Can Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B run on MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB?

YES — Runs Great

C46Usable

○Estimated from fit model

Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B needs ~22.2 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB has 69.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~35 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: MediumStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced

Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.

Current mode

Balanced

Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 22.2 GB, 34.7 tok/s, Runs well

22.2 GB required69.1 GB available

32% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

34.7 tok/s

TTFT

5573 ms

Safe context

443K

Memory

22.2 GB / 69.1 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights9.2 GB

KV Cache1.8 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom10.4 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsPhi 4 reasoning vision 15B on MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step.

Given information:
 - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour)
 - Time = 2.5 hours

Formula: Distance = Speed x Time

Calculation:
 Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h
 = 150 miles

The train travels 150 miles.

Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time.

Breakdown:
 - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles
 - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance)
 - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles

Total distance: 150 miles (same)
Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours
Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph

The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 34.7 tok/s decode · 5.6s TTFT (warm) · 87 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs well	34.7 tok/s	3040 ms	443K
Coding	C	Runs well	34.7 tok/s	5573 ms	443K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	34.7 tok/s	8107 ms	443K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	34.7 tok/s	6587 ms	443K
RAG	C	Runs well	34.7 tok/s	10133 ms	443K

Quantization options

How Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B (15B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB (69.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	5.9 GB	Low	C40
Q3_K_S	3	7.4 GB	Low	C40
NVFP4	4	8.4 GB	Medium	C41
Q4_K_M	4	9.2 GB	Medium	C41
Q5_K_M	5	10.8 GB	High	C41
Q6_K	6	12.3 GB	High	C41
Q8_0	8	16.1 GB	Very High	C42
F16Best for your GPU	16	30.7 GB	Maximum	C45