audio model · whisper · iOS
Can I run Whisper small on iPhone 17?
Yes. Whisper small runs on iPhone 17 at fp16 (whisper.cpp) (~0.85 GB of ~4.5 GB usable).
Runs at fp16 (whisper.cpp) using ~0.85 GB of ~4.5 GB usable.
- Peak memory
- ~0.85 GB
- Usable on device
- ~4.5 GB
- Device memory
- 8 GB
- Quant
- fp16 (whisper.cpp)
How to run it
Use whisper.cpp or faster-whisper at fp16 (whisper.cpp). It is light enough to run on CPU; a GPU just makes it faster.
- Type
- Speech to text
- Parameters
- 244M
- Peak memory
- ~0.85 GB at fp16 (whisper.cpp)
- License
- MIT
- Memory
- 8 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~4.5 GB
- Best runtime
- llama.cpp + Metal (via PocketPal or Off Grid app)
You could also run
Run Whisper small on other hardware
FAQ
Can iPhone 17 run Whisper small?
Yes. Whisper small runs on iPhone 17 at fp16 (whisper.cpp) (~0.85 GB of ~4.5 GB usable).
How much memory does Whisper small need?
iPhone 17 has room to spare. At fp16 (whisper.cpp) the realistic peak is ~0.85 GB of memory.
What do I use to run Whisper small locally?
Whisper small runs in whisper.cpp or faster-whisper (among others). It runs on CPU, so no GPU is required.
Sources
VRAM figures are sourced peak-usage anchors at the noted quant, validated 2026-06-15. See methodology.