Users Disable On-Device AI to Reclaim Up to 21GB on iPhones and Android Phones

2 articles · Updated · MUO - MakeUseOf · Sep 2

Reddit users reported reclaiming as much as 21GB on iPhones by turning off Apple Intelligence, with some Android users also freeing several gigabytes by disabling AICore or Gemini Nano-related services.
The storage gain appears to come from deleting local AI models, photo indexes and cached data that power on-device features such as image recognition, search and suggested memories.
Results vary by software version: one user on an iOS 18 beta saw a 21GB drop, while public iOS 17.5.1 users are said to recover closer to 7GB, and some space may later shift into System storage or return.
Android users can clear storage for AICore and disable the service, but doing so can break offline smart replies, recorder summaries and other on-device generative tools.
The reports highlight a growing trade-off as Apple, Google and Samsung push local AI features that improve privacy and speed but consume meaningful amounts of phone storage.