Apple M4 (16GB Unified)
16 GB Unified · 120 GB/s
From
$599
Estimated street price
Unified Memory
16 GB
Bandwidth
120 GB/s
TDP
22W
Models
24
Tier
Capable
The Apple M4 (16GB Unified) with 16 GB unified memory can handle 24 AI models across chat, coding, ai_coding. Best performance: Llama 3.2 1B Instruct at 45 tok/s (excellent). For AI coding workflows, it supports the Capable AI Coding tier, handling single model workflows well. Current price: approximately $599.
Source: OwnRig methodology
16 GB
120 GB/s
Unified
22W
10
Mac Mini, MacBook Pro 14", MacBook Air 13", MacBook Air 15", iPad Pro
Builder Capability: Capable AI Coding
Runs 16-22B coding models comfortably, or 32B at reduced quality. Handles single model workflows well.
Inference Backends
The software stacks that matter most for real-world inference on this device.
Metal
productionPrimary Apple Silicon backend across MLX and llama.cpp workloads.
What it can run
24 models| Arcee Trinity Mini 26B | Q3_K_M | 8 tok/s | Not viable |
| Arcee Trinity Nano 6B | Q8_0 | 26 tok/s | Good |
| DeepSeek V3 | Q2_K | – | Not viable |
| Gemma 3 27B | Q4_K_M | – | Not viable |
| Gemma 3 4B | Q5_K_M | 19 tok/s | Good |
| Gemma 4 26B-A4B | Q3_K_M | 8 tok/s | Not viable |
| Gemma 4 31B | Q3_K_M | 1 tok/s | Not viable |
| Gemma 4 E2B | Q8_0 | 18 tok/s | Acceptable |
| Gemma 4 E4B | Q8_0 | 11 tok/s | Marginal |
| GigaChat Lightning 10B | Q8_0 | 44 tok/s | Acceptable |
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | Q8_0 | 16 tok/s | Good |
| Llama 3.2 11B Vision | Q8_0 | 14 tok/s | Good |
| Llama 3.2 1B Instruct | Q8_0 | 45 tok/s | Excellent |
| Llama 3.2 3B Instruct | Q8_0 | 30 tok/s | Excellent |
| NVIDIA Nemotron-3-super-120B-A12B | Q2_K | – | Not viable |
| Phi-4 Mini | Q8_0 | 28 tok/s | Good |
| Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B Instruct | Q4_K_M | – | Not viable |
| Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B Instruct | Q5_K_M | 18 tok/s | Good |
| Qwen3.5-122B-A10B | Q3_K_M | – | Not viable |
| Qwen3.5-27B | Q3_K_M | 20 tok/s | Acceptable |
| Qwen3.5-397B (MoE) | Q2_K | – | Not viable |
| Qwen3.6-27B | Q3_K_M | 20 tok/s | Acceptable |
| Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large | FP16 | – | Acceptable |
| Whisper Large V3 Turbo | FP16 | – | Good |
Showing 24 of 24 entries
Available in these Machines
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What AI models can Apple M4 (16GB Unified) run?
- The Apple M4 (16GB Unified) can run 24 AI models. Top performers include Llama 3.2 1B Instruct, GigaChat Lightning 10B, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct. See the full compatibility table above for speeds and quality ratings.
- Is Apple M4 (16GB Unified) good for AI coding?
- Yes. With 16 GB, the Apple M4 (16GB Unified) handles single-model coding workflows well at the Capable tier.
- How much memory does Apple M4 (16GB Unified) have?
- The Apple M4 (16GB Unified) has 16 GB of unified memory with 120 GB/s bandwidth.
- Can Apple M4 (16GB Unified) run 70B models?
- 70B models can run on the Apple M4 (16GB Unified) with CPU offloading, but performance will be reduced. Consider a device with 48GB+ inference memory for full-speed 70B inference.
- Is Apple M4 (16GB Unified) worth it for AI?
- At $599, the Apple M4 (16GB Unified) offers 16 GB unified memory and runs 24 AI models. It works for smaller models and experimentation.
Own this GPU?
See every AI model it supports, expected performance, and how to build around it.
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