Run a Local LLM on Android: What RAM Tier You Need and Which Models Actually Work

TLDR: Modern Android flagships can run 7B parameter models locally. Here's the threshold, the app, and the one setting that matters. The setup I tested: ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB RAM. App: Off Grid. Model: Qwen 3 4B, Q4_K_M quantization. Speed: 15–30 tokens per second. Use case: lightweight workflow triggers without touching cloud tokens. RAM thresholds 6GB — 1B to 3B models. Technically works. Not practically useful for anything beyond autocomplete. 8GB + Snapdragon 8 Gen 2