Do you have enough space for Apple Intelligence on your iPhone? How to find out

iPhone and iPad users eager to try out Apple Intelligence will need to meet a few conditions before they can dive in. 

Beyond owning a supported phone, you’ll need a minimum amount of free storage space. On an Apple Support page spotted by 9to5Mac, the company revealed just how much real estate the AI technology will demand.

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Under “Supported devices” on the page, Apple wrote that “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,” adding that “iPhone devices need 4GB of storage*.”

That doesn’t sound too onerous, especially considering the latest iPhones are built with at least 128GB of space. But notice the asterisk at the end of that last sentence — what could that mean?

In the associated footnote, Apple reveals that “storage requirements for on-device Apple Intelligence models will increase as more features roll out.” That means you’ll need a minimum of 4GB of free space just to get started and more as Apple Intelligence continues to grow and advance.

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Apple didn’t specify how much storage you’ll ultimately need. That’s likely because Apple Intelligence is a work in progress, and the company may not yet know how exactly much space it will use down the road.

iOS 18.1, currently in public beta and slated to be released in October, will offer the first few AI-based features. This initial batch will include writing and editing assistance, a photo clean up tool, phone call recording and transcribing, help with notifications and email, and improvements to Siri.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 18.2 is due out in December. This update will add ChatGPT integration, Genmoji for creating AI-infused custom emojis, and an Image Playground app that uses AI to help you create your own images.

January should see the release of iOS 18.3 with more in store for Apple Intelligence. Though this is likely to be a minor update, it could kick in additional improvements for Siri, especially in terms of AI, according to Gurman. In March, Apple will likely debut iOS 18.4, which Gurman called the biggest update after version 18.1. This one should push Apple Intelligence to more countries and give Siri on-screen awareness so it can help you with whatever you’re doing or viewing.

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At this point, Apple hasn’t revealed all the AI-powered skills that will be added in next year’s iOS updates or when they’ll appear. That will likely depend on Apple’s internal development and testing.

Circling back to the storage requirements, if you own an iPhone (or iPad) with a fair amount of free space, then you should be fine. For instance, my 512GB iPhone 16 has a healthy 300GB of available storage, while my iPad Pro has around 290GB of space.

Check the available space on your device 

To see how much storage you have free, head to Settings, select General, and then tap iPhone Storage or iPad Storage. The screen will indicate how much storage is used up and how much is free. 

What if you’re running low? That same screen should provide recommendations on how to conjure up more space.

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In my case, I was told to consider removing certain TV show and movie downloads and deleting old podcast episodes. Further down the screen were several more suggestions. Music, photos, and videos typically chew up the most amount of space, so removing some of those is a good way to free up space. 

For now, though, as long as you have at least 4GB to spare, you’ll be ready for that initial surge of Apple Intelligence.