text model · Nemotron · iOS

Can I run Nemotron Nano 9B v2 on iPhone Air?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine

Yes, but tight slow on this hardware ~6 tok/s est.

Yes. Nemotron Nano 9B v2 runs on iPhone Air at Q4_K_M (~7.6 GB of ~8 GB usable).

Needs ~7.6 GB Device usable ~8 GB

Fits at Q4_K_M (~7.6 GB of ~8 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 Air leaves ~0.4 GB of headroom.

Q4_K_M needed: ~7.6 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

~5.3 GB

Q3_K_M

~5.9 GB

Q4_K_M

~7.6 GB

Q5_K_M

~7.9 GB

Q6_K

~8.9 GB

Q8_0

~10.3 GB

FP16

~19.3 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 Nemotron

Parameters: 9B
Q4_K_M size: 6.08 GB
Q8_0 size: 8.81 GB
Context: 128k

Full Nemotron Nano 9B v2 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 Nemotron Nano 9B v2 on other hardware

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB)Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (12GB)Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Generic Android Phone (12GB RAM)iPhone 17 Pro Apple M2 (16GB)

FAQ

Can iPhone Air run Nemotron Nano 9B v2?

Yes. Nemotron Nano 9B v2 runs on iPhone Air at Q4_K_M (~7.6 GB of ~8 GB usable).

How much memory does Nemotron Nano 9B v2 need?

It is a tight fit on iPhone Air. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~6.08 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~7.6 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Nemotron Nano 9B v2 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

[![Nemotron Nano 9B v2 on iPhone Air](https://localmodel.run/badge/nemotron-nano-9b/iphone-air.svg)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/nemotron-nano-9b/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.