# Can I run SmolLM3 3B on Apple M4 Max (128GB)?

> **Yes, it runs.** Runs at Q4_K_M using ~3 GB of ~96 GB usable. You have room for FP16 for higher quality.

Last validated: 2026-06-15.

## Memory math
- SmolLM3 3B: 3B; Q4_K_M weighs 1.78 GB on disk.
- At Q4_K_M with a 4k context it needs ~3 GB (weights + KV cache + ~0.8 GB runtime overhead, ±15% with context length).
- Apple M4 Max (128GB): 128 GB unified, ~96 GB usable for model weights.
- Headroom: ~93 GB; it also fits FP16 for higher quality.

## How to run
Recommended quant: Q4_K_M. Best tool on macOS: LM Studio.

## Run SmolLM3 3B on other devices
- [Apple M1 (8GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/apple-m1-8gb)
- [8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/laptop-8gb)
- [iPhone 15 Pro](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/iphone-15-pro)
- [iPhone 16](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/iphone-16)
- [iPhone 16 Pro](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/iphone-16-pro)
- [Generic Android Phone (8GB RAM)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/android-generic-8gb)

## Other models that run on Apple M4 Max (128GB)
- [gpt-oss 120B (117B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gpt-oss-120b/apple-m4-max-128gb)
- [Llama 4 Scout (109B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/llama-4-scout/apple-m4-max-128gb)
- [Sarvam-105B (105B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/sarvam-105b/apple-m4-max-128gb)
- [Qwen2.5 72B (72B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/qwen2.5-72b/apple-m4-max-128gb)
- [Llama 3.3 70B (70B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/llama-3.3-70b/apple-m4-max-128gb)
- [Mixtral 8x7B (46.7B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/mixtral-8x7b/apple-m4-max-128gb)

Estimate, not a guarantee. Sources: https://huggingface.co/unsloth/SmolLM3-3B-GGUF, https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B.
More: https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/apple-m4-max-128gb