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text model · Qwen2.5-VL · iOS

Can I run Qwen2.5-VL 3B on iPhone 17?

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

Yes. Qwen2.5-VL 3B runs on iPhone 17 at Q4_K_M (~4.4 GB of ~4.5 GB usable).

Needs ~4.4 GB Device usable ~4.5 GB

Fits at Q4_K_M (~4.4 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 17 leaves ~0.1 GB of headroom.

Q4_K_M needed
~4.4 GB
Usable on device
~4.5 GB
Device memory
8 GB
Best quant
Q4_K_M
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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~4.5 GB usable
Q2_K
~2.9 GB
Q3_K_M
~3.1 GB
Q4_K_M
~4.4 GB
Q5_K_M
~4 GB
Q6_K
~4.4 GB
Q8_0
~6.4 GB
FP16
~8.8 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 Qwen2.5-VL
Parameters
3.75B
Q4_K_M size
3.05 GB
Q8_0 size
5.1 GB
Context
32k
Full Qwen2.5-VL 3B 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 →

You could also run

Run Qwen2.5-VL 3B on other hardware

FAQ

Can iPhone 17 run Qwen2.5-VL 3B?

Yes. Qwen2.5-VL 3B runs on iPhone 17 at Q4_K_M (~4.4 GB of ~4.5 GB usable).

How much memory does Qwen2.5-VL 3B need?

It is a tight fit on iPhone 17. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~3.05 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~4.4 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Qwen2.5-VL 3B 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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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.