this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2026
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Apparently an unpopular opinion here but I highly appreciate the move by Apple to embrace local AI. Sure it’s not perfect in any sense, but I like the direction.
I don't think that's unpopular at all. Local AI is the only AI future worth pursuing.
Even for the off-device stuff it usually gives a direct answer, without fluffing up the user, and almost always mentions double checking validity or speaking to a professional for advice (such as medical advice).
I don’t need to tell people here how terrible AI like ChatGPT is at confidently misleading people and pretending to be a users friend.
Same here. Local is not the problem. Control is.
I’m curious what this tool does that is different from turning off Apple Intelligence in the Settings because they already give you some degree of control.
You can't turn it off anymore in Golden Gate. It is a mandatory download (in countries where it is supported) now.
You can still disable some specific AI-related features, but you can't block the models entirely.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, that's a ton of disk space, and Apple is notoriously chintzy when it comes to storage. On the other hand, I do want the default to be local-only models, and giving developers easy access will make that the path of least resistance. Most of my problems with LLMs don't apply to moderately-sized local models.
The problem is there is no single switch to turn it off. You have to go to each nook and cranny in the settings and toggle a switch. And if you miss anything, that 20 something gigabytes of space doesn’t free up. I’m all for local AI features, but it should be a one toggle switch to turn it off or remove it.
The reddit user featured in the article had to create a script to automate it and keep it off.
But not curious enough to read the second sentence of this article.
Disk space it seems.
No.