I have an older 12 Pro Max. At the time I could not justify the further expense so went with 128gb model.
It’s now reached its storage limits largely from family pics and videos. It can’t install the latest iOS because apparently it needs over 14gb to unpack, which sounds absurd.
I went looking at other items I could delete to free up space. After pics and messages, the included Maps app was taking up nearly 10gb. Not really using it much (that I recall), I chose to delete the app in its entirety. Alas, it still reports the 10gb being utilised, yet the app does not exist. I searched this issue online and seems to be many similar tales, some with significantly higher storage use. Reddit threads claim Apple support don’t have a solution. Anyone else noted significant storage use by this app?
Move the pictures and videos to iCloud. That’s what I do. You can still “see” them from your phone but they’re not stored on your phone. Can redownload them whenever you want.
I can’t install iCloud presumably because I’m not running the latest version iOS, which can’t install due to the space issues.
I do try and move pics and videos to the NAS but it’s painful. Direct connections through lap top invariably crash during transfer.
I’ll look into bLeps suggestion but the maps thing seems like a total stuff up. I note the data has crept up ~400mb even with the app deleted. Other than that WhatsApp is 3.5gb and Spotify 1.5gb, then the others all under 500mb. I can slowly remove attachments from messages and WApp but if the deletion of Maps actually worked as it should I’d buy myself much more time.
Affects checking mail and even 2FA when Authenticator won’t open.
Randomly found on an Apple discussion group, may be relevant.
Also, check if you have stored offline Maps on your device.
Offline maps in Apple Maps are stored on your device’s local storage and are independent of the app itself. Reinstalling the app won’t affect these downloaded maps.
Here’s a breakdown of why:
Apple Maps downloads specific areas you choose for offline use.
This downloaded data is stored on your device’s memory.
Reinstalling the app only affects the app files, not your device’s data storage where the maps reside.
However, it’s always a good practice to double-check your downloaded maps after reinstalling any app. You can find them under the Offline Maps section within the Apple Maps app itself.
I suppose to test that out I will need to remove enough files to have enough space to reinstall the app.
It seems totally out of line with most all other apps where deleting gives you the option of deleting just the app, or app and associated data (which is what I would have picked). If the full option is chosen, I’m not sure what use offline maps would serve.
