If your iPhone or iPad is running short of free storage, you may think twice about enablingApple Intelligence. When the first features were made available in iOS 18.1, Apple said the Apple Intelligence features needed at least 4GB of space. Now with iOS 18.2, that requirement has jumped to 7GB. What's going on?Since much of the processing for features such as text summaries, Image Playground,Image Wand, writing tools andGenmojihappen on-device, iOS needs to store AI libraries locally and uses some storage for caches and other temporary files. That makes things tighter if you were already running up against the edges of your device's storage.See also:How to reclaim iCloud storage.It could also be that you're simply not interested, which would put you into the majority. A newsurvey by SellCellindicates that 73% of Apple users think AI adds little to no value to the phone experience, while CNET found that25% of smartphone owners are not interested at all.If Apple Intelligence holds no appeal for you, or if you'd rather wait until the tech matures a bit more, it's easy to turn it off entirely or selectively disable some of the features.I'm not an AI crank -- I appreciate features such as notification summaries and the Clean Up tool in the Photos app. And yet, Apple Intelligence is also a work in progress, an evolving set of features that Apple is heavily hyping while gradually developing. I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to not be distracted or feel like you're doing Apple's testing for them (that's what the developer and public betas are for).Remember that Apple Intelligence works only on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro or M-series Macs and iPads (plus the newest iPad mini). And if you've alreadyupdated to iOS 18.2, you need toadd yourself to the queuefor access to the new features.Here's what you need to know about disabling it. Watch this: Does Apple Think We're Stupid? Apple Intelligence Ads Say Yes 06:15 How to turn off Apple Intelligence entirely (iPhone, iPad and Mac)OpenSettings(iPhone or iPad) orSystem Settings(Mac) and chooseApple Intelligence & Siri. Then turn off theApple Intelligenceoption. Confirm your choice in the dialog that appears by tappingTurn Off Apple Intelligence. Turn off Apple Intelligence entirely with one switch. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETHere's what you lose:Writing toolsNotification summariesVisual Intelligence (on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro)Genmoji (on iPhone and iPad; it's not available yet on Mac)Image Playground -- the app remains, but you can't create new imagesChatGPT support for SiriImage Wand in the Notes app(Curiously, the Clean Up tool in Photos sticks around even when Apple Intelligence is turned off, perhaps because the first time you use it the app downloads resources for it.)How to turn off individual Apple Intelligence featuresMaybe you're finding some Apple Intelligence features helpful while others are annoying (or just highlyamusing). You can turn off specific features in the settings for apps to which they apply.For example, to disable text summaries in Messages notifications, go toSettings > Apps > Messagesand switch off theSummarize Messagesoption. Turn off Messages summaries while still using other Apple Intelligence features. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETSome features are not as app-specific. Writing Tools, which use Apple Intelligence to proof or rewrite text, appear as an option when you select text, regardless of the app. To turn that off, you need to disable Apple Intelligence system-wide.Also note that nearly every app includes an Apple Intelligence & Siri option in Settings, with a Learn from this Appoption (turned on by default). That applies just to whether Apple Intelligence and Siri can monitor how you use it to make suggestions; it doesn't affect any particular Apple Intelligence features.How to view the amount of storage Apple Intelligence is usingIf you're concerned about the storage requirements of Apple Intelligence, you can find out how much the system is using by going toSettings > General > iPhone (or iPad) Storage > iOS (or iPadOS). See how much space Apple Intelligence is using in Settings. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETUnfortunately, from my testing it does not appear that turning off Apple Intelligence reclaims that storage space: After doing so and restarting my devices, theApple Intelligenceitem and amount are unchanged.For more on iOS 18.2, seehow the Mail app in iOS 18.2 sorts messages into categories andif you haven't upgraded already, make a good backup first. 11 Essential Accessories Your iPhone Wants for the Holidays See all photos