# Can I run Gemma 2 9B on Apple M5 (16GB)?

> **Yes, it runs.** Runs at Q4_K_M using ~7.3 GB of ~10.5 GB usable.

Last validated: 2026-06-15.

## Memory math
- Gemma 2 9B: 9B; Q4_K_M weighs 5.76 GB on disk.
- At Q4_K_M with a 4k context it needs ~7.3 GB (weights + KV cache + ~0.8 GB runtime overhead, ±15% with context length).
- Apple M5 (16GB): 16 GB unified, ~10.5 GB usable for model weights.
- Headroom: ~3.2 GB.

## How to run
Recommended quant: Q4_K_M. Best tool on macOS: LM Studio.

```sh
ollama run gemma2:9b
```

## Run Gemma 2 9B on other devices
- [Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/nvidia-rtx-3060-12gb)
- [Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (12GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/nvidia-rtx-4070-12gb)
- [Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/samsung-s24-ultra)
- [Generic Android Phone (12GB RAM)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/android-generic-12gb)
- [iPhone 17 Pro](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/iphone-17-pro)
- [iPhone Air](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/iphone-air)

## Other models that run on Apple M5 (16GB)
- [Qwen2.5 Coder 14B (14B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/qwen2.5-coder-14b/apple-m5-16gb)
- [Mistral Nemo 12B (12.2B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/mistral-nemo-12b/apple-m5-16gb)
- [Gemma 3 12B (12B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/apple-m5-16gb)
- [Llama 3.2 Vision 11B (10.7B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/llama-3.2-vision-11b/apple-m5-16gb)
- [Falcon3 10B (10B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/falcon3-10b/apple-m5-16gb)
- [GLM-4 9B (9B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/glm-4-9b/apple-m5-16gb)

Estimate, not a guarantee. Sources: https://ollama.com/library/gemma2, https://ollama.com/library/gemma2/tags, https://huggingface.co/bartowski/gemma-2-9b-it-GGUF, https://lmarena.ai/leaderboard.
More: https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-2-9b/apple-m5-16gb