Apple Intelligence can take up to 14GB of storage on a Mac, according to Apple’s own support documentation, and a free open-source command-line tool called RemoveMacAI promises to take most of it back. Its developer, Om Lahore, says the tool removes about 12GB of downloaded models from Apple silicon Macs running macOS 27, at the price of switching off the AI features that depend on them.
Both numbers are claims by their authors. Apple’s is a stated requirement for the hardware that qualifies, and the tool’s 12GB is a figure from the project itself, not a measurement made by an independent tester.
Apple’s up-to-14GB figure
The language sits in Apple’s support article on the next generation of Apple Intelligence. Under system requirements it lists “up to 14 GB of storage on device” for iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPads with M4 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, Mac models with M3 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, and Apple Vision Pro with M5. Other Apple Intelligence iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro models are listed at up to 8GB.
9to5Mac’s report puts the older baseline beside it: Apple Intelligence required up to 7GB on macOS 26, and on macOS 27 Apple now states that the models can require up to 14GB on newer Macs. The same figure for iPhones and iPads was reported on The Mac Observer on September 18, which quoted the same Apple text and added that the larger requirement supports more demanding on-device features such as enhanced dictation accuracy and customizable Siri voice options.
Storage reported on real Macs
Reported footprints run higher than the stated limit, as MacRumors reported on September 23, 2026, after the new macOS began reaching Macs. MacRumors found 20.67GB on an M4 Pro Mac mini, and relayed Ars Technica’s reading of 22.42GB on an M3 MacBook Air and about 14GB on an M1 MacBook Air, plus Reddit reports of more than 30GB on some machines. MacRumors also noted that Apple’s document does not say whether the 14GB requirement is comparable with the Apple Intelligence category shown in System Settings, or why some Macs show far more.
That gap is why 14GB belongs to Apple and not to the machines. It is the company’s stated requirement, and the observed numbers vary from one Mac to the next.
RemoveMacAI, the free tool
The project’s GitHub page describes a free command-line tool under the MIT licence that disables Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 and removes about 12GB of its models, with the exact amount depending on which features are turned off. It requires macOS 27 and an Apple silicon processor, installs by script or Homebrew, and, according to the page, makes no network requests and collects no data.
Lahore’s own description of the tool’s aim is plain: it exists to turn off Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 and remove its downloaded models, using Apple’s restriction keys rather than anything that disables system protection. The mechanism avoids the usual dangerous shortcut. The tool applies a configuration profile with Apple’s own restriction keys, removes the downloaded models through Apple’s asset service and redirects a port to stop them being fetched again, and System Integrity Protection stays on. The page says the changes are reversible with a single removemacai revert command and that they persist through macOS updates, while 9to5Mac warns that a future update could still break it.
The features that go with it
9to5Mac’s report lists what the tool switches off: Siri, including Hey Siri and the menu bar icon, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground and the ChatGPT extension, along with summaries in Mail, Messages, Safari, Notes and notifications, Mail smart replies, inline predictions, Spatial Photos, Photos Clean Up and Xcode code completion. The GitHub page adds that Calendar’s natural-language editing and Visual Intelligence stop working, while dictation continues because it uses separate models.
The same report lays out the risks. Apple could remove the project from GitHub or change the mechanisms it relies on, a future macOS update could make the tool ineffective or cause unexpected behavior until the project is updated, and third-party apps increasingly rely on Apple’s models for basic functionality, so removing them can reach beyond Apple’s own apps. MacRumors adds that macOS 27 removed the ordinary setting for turning Apple Intelligence off, which is the gap such a tool fills.
The trade is concrete, and it is the user’s to make with the caveats in view. A Mac whose System Settings shows 20GB or more taken by Apple Intelligence gets a tool claiming about 12GB back, and Apple’s own documents have yet to explain the difference between the stated 14GB and what some machines display.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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