Google’s AICore app plays a pivotal role in enhancing on-device AI capabilities for Android users, facilitating features such as text summarization, writing assistance, and proofreading. Yet, a common concern among users is the app’s tendency to consume a significant amount of storage space. Recently, Google has provided clarity on this issue, revealing that the storage usage is by design.
Understanding AICore’s Storage Requirements
The tech giant has updated its support page to elaborate on the reasons behind the app’s substantial storage demands. According to Google:
“You may occasionally find that this service uses a larger amount of storage than expected. This occurs when the system is updating to a new version of an AI model in the background. To ensure features work reliably, your device temporarily keeps both the old and new versions of the model for up to three days. This fail-safe allows your phone to instantly revert to an older version if the new update encounters an error, rather than having to download gigabytes of data again.”
This approach is designed to enhance user experience by preventing disruptions in AI functionality during updates. Once the new Gemini Nano update is confirmed stable, Google assures users that the additional storage will be automatically released, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
While this method is practical, especially considering the time it would take to redownload older models, it poses challenges for devices with limited storage capacity. Reports indicate that AICore can consume as much as 11GB, which is particularly concerning for smartphones that still come with a base storage of 128GB. As such, there is hope that Google will explore alternative solutions for these devices. Additionally, many users are advocating for a standardization of 256GB base storage across more AI-enabled Android phones, which would alleviate some of the current storage constraints.
