Can Gemma 4 E4B run on Pixel 9a?
YES — Runs, barely
Grade B · 58/100 · formula estimate
What this means
Our estimate says Gemma 4 E4B should fit, but there is very little memory left for the operating system and other apps.
Download the Q4_0 version, which is about 4.8 GB. We expect it to use about 5.9 GB of the roughly 6 GB available to a model on this phone.
At the estimated speed, a roughly 300-word answer may take about 63 seconds to finish.
This result is calculated from the phone and model specifications. It has not been measured on this exact phone and setup.
6.4tokens/s
estimated · reading pace
5.9GB
needed at Q4_0
Q4_0
quant checked
B
grade · 58/100
needs 5.9 GBusable 6 GB
Google Tensor G48 GB RAMCPU / GPU
Make it bearable
1
Drop context to 2K — saves ~0.2 GB of KV cache and a little speed.
2
Close every other app before loading — the 0.1 GB headroom is real; Android may kill the app otherwise.
3
Expect throttling after ~10 min of sustained generation on a phone chassis.
See how fast it feels
Estimated at 6.4 tokens/s — reading pace. A ~300-word reply takes about 63 seconds on this phone.
Where the memory goes
| Component | Detail | GB |
|---|---|---|
| Model weights | Q4_0 GGUF (4.8 GB) + mmap overhead | 5 |
| KV cache | 4K context window | 0.3 |
| Runtime | llama.cpp + app overhead | 0.6 |
| Total needed | at Q4_0, 4K context | 5.9 |
| Usable on Pixel 9a | 8 GB RAM − Android system reserve | 6 |
| Headroom | left for the OS and your other apps | 0.1 |
Pick your quant
| Quant | Download | Verdict | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3_K_M | 4.1 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~7.5 tokens/s |
| IQ4_XS | 4.7 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~6.5 tokens/s |
| Q4_0 BEST HERE | 4.8 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~6.4 tokens/s |
| Q4_K_S | 4.8 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~6.4 tokens/s |
| Q4_K_M | 5 GB | ✕ Won't fit | won't fit |
| Q5_K_M | 5.5 GB | ✕ Won't fit | won't fit |
| Q6_K | 7.1 GB | ✕ Won't fit | won't fit |
| Q8_0 | 8.2 GB | ✕ Won't fit | won't fit |
Get it running in 3 steps
1
Install PocketPal from the Play Store — free, no account needed.
2
Download "Gemma 4 E4B Q4_0" in the in-app model hub — 4.8 GB, use Wi-Fi. Search Hugging Face for
unsloth/gemma-4-E4B-it-GGUF and pick the Q4_0 file.3
Set context to 4K — expect ~6.4 tokens/s on this phone.
Related checks
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