Reported iOS 27 storage fix comes with a Siri trade-off

Image: Siri AI during an iOS 27 developer-beta demonstration, not a screenshot of the reported storage problem. Photo: Lance Ulanoff / Future.

Some iPhone owners report Apple Intelligence taking up around 15GB after updating to iOS 27. GSMArena’s November 1 report cites allocations ranging from roughly 9GB to 16GB and describes a Siri-language workaround that reduced the figure in its own test.

Simply switching off Apple Intelligence or Siri did not restore the space in the cases discussed by the publication. Instead, GSMArena says changing Siri from US or UK English to another English variant helped. It names Canadian, Irish, South African and New Zealand English as options; after choosing South African English and restarting the iPhone, its reported allocation fell to around 100MB.

That result should not be read as a promise that every phone will recover 15GB. Apple says the device and Siri languages must match a supported language for Apple Intelligence to work. Changing Siri’s language can make the feature unavailable until the new language finishes downloading and matches the device language, so the storage workaround comes with a possible loss of AI functionality.

There is also normal post-update activity to consider. Apple’s requirements page says Apple Intelligence can use up to 14GB on some newer iPhones and up to 8GB on other eligible models. It notes that usage may temporarily exceed those requirements during and shortly after an update while new models download and older ones are removed.

To see the allocation on your own phone, open Settings, then General and iPhone Storage. Treat the language change as a reported workaround with a trade-off, rather than a universal fix or a guaranteed amount of recovered space.

Sources

https://www.gsmarena.com/users_report_abnormally_high_storage_allocation_for_apple_intelligence_after_updating_to_ios_27-news-75256.php
https://support.apple.com/en-us/121115
https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/i-tried-siri-ai-on-the-iphone-mac-and-ipad-heres-why-im-convinced-apples-long-overdue-next-gen-assistant-will-win-you-over