Can Llama 3.1 8B run on Nothing Phone (4a) Pro?
YES — Runs, barely
Grade B · 68/100 · formula estimate
What this means
Our estimate says Llama 3.1 8B should fit, but replies are likely to arrive slowly.
Download the Q4_K_M version, which is about 4.9 GB. We expect it to use about 6.3 GB of the roughly 9 GB available to a model on this phone.
At the estimated speed, a roughly 300-word answer may take about 2 minutes to finish.
This result is calculated from the phone and model specifications. It has not been measured on this exact phone and setup.
3.1tokens/s
estimated · reading pace
6.3GB
needed at Q4_K_M
Q4_K_M
quant checked
B
grade · 68/100
needs 6.3 GBusable 9 GB
Snapdragon 7 Gen 412 GB RAMCPU / GPUalso sold with 8 GB
Make it bearable
1
Drop context to 2K — saves ~0.3 GB of KV cache and a little speed.
2
Close every other app before loading — the 2.7 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 3.1 tokens/s — reading pace. A ~300-word reply takes about 129 seconds on this phone.
Where the memory goes
| Component | Detail | GB |
|---|---|---|
| Model weights | Q4_K_M GGUF (4.9 GB) + mmap overhead | 5.1 |
| KV cache | 4K context window | 0.6 |
| Runtime | llama.cpp + app overhead | 0.6 |
| Total needed | at Q4_K_M, 4K context | 6.3 |
| Usable on Nothing Phone (4a) Pro | 12 GB RAM − Android system reserve | 9 |
| Headroom | left for the OS and your other apps | 2.7 |
Pick your quant
| Quant | Download | Verdict | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.2 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~4.7 tokens/s |
| Q3_K_M | 4 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~3.8 tokens/s |
| IQ4_XS | 4.4 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~3.4 tokens/s |
| Q4_0 | 4.7 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~3.2 tokens/s |
| Q4_K_S | 4.7 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~3.2 tokens/s |
| Q4_K_M BEST HERE | 4.9 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~3.1 tokens/s |
| Q5_K_M | 5.7 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~2.7 tokens/s |
| Q6_K | 6.6 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~2.3 tokens/s |
| Q8_0 | 8.5 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 "Llama 3.1 8B Q4_K_M" in the in-app model hub — 4.9 GB, use Wi-Fi. Search Hugging Face for
bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF and pick the Q4_K_M file.3
Set context to 4K — expect ~3.1 tokens/s on this phone.
Related checks
MORE ON NOTHING PHONE (4A) PRO
LLAMA 3.1 8B ON OTHER PHONES