text model · Gemma · iOS

Can I run Gemma 3 4B on iPhone Air?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine

Yes, it runs usable speed ~15 tok/s est.

Yes. Gemma 3 4B runs on iPhone Air at Q4_K_M (~3.8 GB of ~8 GB usable).

Needs ~3.8 GB Device usable ~8 GB

Runs at Q4_K_M using ~3.8 GB of ~8 GB usable. You have room for Q8_0 for higher quality.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes. iPhone Air leaves ~4.2 GB of headroom, room to step up to Q8_0 for higher quality.

Q4_K_M needed: ~3.8 GB
Usable on device: ~8 GB
Device memory: 12 GB
Best quant: Q4_K_M

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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~8 GB usable

Q2_K

~3 GB

Q3_K_M

~3.3 GB

Q4_K_M

~3.8 GB

Q5_K_M

~4.2 GB

Q6_K

~4.6 GB

Q8_0

~5.4 GB

FP16

~9.3 GB

The line marks iPhone Air's ~8 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 Gemma

Parameters: 4B
Q4_K_M size: 2.49 GB
Q8_0 size: 4.13 GB
Context: 128k
Ollama tag: gemma3:4b

Full Gemma 3 4B requirements →

Device iOS

Memory: 12 GB unified
Usable for weights: ~8 GB
Best runtime: llama.cpp + Metal (via PocketPal or Off Grid app)

Best models for iPhone Air →

You could also run

Run Gemma 3 4B on other hardware

Apple M1 (8GB)8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only)iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Pro Generic Android Phone (8GB RAM)

FAQ

Can iPhone Air run Gemma 3 4B?

Yes. Gemma 3 4B runs on iPhone Air at Q4_K_M (~3.8 GB of ~8 GB usable).

How much memory does Gemma 3 4B need?

iPhone Air has room to spare. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~2.49 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~3.8 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Gemma 3 4B 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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Markdown

[![Gemma 3 4B on iPhone Air](https://localmodel.run/badge/gemma-3-4b/iphone-air.svg)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-4b/iphone-air)

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.