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Can the Apple M4 Max 128GB run Phi-4 Mini?
Yes โ here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
Phi-4 Mini on the Apple M4 Max 128GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 1619k | 48.9-58.9 t/s | ~0.9-1.1 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 1677k | 97.7-117.8 t/s | ~1.8-2.2 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 1702k | 174.5-210.4 t/s | ~3.2-3.9 (slow) |
Estimate (memory-bound). Beyond "max context" the KV cache spills to SSD swap and speed drops to the "beyond" figure.
FAQ
Can the Apple M4 Max 128GB run Phi-4 Mini?โถ
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~174.5-210.4 tok/s and fits up to 1702k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~3.2-3.9 tok/s.
How much context fits?โถ
At Q4, up to about 1702k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.