# Apple OpenELM 3B: RAM and VRAM requirements

> Apple OpenELM 3B is a 3B OpenELM model. At Q4_K_M it needs about **3 GB** to run and fits **40 of 40** tracked devices. Minimum to run: Apple M1 (8GB).

Last validated: 2026-08-03. Sources: Ollama, HuggingFace GGUF repos, vendor specs.

## Memory by quantization
| Quant | On disk | To run (4k context) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Q4_K_M | 1.76 GB | ~3 GB |
| Q8_0 | 3.01 GB | ~4.2 GB |
| FP16 | 6.07 GB | ~7.3 GB |

Memory = weights + KV cache + ~0.8 GB runtime overhead, and varies ±15% with context length.

## Will it run on my device?
- **Apple M1 (8GB)** (8 GB): Yes, it runs (room for Q8_0)
- **iPhone 17** (8 GB): Yes, it runs (room for Q8_0)
- **iPhone 17 Pro** (12 GB): Yes, it runs (room for FP16)
- **16GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only)** (16 GB): Yes, it runs (room for FP16)
- **Google Pixel 10 Pro** (16 GB): Yes, it runs (room for FP16)
- **Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 (24GB)** (24 GB): Yes, it runs (room for FP16)
- **Apple M4 Pro (48GB)** (48 GB): Yes, it runs (room for FP16)
- **Apple M3 Ultra (256GB)** (256 GB): Yes, it runs (room for FP16)

Full table of all 40 devices: https://localmodel.run/model/openelm-3b

## How to run
Use LM Studio (Mac/Windows) or Ollama / vLLM (Linux).

## Details
- Parameters: 3B
- Default context: 2k tokens
- License: apple-amlr (commercial use: no)
- Released: 2024-04
- HuggingFace: 311 downloads/mo, 130 likes

## FAQ
### How much VRAM or RAM does Apple OpenELM 3B need?
About 3 GB at Q4_K_M (weights 1.76 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. Budget ~4.2 GB for Q8_0.
### Can Apple OpenELM 3B run on a laptop?
Yes. Apple OpenELM 3B fits on a 16 GB laptop or Mac at Q4_K_M, and runs on Apple Silicon or a 12 GB+ GPU comfortably.
### Can I use Apple OpenELM 3B commercially?
No: apple-amlr license; non-commercial / research use only..

Sources: https://huggingface.co/apple/OpenELM-3B, https://huggingface.co/mradermacher/OpenELM-3B-GGUF/tree/main, https://huggingface.co/spongeman/OpenELM-3B-Instruct-Q4_K_M-GGUF/tree/main, https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.14619
More: https://localmodel.run/model/openelm-3b