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text model · DeepSeek-R1-Distill · iOS

Can I run DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B on iPhone 16 Pro?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine
No, not enough memory would not load

No. DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B needs ~6.2 GB even at Q4_K_M, but iPhone 16 Pro only has ~4.5 GB usable.

Needs ~6.2 GB Device usable ~4.5 GB

Needs ~6.2 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~4.5 GB is usable.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes.

The gap is about 1.7 GB: DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B needs roughly 6.2 GB at Q4_K_M and iPhone 16 Pro leaves only about 4.5 GB usable for a model. The lightest tracked hardware that runs DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB) at 12 GB. See DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B on Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB).

Q4_K_M needed
~6.2 GB
Usable on device
~4.5 GB
Device memory
8 GB
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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~4.5 GB usable
Q2_K
~4.9 GB
Q3_K_M
~5.5 GB
Q4_K_M
~6.2 GB
Q5_K_M
~7.3 GB
Q6_K
~8.2 GB
Q8_0
~9.6 GB
FP16
~17.9 GB
The line marks iPhone 16 Pro's ~4.5 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.

How to run it

On iOS use Apple Foundation Models (Built into iOS 26, ~3B on-device model, zero download, fully private.).

Model DeepSeek-R1-Distill
Parameters
8.19B
Q4_K_M size
4.68 GB
Q8_0 size
8.11 GB
Context
128k
Ollama tag
deepseek-r1:8b-0528-qwen3-q4_K_M
Full DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B requirements →
Device iOS
Memory
8 GB unified
Usable for weights
~4.5 GB
Power draw
~12 W
Best runtime
llama.cpp + Metal (via PocketPal or Off Grid app)
Best models for iPhone 16 Pro →

What you can run instead

Run DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B on other hardware

FAQ

Can iPhone 16 Pro run DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B?

No. DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B needs ~6.2 GB even at Q4_K_M, but iPhone 16 Pro only has ~4.5 GB usable.

How much memory does DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B need?

iPhone 16 Pro does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~4.68 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~6.2 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B on iOS?

On iPhone and iPad, Apple Foundation Models (Built into iOS 26, ~3B on-device model, zero download, fully private.) is the standard choice. Phones realistically run 1B-4B class models. Anything larger thermally throttles or OOMs.

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DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B on iPhone 16 Pro compatibility badge A live badge for your model card or README, updated as the data is.
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$ [![DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B on iPhone 16 Pro](https://localmodel.run/badge/deepseek-r1-0528-qwen3-8b/iphone-16-pro.svg)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/deepseek-r1-0528-qwen3-8b/iphone-16-pro)

Sources

Weights are measured from GGUF files; KV cache and overhead are computed, so totals can vary ~15% with context and runtime. Any tok/s is a bandwidth estimate. See methodology.