Skip to content

text model · Nemotron 3 · iOS

Can I run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B on iPhone 16 Pro?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine
Yes, but tight usable speed ~11 tok/s est.

Yes. Nemotron 3 Nano 4B runs on iPhone 16 Pro at Q4_K_M (~3.9 GB of ~4.5 GB usable).

Needs ~3.9 GB Device usable ~4.5 GB

Fits at Q4_K_M (~3.9 GB of ~4.5 GB usable) but with little headroom. Close background apps, and expect slow generation on a phone.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes. iPhone 16 Pro leaves ~0.6 GB of headroom.

Q4_K_M needed
~3.9 GB
Usable on device
~4.5 GB
Device memory
8 GB
Best quant
Q4_K_M
Share on X Share on Reddit

Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~4.5 GB usable
Q2_K
~3 GB
Q3_K_M
~3.3 GB
Q4_K_M
~3.9 GB
Q5_K_M
~4.2 GB
Q6_K
~4.6 GB
Q8_0
~5.2 GB
FP16
~8.7 GB
The line marks iPhone 16 Pro's ~4.5 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.

Running cost · estimate

Power & economics est.
Power draw
~12 W
Electricity / 1M tokens
~$0.05
Pays for itself after
~2,220M tok

At ~$0.15/kWh and the estimated ~11 tok/s, a million generated tokens costs about $0.05 in electricity. Versus a hosted API at ~$0.5 per million tokens, the ~$999 iPhone 16 Pro pays for itself after roughly 2,220 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.

How to run it

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

Model Nemotron 3
Parameters
4B
Q4_K_M size
2.64 GB
Q8_0 size
3.94 GB
Context
256k
Ollama tag
nemotron-3-nano:4b
Full Nemotron 3 Nano 4B 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 →

You could also run

Run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B on other hardware

FAQ

Can iPhone 16 Pro run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B?

Yes. Nemotron 3 Nano 4B runs on iPhone 16 Pro at Q4_K_M (~3.9 GB of ~4.5 GB usable).

How much memory does Nemotron 3 Nano 4B need?

It is a tight fit on iPhone 16 Pro. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~2.64 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~3.9 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Nemotron 3 Nano 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.

Embed this

Nemotron 3 Nano 4B on iPhone 16 Pro compatibility badge A live badge for your model card or README, updated as the data is.
Markdown
$ [![Nemotron 3 Nano 4B on iPhone 16 Pro](https://localmodel.run/badge/nemotron-3-nano-4b/iphone-16-pro.svg)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/nemotron-3-nano-4b/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.