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text model · MiniCPM · macOS

Can I run MiniCPM-V 4.6 on Apple M4 (16GB)?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine
Yes, it runs GPU accelerated ~181 tok/s est.

Yes. MiniCPM-V 4.6 runs on Apple M4 (16GB) at Q4_K_M (~1.6 GB of ~10.5 GB usable).

Needs ~1.6 GB Device usable ~10.5 GB

Runs at Q4_K_M using ~1.6 GB of ~10.5 GB usable. You have room for FP16 for higher quality.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes. Apple M4 (16GB) leaves ~8.9 GB of headroom, room to step up to FP16 for higher quality.

Q4_K_M needed
~1.6 GB
Usable on device
~10.5 GB
Device memory
16 GB
Best quant
Q4_K_M
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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~10.5 GB usable
Q2_K
~1.6 GB
Q3_K_M
~1.7 GB
Q4_K_M
~1.6 GB
Q5_K_M
~2 GB
Q6_K
~2.2 GB
Q8_0
~1.9 GB
FP16
~2.6 GB
The line marks Apple M4 (16GB)'s ~10.5 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.

Running cost · estimate

Power & economics est.
Power draw
~65 W
Electricity / 1M tokens
~$0.01
Pays for itself after
~2,039M tok

At ~$0.15/kWh and the estimated ~181 tok/s, a million generated tokens costs about $0.01 in electricity. Versus a hosted API at ~$0.5 per million tokens, the ~$999 Apple M4 (16GB) pays for itself after roughly 2,039 million tokens, so local hardware is mostly a fixed cost, not a per-token one. TDP is the peak draw, so this is an upper bound. Assumptions.

Run it

Install commands macOS

Pick your tool. All 3 load the same Q4_K_M weights.

Ollama
$ ollama run minicpm-v4.6
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf openbmb/MiniCPM-V-4_6-gguf:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get openbmb/MiniCPM-V-4_6-gguf
Model MiniCPM
Parameters
1.3B
Q4_K_M size
0.53 GB
Q8_0 size
0.81 GB
Context
256k
Ollama tag
minicpm-v4.6
Full MiniCPM-V 4.6 requirements →
Device macOS
Memory
16 GB unified
Usable for weights
~10.5 GB
Power draw
~65 W
Best runtime
Ollama (MLX backend, preview) / MLX direct
Best models for Apple M4 (16GB) →

You could also run

Run MiniCPM-V 4.6 on other hardware

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

FAQ

Can Apple M4 (16GB) run MiniCPM-V 4.6?

Yes. MiniCPM-V 4.6 runs on Apple M4 (16GB) at Q4_K_M (~1.6 GB of ~10.5 GB usable).

How much memory does MiniCPM-V 4.6 need?

Apple M4 (16GB) has room to spare. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~0.53 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~1.6 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run MiniCPM-V 4.6 on macOS?

LM Studio for a simple setup; mlx-lm for the most speed. vLLM is NOT a Mac tool, it is a CUDA/Linux serving engine. Unified memory is not a fixed VRAM slice; ~70% is usable for weights.

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MiniCPM-V 4.6 on Apple M4 (16GB) compatibility badge A live badge for your model card or README, updated as the data is.
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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.