Can Phi-4 Mini 3.8B run on Nothing Phone (3a)?
YES — Runs, barely
Grade A · 72/100 · formula estimate
What this means
Our estimate says Phi-4 Mini 3.8B should fit, but replies are likely to arrive slowly.
Download the Q4_K_M version, which is about 2.5 GB. We expect it to use about 3.5 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 87 seconds to finish.
This result is calculated from the phone and model specifications. It has not been measured on this exact phone and setup.
4.6tokens/s
estimated · reading pace
3.5GB
needed at Q4_K_M
Q4_K_M
quant checked
A
grade · 72/100
needs 3.5 GBusable 9 GB
Snapdragon 7s Gen 312 GB RAMCPU / GPUalso sold with 8 GB
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 5.5 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 4.6 tokens/s — reading pace. A ~300-word reply takes about 87 seconds on this phone.
Where the memory goes
| Component | Detail | GB |
|---|---|---|
| Model weights | Q4_K_M GGUF (2.5 GB) + mmap overhead | 2.6 |
| KV cache | 4K context window | 0.3 |
| Runtime | llama.cpp + app overhead | 0.6 |
| Total needed | at Q4_K_M, 4K context | 3.5 |
| Usable on Nothing Phone (3a) | 12 GB RAM − Android system reserve | 9 |
| Headroom | left for the OS and your other apps | 5.5 |
Pick your quant
| Quant | Download | Verdict | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 1.7 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~6.8 tokens/s |
| Q3_K_M | 2.1 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~5.5 tokens/s |
| IQ4_XS | 2.2 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~5.2 tokens/s |
| Q4_0 | 2.3 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~5 tokens/s |
| Q4_K_S | 2.3 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~5 tokens/s |
| Q4_K_M BEST HERE | 2.5 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~4.6 tokens/s |
| Q5_K_M | 2.8 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~4.1 tokens/s |
| Q6_K | 3.2 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~3.6 tokens/s |
| Q8_0 | 4.1 GB | ! Runs, barely | ~2.8 tokens/s |
Get it running in 3 steps
1
Install PocketPal from the Play Store — free, no account needed.
2
Download "Phi-4 Mini 3.8B Q4_K_M" in the in-app model hub — 2.5 GB, use Wi-Fi. Search Hugging Face for
bartowski/microsoft_Phi-4-mini-instruct-GGUF and pick the Q4_K_M file.3
Set context to 4K — expect ~4.6 tokens/s on this phone.
Related checks
MORE ON NOTHING PHONE (3A)
PHI-4 MINI 3.8B ON OTHER PHONES