Can I run it?
Can I run gemma 4 12b it on Apple M4 Pro?
Runs
Runs fully in unified memory on your Apple M4 Pro at UD-Q8_K_XL, 8K context, about 8.9–12 tok/s. Weights 12.7 GB plus 0.81 GB of KV cache — 13.9 GB of 18.0 GB usable. Up to 64K context still fits.
Best quantUD-Q8_K_XL
Working context8K
Max that fits64K
Speed8.9–12 tok/s
Weights12.7 GB
KV cache0.81 GB
Total13.9 GB
Usable18.0 GB
gemma 4 12b it details · Apple M4 Pro page · How this estimate is made
Run commands
llama.cpp
llama-server -hf unsloth/gemma-4-12b-it-GGUF:UD-Q8_K_XL -c 8192 -ngl 48
Ollama
ollama run gemma
LM Studio
lms get unsloth/gemma-4-12b-it-GGUF # Then load quant UD-Q8_K_XL
Assumptions
- Estimate, not a benchmark. Decode speed uses a memory-bandwidth model at 55–75% of peak.
- KV cache is FP16. Engine overhead assumes llama.cpp (0.3 GB + 1% of the weights). Ollama is closer to 0.9 GB + 3%, LM Studio closer to 1 GB + 3%.
- UD-Q8_K_XL size is the real GGUF file size from Hugging Face.
- Unified memory uses 75% for the GPU by default, and always leaves about 5 GB for the OS.
- Speed is quoted at 8K context, not at the maximum context that still fits.
Larger models that also fit
- Can I run Qwen3.8 27B on Apple M4 Pro? — Tight fit, UD-Q4_K_XL, 8.3–11 tok/s
- Can I run Qwen3.6 35B A3B on Apple M4 Pro? — Tight fit, UD-IQ4_XS, 88–120 tok/s
- Can I run Qwen3.8 35B A3B Distill on Apple M4 Pro? — Tight fit, Q3_K_M, 90–123 tok/s
Updated 2026-10-17. Profile on this page is the device default.