Gemma 2 on Apple M2 Pro · 32GB

✅ Runs (tight) — Gemma 2 27B @ Q3_K_M
Gemma 2 27B at Q3_K_M needs ~15.9 GB (weights 12.4 GB + KV 2.9 GB + overhead 635 MB @ 8K ctx) of your 18.4 GB usable (of 32.0 GB unified memory) — fits, but little headroom — close other apps or trim context. Expect ~7–11 tok/s (usable).
context @ Q3_K_M: comfortable to 4K · runs to its full 8K
quantneedsspeed
✗ Q8_031.2 GB—
~ Q5_K_M21.8 GB~0.6–1 tok/s (slow)
~ Q4_K_M19.0 GB~0.7–1 tok/s (slow)
✓ Q3_K_M15.9 GB~7–11 tok/s (usable)
$runlocal install gemma2:27b
runlocal verdict card
download card share on x share on reddit drop it in your model-drop post
Gemma 2: Runs (tight)
for your own README — links back here

Same model, other machines: Apple M1 · Apple M1 Pro · Apple M2 · Apple M3 Pro · Apple M4 Pro · Apple M3 Max

Also runs on a Apple M2 Pro: DeepSeek-R1 (distill) · Mistral Small 3 · Qwen3 · Llama 3.1 · Qwen2.5

Best models for a Apple M2 Pro · 32GB →

Architecturally similar

These share Gemma 2's KV-cache geometry — they size memory the same way, so here's how they fit on a Apple M2 Pro · 32GB too:

modelsharesverdict here
Gemma 4 8kv/256hd ✅ Runs (tight)
Gemma 3 16kv/128hd4kv/256hd8kv/256hd ✅ Runs (tight)
Falcon3 7B 4kv/256hd ✅ Runs comfortably

Check any combo yourself: open the checker →