Best local LLMs for the Apple iPad Pro 11-inch / 13-inch (M5) (16 GB RAM)

Each list assumes the context that task needs, so a model that fits for chat may rank lower for long documents.

General chat at 8K context

  1. 76Great quality (A) · 76 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 90/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q4_K_M · 21.4 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 78Great quality (A) · 78 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 89/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 12B Q4_K_M · 16.1 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 73Great quality (A) · 73 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 9B Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 72Great quality (A) · 72 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 9B Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well

Coding at 32K context

  1. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 89/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q5_K_M · 52.1 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  2. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 89/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B Q4_K_M · 20.5 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q5_K_M · 38.2 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 87/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron Labs Dory 1.0 4B Q5_K_M · 40.1 tok/s · Runs great

Reasoning at 32K context

  1. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 89/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q5_K_M · 52.1 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  2. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 89/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B Q4_K_M · 20.5 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q5_K_M · 38.2 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 72Great quality (A) · 72 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 9B Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well

Documents (RAG) at 32K context

  1. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 42.9 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 73Great quality (A) · 73 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 9B Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 72Great quality (A) · 72 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 9B Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 E4B Q4_K_M · 42.9 tok/s · Runs great

Agents & tools at 64K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 89/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 42.9 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 61.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 88/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B Q4_K_M · 20.5 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 87/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Spark-X2.6 4B Q5_K_M · 38.8 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 60Good quality (B) · 60 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 85/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiniCPM5 2B Q8_0 · 39.0 tok/s · Runs great

Reverse engineering at 32K context

  1. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q5_K_M · 52.1 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  2. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B Q4_K_M · 20.5 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 74Great quality (A) · 74 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 83/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. SenseNova Loop 9B Preview Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 83/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 42.9 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 73Great quality (A) · 73 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 83/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 9B Q4_K_M · 20.0 tok/s · Runs well

Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.

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