Skip to content

text model · Mistral · iOS

Can I run Mixtral 8x7B on iPhone 17?

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

No. Mixtral 8x7B needs ~28.9 GB even at Q4_K_M, but iPhone 17 only has ~4.5 GB usable.

Needs ~28.9 GB Device usable ~4.5 GB

Needs ~28.9 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 24.4 GB: Mixtral 8x7B needs roughly 28.9 GB at Q4_K_M and iPhone 17 leaves only about 4.5 GB usable for a model. The lightest tracked hardware that runs Mixtral 8x7B is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB) at 32 GB. See Mixtral 8x7B on Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB).

Q4_K_M needed
~28.9 GB
Usable on device
~4.5 GB
Device memory
8 GB
Share on X Share on Reddit

Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~4.5 GB usable
Q2_K
~22 GB
Q3_K_M
~25.2 GB
Q4_K_M
~28.9 GB
Q5_K_M
~35.7 GB
Q6_K
~40.7 GB
Q8_0
~48.6 GB
FP16
~95.8 GB
The line marks iPhone 17'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 Mistral
Parameters
46.7B (MoE, 12.9B active)
Q4_K_M size
26.49 GB
Q8_0 size
46.22 GB
Context
32k
Ollama tag
mixtral:8x7b
Full Mixtral 8x7B requirements →
Device iOS
Memory
8 GB unified
Usable for weights
~4.5 GB
Best runtime
llama.cpp + Metal (via PocketPal or Off Grid app)
Best models for iPhone 17 →

What you can run instead

Run Mixtral 8x7B on other hardware

FAQ

Can iPhone 17 run Mixtral 8x7B?

No. Mixtral 8x7B needs ~28.9 GB even at Q4_K_M, but iPhone 17 only has ~4.5 GB usable.

How much memory does Mixtral 8x7B need?

iPhone 17 does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~26.49 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~28.9 GB at a 4k context. It is a Mixture-of-Experts model (46.7B total / 12.9B active), so all experts must stay in memory; memory tracks total params, not active params.

What is the best tool to run Mixtral 8x7B 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.

Embed this

Mixtral 8x7B on iPhone 17 compatibility badge A live badge for your model card or README, updated as the data is.
Markdown
$ [![Mixtral 8x7B on iPhone 17](https://localmodel.run/badge/mixtral-8x7b/iphone-17.svg)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/mixtral-8x7b/iphone-17)

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.