How to turn off Apple Intelligence on iOS 27: 3 ways + reclaim 18 GB

To turn off Apple Intelligence on iOS 27: open Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri → toggle "Apple Intelligence" off. Confirm the prompt — this disables all AI features (Siri 2.0, Live Translation, Visual Intelligence, Writing Tools, Image Playground, Genmoji) and reclaims ~18 GB of storage previously used by the on-device LLM (3B parameters for A20 / 12B for A20 Pro). You can also disable individual features (Siri AI only, Image Playground only) if you want a partial turn-off. Turning it off doesn't delete the model from your iPhone — it stays installed but inactive, so re-enabling is instant.

This guide covers all three ways to turn off Apple Intelligence, what stays enabled after turning it off, and the battery / storage trade-offs.

What are the 3 ways to turn off Apple Intelligence completely?

Method 1: Settings app (recommended, takes 10 seconds)

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri
3. Tap the toggle next to Apple Intelligence (at the top)
4. Confirm by tapping Turn Off Apple Intelligence

The toggle is at the top of the Apple Intelligence & Siri settings screen. When you turn it off, you'll see a confirmation prompt explaining what will be disabled. Tap "Turn Off Apple Intelligence" to confirm.

After turning off:

• Siri reverts to Siri 1.5 (the pre-iOS-27 version with minor improvements but no on-device LLM)
• Live Translation, Visual Intelligence, Writing Tools, Image Playground, Genmoji all become unavailable
• The Apple Intelligence model files stay installed (~18 GB) but inactive
• You can re-enable Apple Intelligence any time without re-downloading

Method 2: Disable individual features (partial turn-off)

If you want to keep some Apple Intelligence features but not others:

1. Open Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri
2. Scroll to Features section
3. Toggle off individual features:

Feature	Toggle location	What it disables
Siri AI	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Siri	Conversational AI, App Intents 2.0, on-screen awareness
Live Translation	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Live Translation	Real-time translation in calls/FaceTime/in-person
Writing Tools	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Writing Tools	Proofread, Rewrite, Summarize across apps
Visual Intelligence	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Visual Intelligence	Camera-based object identification, screen-aware search
Image Playground	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Image Playground	AI image generation
Genmoji	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Genmoji	Custom AI-generated emoji
Notification Summaries	Apple Intelligence & Siri → Notification Summaries	AI grouping/summarizing of notifications
Priority Messages	Mail → Settings → Priority Messages	AI-prioritized inbox
Smart Reply	Messages → Settings → Smart Reply	AI-generated reply suggestions

Most common partial turn-off: disable Siri AI (keep everything else). Many users want Writing Tools and Image Playground but don't want the new Siri behavior.

Method 3: Disable Siri AI specifically (most common partial turn-off)

If the only thing you don't want is the new Siri behavior:

1. Open Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri → Siri
2. Toggle off Siri AI (or "New Siri" in some builds)
3. Siri reverts to Siri 1.5 — the old voice assistant behavior

This is useful if:

• You don't like Siri 2.0's verbosity
• You find the conversational context confusion
• You want the old "Hey Siri → quick answer" pattern
• You're worried about Siri AI sending unintended actions

Note: Siri AI is what causes the Notification Center gesture change (swipe down from top-center opens Siri AI instead of Notification Center). If you turn off Siri AI, the old gesture returns.

What happens when you turn off Apple Intelligence?

What changes	What stays
Siri 2.0 reverts to Siri 1.5	Apple Cash bill splitting (Messages)
Live Translation unavailable	RCS messaging
Visual Intelligence unavailable	Standard Camera app features
Writing Tools unavailable	Mail, Messages, Calendar (without AI)
Image Playground unavailable	Standard Photos features
Genmoji unavailable	Standard emoji keyboard
Notification Summaries unavailable	Standard notification delivery
Priority Messages unavailable	Standard Mail inbox
Smart Reply unavailable	Standard typing
Proactive Intelligence 2.0 unavailable	Standard Reminders, Maps
Camera Control button gestures limited	Standard Camera controls
Visual Lookup unavailable	Standard Photos search

You don't lose any non-AI iOS 27 features: RCS, Apple Cash bill splitting, redesigned Notification Center, the new Camera app, new AirPods features, new Wallet features, etc.

What storage does Apple Intelligence use?

Model	Storage
A20 (standard iPhone 18 / Air)	~12 GB (3B parameter LLM)
A20 Pro (iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max / Duo)	~18 GB (12B parameter LLM + Custom Voice)
Visual Intelligence model	~2 GB
Image Playground model	~3 GB
Live Translation model	~1.5 GB
Apple Intelligence caches	~3-6 GB (varies by use)
Total (iPhone 18 Pro Max)	~25-30 GB

Reclaimable space: turning off Apple Intelligence reclaims ~18-22 GB (the model files stay but are inactive, plus caches clear). On a 256 GB iPhone 18 Pro Max, that's ~9% of total storage.

If you want to reclaim the full ~25-30 GB (including the model files), you need to:

1. Turn off Apple Intelligence first (Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri → toggle off)
2. Wait 24 hours for the system to mark model files as eligible for cleanup
3. Go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage → tap Apple Intelligence → tap Delete Model
4. Confirm — model files are deleted, ~25-30 GB reclaimed

Note: deleting the model means re-enabling Apple Intelligence requires re-downloading (~30 minutes on Wi-Fi).

Why do people turn off Apple Intelligence?

The four most common reasons:

1. Storage — 18-30 GB on a 128 GB iPhone is significant. Users with 128 GB base models often turn off Apple Intelligence to reclaim space for photos and apps.
2. Battery — Apple Intelligence runs Proactive Intelligence 2.0 in the background (always-on AI). Heavy users report 5-10% battery improvement after turning it off.
3. Privacy — even though Apple Intelligence is on-device by default, some users prefer to opt out of AI features entirely.
4. Performance — on iPhone 18 base (A20, 8 GB RAM), Apple Intelligence can slow down older apps during background AI tasks. Disabling helps.

Can you turn off Apple Intelligence on older iPhones?

iPhone 15 Pro, 16 Pro, 17 Pro can run a limited "Apple Intelligence 1.5" — the same setting works the same way (Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri → toggle off). iPhone 15 / 16 / 17 base models don't run Apple Intelligence at all — there's nothing to turn off.

Does turning off Apple Intelligence improve battery life?

Yes, modestly. Apple claims 5-10% battery improvement. Real-world reports from iOS 27 betas (June-Sept 2026):

Use case	Battery improvement after turning off Apple Intelligence
Heavy use (always-on AI)	8-12%
Moderate use (occasional Siri AI)	4-6%
Light use (rarely use AI features)	1-3%
Standby (overnight)	3-5%

The biggest improvements are for users who use Siri AI, Live Translation, or Visual Intelligence heavily. Users who rarely touch AI features see minimal difference.

What if I want Apple Intelligence back?

Re-enabling is instant — Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri → toggle on. The model is already installed, so it activates in seconds (no re-download needed unless you previously deleted the model).

You can toggle on/off as often as you want with no penalty.

What is the bottom line on turning off Apple Intelligence?

Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri → toggle off is the fastest way to turn off Apple Intelligence on iOS 27. It takes 10 seconds, reclaims ~18 GB of storage, and reverts Siri to the pre-iOS-27 behavior. You can also disable individual features (Siri AI only is the most common). Re-enabling is instant because the model stays installed unless you manually delete it.

---

For a full list of Apple Intelligence features, see our Apple Intelligence 2.0 review. For Siri 2.0 customization, see our how to customize Siri voice on iOS 27 guide.