After you install macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple automatically downloads a multi-gigabyte AI model to your Mac the next time you connect to the Internet. Unlike previous versions of macOS, you can’t prevent it. Siri AI, and by extension Apple Intelligence, are now an integral part of your system.
For macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple says the latest Apple Intelligence features require up to 14 GB of on-device storage on Macs with an M3 chip or later and at least 12 GB of unified memory, and up to 8 GB of storage for other Apple Intelligence-enabled Macs. But in our experience, the AI model’s storage allocation seems to be considerably higher on some Macs than others.
On a Mac mini M4 Pro running macOS 27 for example, Woozad saw 20.67 GB handed over to Apple Intelligence. ArsTechnica recorded an even higher figure of 22.42 GB on an M3 MacBook Air after a fresh install of macOS 27.0 beta 7. Both of these systems will use Apple’s AFM 3 Core Advanced integrated model, which requires an M3 or newer Mac with 12 GB or more of RAM.
That doesn’t explain why Macs that don’t meet the minimum requirements of Apple’s most advanced model still lose unusually large amounts of storage to Apple Intelligence. ArsTechnica reported that the same screen showed around 14GB on a MacBook Air M1 and a MacBook Neo, and yet both of those models fall into a category for which Apple lists a requirement of up to 8GB.
Other Mac users have posted similar, higher-than-expected results. For example, a Reddit user shared a screenshot of the macOS 27 release candidate showing that Apple Intelligence ate up 30.16 GB on their machine. Another user cited 24.35 GB for Apple Intelligence after installing macOS 27 on a MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip.
| Device | Apple Intelligence Storage |
|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Duo | Up to 14 GB |
| iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air | Up to 14 GB |
| Other compatible iPhones: iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e | Up to 8 GB |
| iPad with M4 or later and at least 12 GB of unified memory; Mac with M3 or later and at least 12 GB of unified memory; Apple Vision Pro (M5) | Up to 14 GB |
| Other compatible iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro models | Up to 8 GB |
| Compatible Apple Watch models | Up to 1.5 GB on the watch |
| iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, iPhone 14 and earlier, and iPhone SE | Not supported |
Figures taken from Apple support document
Apple’s support document doesn’t explain whether its “up to 14 GB” requirement is directly comparable to Apple Intelligence’s “Storage” category in System Settings, or why some Macs show significantly higher numbers. For what it’s worth, we haven’t seen the same rising numbers on iPhones and iPads running iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
It’s not just academic either. Although using Apple Intelligence is optional, downloading its models to the device is not. Apple has removed the toggle to turn off Apple Intelligence, so users must reserve space for Apple models on the device. In an era of rising memory and storage costs because of AI, the irony of the situation is not lost, but it is no less frustrating.
If you’re using a Mac, you can check your own reading in System Settings ➝ General ➝ Storage by clicking on the information button next to it macOS. Let us know your findings in the comments.
