Can I Run Aya Expanse on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated October 8, 2024

Yes

Yes — Aya Expanse 32B at Q6_K needs about 28.6 GB of the 36 GB usable on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB) (~7.4 GB spare), at ~10.7 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 32,768 tokens of context.

Confidence: high · Recommended quantization: Q6_K · Estimated speed: ~10.7 tok/s

MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models36 GB
Memory bandwidth546 GB/s
Form factorLaptop
Operating systemmacOS
Memory upgradeableNo — soldered
Price$3,999 (lib/data/laptops.ts (street price), checked 2026-07-06)

Aya Expanse on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB): memory by quantization

QuantMemory neededFits 36 GB?Max contextEst. speedDownload
F1666.7 GB✗ No64.6 GB
Q8_036.5 GB✗ No34.3 GB
Q6_K28.6 GB✓ Yes32K~10.7 tok/s26.5 GB
Q5_K_M25 GB✓ Yes64K~12.2 tok/s22.9 GB
Q4_K_M21.6 GB✓ Yes64K~14.2 tok/s19.5 GB
Q3_K_M15.9 GB✓ Yes64K~19.5 tok/s13.8 GB
Q2_K12.8 GB✓ Yes64K~24.6 tok/s10.6 GB

Which Aya Expanse sizes fit

VariantNeeds at Q4_K_MFits?Est. speed
Aya Expanse 32B21.6 GB✓ Fits~14.2 tok/s
Aya Expanse 8B6.7 GB✓ Fits~47.6 tok/s

What to watch out for

MacBook Pro M4 Max 48 GB limitations

Recommended setup

Ollama or LM Studio (Metal) — MLX for the fastest Apple-native throughput

How these numbers are calculated

FAQ

Can I run Aya Expanse on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Yes — Aya Expanse 32B at Q6_K needs about 28.6 GB of the 36 GB usable on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB) (~7.4 GB spare), at ~10.7 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 32,768 tokens of context.

Which quantization of Aya Expanse should I use on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Q6_K — it needs about 28.6 GB of the 36 GB available, downloads as roughly 26.5 GB, and runs at an estimated 10.7 tokens/sec with up to 32K of context.

What limits Aya Expanse on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Nothing binding — the model fits with headroom and generates at a usable speed on this hardware.

Which runtime should I use?

Ollama or LM Studio (Metal) — MLX for the fastest Apple-native throughput

Other Computers

Other Models on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)

Aya Expanse on GPUs

What This Model Is Good At

Model & Tools

← Can I Run It? | Aya Expanse model page | Check your hardware