Thread

macOS 27: Workaround to avoid downloading AI models and save storage

240 points · 123 comments · ano-ther

ebtebt · 1790008731 · focus · HN ↗
How much storage does this save?
1. CharlesW · 1790009209 · focus · HN ↗
  Interestingly, Siri AI was able to answer this with a reference: Up to 14 GB. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/SZGh1ca" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/SZGh1ca
  1. [deleted] · 1790012216 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
  2. iAMkenough · 1790012665 · focus · HN ↗
    That's not a reliable source or reference. Read the disclaimer at the bottom.
    CharlesW · 1790013273 · focus · HN ↗
    Yes, I'd sanity-checked the answer on my machine, which is 15.5 GB on iOS 27.2: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/XVT8rme" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/XVT8rme
    Not all of the space used by Apple Intelligence is downloaded model size, which explains the reasonable difference.
    iAMkenough · 1790013465 · focus · HN ↗
    Your reality is yours, not mine. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/3viouLd" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/3viouLd
    I'm not upset, just pointing out TweakTown gave Apple's AI misleading information about Apple's products. You might have 30GB of wasted space on your 128GB drive due to Apple Intelligence features on your Mac (like me).
    [deleted] · 1790014699 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
    CharlesW · 1790015656 · focus · HN ↗
    Apologies, I didn't mean to upset you. Per the title I was talking about the downloaded core model sizes, which are a bit under 8 GB or 14 GB in OS 27 depending on device: <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/121115" rel="nofollow">https://support.apple.com/en-us/121115
    alwillis · 1790015066 · focus · HN ↗
    > That's not a reliable source or reference. Read the disclaimer at the bottom.
    The "Always verify important details. Siri is an Al that may make mistakes." is the new version of "your mileage may vary".
    Also, I get a similar message when using Gemini, OpenAI and Claude.
    I own a "Standard iPhone" and an M1 Mac; these numbers track.
    VCFundedGenYer · 1790024304 · focus · HN ↗
    LLMs are not sources.
    halJordan · 1790035501 · focus · HN ↗
    Keep tilting at windmills. Wikipedia was also not a source
    [deleted] · 1790018498 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
2. fuu_dev · 1790009861 · focus · HN ↗
  Apple intelligence is listed as 29 GB in the Storage settings. Which should be the amount of space you get back.
  MacOS 27 is also diffrent in that it does still downloads the data for EU users and removes or hides options in menues to dissable functionality. This means users lose the said space when upgrading to 27.
  1. fundatus · 1790010095 · focus · HN ↗
    Apple Intelligence is available on macOS in the EU. It's only disabled on iOS/iPadOS.

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