NomacOS 15.4 Beta Conceals Storage Usage of Apple Intelligence Features

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macOS 15.4 Beta Doesn’t Conceal Apple Intelligence Features Storage Usage
The latest beta of macOS 15.4 made a switch that affects how users view Apple Intelligence feature storage use. It was easy enough for users to find out how much space these features occupied by heading to System Settings, tapping General, then Storage, and tapping the “i” button next to macOS. Since the second beta release, however, this is no longer displayed.
This change has puzzled users and developers since it seems to be linked to System Integrity Protection (SIP). If SIP is disabled, storage data for Apple Intelligence features comes back. SIP is a security feature intended to protect the system from malicious code execution and is not generally advisable to be disabled by the majority of users. Developers employ it primarily for testing purposes and must enter Recovery Mode in order to modify.
The data required by Apple Intelligence can take up to 7GB of storage on gadgets like iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This can be a lot, especially for individuals with low capacity. Whether or not to keep this information hidden can raise eyebrows regarding visibility of storage utilization, especially if users are questioning whether or not they should enable these features.
Apple Intelligence exploits the MobileAsset infrastructure to push machine learning models and other related assets to devices. The infrastructure updates components dynamically to give devices access to the latest capabilities without necessitating broad system updates. The impact of hiding storage use can be very important in terms of user decision about whether to activate these capabilities, especially when storage is unavailable.
The modification still exists in the newest beta 3, and it is uncertain if it is a design feature or a bug. The problem has been reported to Apple, and consumers will have to wait for new updates or for official word from the company. macOS 15.4 will roll out sometime in early April, so if changes or a solution to the issue are forthcoming, they may happen prior to final release.
In other threads, users have complained about storage space consumed by Apple Intelligence even when it is disabled. There have been some anecdotal reports of strange things happening, such as the webcam LED turning on by itself, that have fueled speculation about the feature’s behavior. These are anecdotal and not corroborated by Apple as facts.
For those who wish to have control over storage capacity, disabling features from Apple Intelligence may reclaim storage capacity. Deactivating the Apple Intelligence Report feature, for example, will eliminate report data and reclaim a few gigabytes of storage capacity. Uninstalling Apple Intelligence is not simple and may require far-reaching system modifications.
Overall, concealment of storage usage data for Apple Intelligence in macOS 15.4 beta has been an issue of transparency and user control over device storage. As Apple continues to work on its operating system, addressing these issues will be important to maintaining user trust and satisfaction.