Apple M1 Max — Local LLM Performance & Compatibility

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026

The original Apple Silicon powerhouse — up to 64 GB unified memory. 82 t/s on 8B models, 22 t/s on 70B Q4. Still excellent in 2025. Available as used MacBook Pro M1 Max for $800–1,200.

Technical Specifications

VRAM64 GB unified memory
Memory Bandwidth400 GB/s
TDP30 W
ArchitectureARM, 5nm TSMC
Release Year2021
MSRP at Launch$3,499
Inference Speed (Llama 3.1 8B Q4_K_M)24–49 tok/s (estimated)
Inference Speed (Llama 3.3 70B Q4_K_M)3.2–6.7 tok/s (estimated)
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Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max
Launch MSRP: $3,499
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
Check price on Amazon

LLMs Compatible with 64 GB Unified Memory

All models below run comfortably in 64 GB unified memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

Llama 3.3Llama 3.3 70B Instruct · 43 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run llama3.3
Llama 3.1 FamilyLlama 3.1 8B Instruct · 6 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run llama3.1
DeepSeek R1DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B · 20 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run deepseek-r1:32b
Qwen 3Qwen 3 32B · 21 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run qwen3:32b
Gemma 3Gemma 3 27B Instruct · 17 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run gemma3:27b
Mistral Small 3.1Mistral Small 3.1 24B · 15 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run mistral-small3.1
Phi-4 FamilyPhi-4 (14B) · 9 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run phi4

Best Use Cases

Quick Start with Ollama

Install Ollama then run the recommended model for this GPU:

ollama run llama3.3:70b

FAQ

Can the Apple M1 Max run local LLMs?

Yes — the Apple M1 Max has 64 GB unified memory and runs The original Apple Silicon powerhouse — up to 64 GB unified memory. 82 t/s on 8B models, 22 t/s on 70B Q4. Still excelle

How fast is the Apple M1 Max for AI inference?

The Apple M1 Max is estimated to run Llama 3.1 8B at 24–49 tok/s with Q4_K_M quantization. For Llama 3.3 70B the estimate is 3.2–6.7 tok/s. These are modelled estimates, not measurements — see /en/methodology.

What LLMs can I run on 64 GB VRAM?

With 64 GB you can run: Llama 3.3, Llama 3.1 Family, DeepSeek R1, Qwen 3, Gemma 3. Use Ollama for the easiest setup: ollama run llama3.3:70b.

Can I Run It? — Apple M1 Max

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