's AI features for now.

www.cnet.com

 

[Warped9]

Weird I've never had it turn itself back on

Actually didn’t the last Mac OS and iOS updates do just that? I had to turn AI off after the updates as they had been before the updates.

 

[dmccombs]

14GB of space taken, and Siri is still as dumb as a block of wood...

ok, a slight exaggeration. I do use siri to set reminders and open apps. Wohoo...

 

[MallardDuck]

Apparently, we're stuck with the space not showing up as available. The OS will reassign as needed when your SSD/HD runs out of space. Too bad Apple doesn't let the user decide if they want their A.I. in the first place then respects the decision in subsequent upgrades. Ridiculous!

If Apple Intelligence Is Getting in Your Way, Here's How to Turn It Off Right Now

I won't hold it against you if you'd rather pass on Apple's AI features for now.

www.cnet.com

I really want to know who thought forcing it back on - especially without a meaningful upgrade - was a good idea. it's worse than useless, it actively gets in the way. Both it and predictive text are two things I turn off immediately on a new machine or OS.

 

[Altis]

Can you actually delete the files and recover the space yet?

Last I tried, even with Apple Intelligence disabled it keeps all the data, and even when forcefully deleting it using recovery mode terminal, it still redownloads it again for me despite it being disabled.

Just let me recover my space Apple.

 

[Jashar7]

With the second beta of macOS 15.4 that was released earlier in March, Apple changed System Settings to hide how much local storage space Apple Intelligence takes up on a Mac.

Making the change led to accusations that Apple was trying to hide the size of Apple Intelligence, and so with the fourth macOS 15.4 beta that came out today, Apple made Apple Intelligence's storage requirements easy to find once again.

To see Apple Intelligence storage space, you can go to System Settings > General > Storage and click the info button next to the macOS listing. That brings up a popup that shows the version of macOS installed and the storage space taken up by Apple Intelligence and it's the same way that System Settings works in the current release version of macOS Sequoia, 15.3.2.

It is possible that the missing Apple Intelligence storage feature in the earlier macOS 15.4 beta was a bug. Users who had System Integrity Protection (SIP) disabled were able to see the information without issue, and Apple appeared to have made the Apple Intelligence storage assets unavailable to anyone with SIP enabled.

For reference, SIP protects the Mac by preventing unauthorized code from being run, and it can only be turned off in Recovery Mode. Disabling SIP is typically only used by developers testing apps, and most users always have it on. Given that Apple returned the Apple Intelligence storage space listing to all users, it was perhaps something unintentional, though it remains unclear.

Apple says that Apple Intelligence can consume up to 7GB of storage space on a Mac, though it appears to be taking up more space on some Macs in macOS Sequoia 15.4. Apple Intelligence requires dedicated storage space because it downloads machine learning models and assets to Apple devices so that some functions can be run locally.

Disabling Apple Intelligence is the only way to keep the feature from using up space on a Mac.

Article Link: Apple No Longer Hiding Apple Intelligence Storage Space Info in macOS 15.4

Good, now add “Delete Apple Intelligence” option and we good 👍🏻

 

[ronno]

Apple turning into 1990s microsoft right here

 

[AppliedMicro]

Can you actually delete the files and recover the space yet?

Just let me recover my space Apple.

How else is Timmy getting his sweet upsell revenue, when they've begun shipping 16GB RAM as standard?