Fastest published Mac-family result
MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch maps to 30.0 tok/s from the strongest published chip-family row for Qwen 3 235B-A22B.
Canonical Rankings
Best Macs for this model
Qwen 3 235B-A22B ranked across the Mac lineup at the best practical quantization, using the best available runtime evidence. Historical baseline selected; model picker is focused on current-market choices.
Historical baseline selected: Qwen 3 235B-A22B. Default model choices remain current-market; other historical models stay hidden.
| Rank | Mac | Score | Quant | Tok/s | Runtime | Fits | Headroom | Context | Evidence | Price | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB | 241 | Q6_K | 27.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 27.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated | MLX | Fits | 73.0 GB | 105k | Estimated | $7,499 | Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 27.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 73.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization. |
| 2 | Mac Pro M2 Ultra 192GB | 198 | Q5_K_M | 26.4 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q5_K_M · 26.4 tok/s · MLX · Estimated | MLX | Fits | 32.8 GB | 19k | Estimated | $6,999 | Q5_K_M is the current best practical quantization. 26.4 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 32.8 GB headroom remains at this quantization. |
| 3 | Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB | 169 | Q3_K_L | 30.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q3_K_L · 30.0 tok/s · LM Studio · Estimated | LM Studio | Fits | 25.2 GB | 25k | Estimated | $4,499 | Q3_K_L is the current best practical quantization. 30.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 25.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization. |
| 4 | MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB 16-inch | 169 | Q3_K_L | 30.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q3_K_L · 30.0 tok/s · LM Studio · Estimated | LM Studio | Fits | 25.2 GB | 25k | Estimated | $5,999 | Q3_K_L is the current best practical quantization. 30.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 25.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization. |
| 5 | Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB | 148 | mlx-dynamic-2.7bpw | 26.4 tok/s Fastest evidence path: mlx-dynamic-2.7bpw · 26.4 tok/s · MLX · Estimated | MLX | Fits | 18.7 GB | 20k | Estimated | $3,999 | mlx-dynamic-2.7bpw is the current best practical quantization. 26.4 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 18.7 GB headroom remains at this quantization. |
| 6 | MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch | 121 | Q3_K_L | 18.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q3_K_L · 18.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated | Ollama | Fits | 25.2 GB | 25k | Estimated | $5,399 | Q3_K_L is the current best practical quantization. 18.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 25.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization. |
| 7 | Mac Mini M4 16GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -863.2 GB | — | Estimated | $499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Mini M4 16GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 8 | Mac Mini M4 24GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -855.2 GB | — | Estimated | $599 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Mini M4 24GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 9 | Mac Mini M4 32GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -847.2 GB | — | Estimated | $799 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Mini M4 32GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 10 | MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -863.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,099 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 11 | MacBook Air M4 24GB 13-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -855.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,299 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Air M4 24GB 13-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 12 | MacBook Air M4 16GB 15-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -863.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,299 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Air M4 16GB 15-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 13 | Mac Mini M4 Pro 24GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -855.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,399 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Mini M4 Pro 24GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 14 | MacBook Air M4 32GB 13-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -847.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Air M4 32GB 13-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 15 | MacBook Air M4 24GB 15-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -855.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Air M4 24GB 15-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 16 | Mac Mini M4 Pro 48GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -831.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,599 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Mini M4 Pro 48GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 17 | MacBook Air M4 32GB 15-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -847.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,699 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Air M4 32GB 15-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 18 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 14-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -855.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,999 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 14-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 19 | Mac Studio M4 Max 36GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -843.2 GB | — | Estimated | $1,999 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Studio M4 Max 36GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 20 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 14-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -831.2 GB | — | Estimated | $2,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 14-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 21 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 16-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -855.2 GB | — | Estimated | $2,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 16-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 22 | Mac Studio M4 Max 48GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -831.2 GB | — | Estimated | $2,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Studio M4 Max 48GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 23 | MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -843.2 GB | — | Estimated | $2,999 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 24 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 16-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -831.2 GB | — | Estimated | $2,999 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 16-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 25 | Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -815.2 GB | — | Estimated | $2,999 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB at the current practical quantization. |
| 26 | MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 14-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -831.2 GB | — | Estimated | $3,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 14-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 27 | MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 16-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -843.2 GB | — | Estimated | $3,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 16-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 28 | MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 16-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -831.2 GB | — | Estimated | $3,999 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 16-inch at the current practical quantization. |
| 29 | MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB 16-inch | 0 | F32 | — | MLX | No | -815.2 GB | — | Estimated | $4,499 | Qwen 3 235B-A22B does not fit on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB 16-inch at the current practical quantization. |
Qwen 3 235B-A22B Apple Silicon benchmark and best Macs
Start with the ranked Mac table above, then audit tokens per second, RAM fit, quantization, runtimes, and source links before trusting the model on your Mac.
Quantizations observed: 3bit, 4bit, Q4, Q4_K - Medium
8Benchmark rows
6Chip tiers covered
30.0Fastest avg tok/s (M4 Max (128 GB))
100 GBMinimum RAM observed
Quick take
Fastest published result is 30.0 tok/s on M4 Max (128 GB) at 3bit. Smallest published fit is 100.0 GB on M4 Max (128 GB). Longest published context on this page is 10k. Published runtimes include LM Studio, MLX, Ollama. Start with Rankings for the decision, then use the raw rows below to audit the evidence.
Based on 8 external benchmarks; no lab runs yet.
Published runtimes: LM Studio, MLX, Ollama.
Best Mac shortlist
These are ranked by the fastest published Qwen 3 235B-A22B result available for each Mac's chip family. Use them as the search answer, then open the machine page before buying.
Shortlist rank 2
MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 14-inch maps to 30.0 tok/s from the strongest published chip-family row for Qwen 3 235B-A22B.
Shortlist rank 3
MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 16-inch maps to 30.0 tok/s from the strongest published chip-family row for Qwen 3 235B-A22B.
Model search answers
How fast is Qwen 3 235B-A22B on Mac?
Qwen 3 235B-A22B currently has a fastest published Mac result of 30.0 tok/s on M4 Max (128 GB) at 3bit. Check the raw rows on this page before comparing that number to a different runtime, quantization, or context length.
What is the best Mac for Qwen 3 235B-A22B?
MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch is the fastest published Mac-family answer for Qwen 3 235B-A22B on this page right now, at 30.0 tok/s from its chip family. Treat that as a published benchmark starting point, not a universal buying recommendation.
Does Qwen 3 235B-A22B fit on Apple Silicon?
Qwen 3 235B-A22B has a smallest published fit of 100.0 GB on M4 Max (128 GB). More memory may still be required for longer context, different quantization, or parallel workloads.
Catalog record
235.1BTotal params
22BActive params
131,072Context window
2025-04-29Release date
This is a reference-only model record. It remains useful for historical benchmarks, migration checks, and audit context, but it is excluded from current frontier packs.
What this model is, and what Apple Silicon users are actually seeing
Official model cards tell you what the model is for and which software stacks it targets. Field reality below shows how much Apple Silicon evidence we have so far.
Official brief
Uniquely support of seamless switching between thinking mode (for complex logical reasoning, math, and coding) and non-thinking mode (for efficient, general-purpose dialogue) within single model, ensuring optimal performance across various scenarios.
Official source · Raw model card
agentscodingreasoning
Runtime support mentioned
MLXllama.cppOllamavLLMSGLangTransformersKTransformers
Official specs
- Type: Causal Language Models.
- Scale: 235B in total and 22B activated.
- Context: 32,768 natively and 131,072 tokens with YaRN.
- Total parameters: 235B in total and 22B activated.
- Max input: 32,768 natively and 131,072 tokens with YaRN.
Official takeaways
- Sampling Parameters: - For thinking mode (enable_thinking=True), use Temperature=0.6, TopP=0.95, TopK=20, and MinP=0. DO NOT use greedy decoding, as it can lead to performance degradation and endless repetitions.
- Adequate Output Length: We recommend using an output length of 32,768 tokens for most queries.
- Standardize Output Format: We recommend using prompts to standardize model outputs when benchmarking.
- Multiple-Choice Questions: Add the following JSON structure to the prompt to standardize responses: "Please show your choice in the answer field with only the choice letter, e.g., "answer": "C"."
Official model cards describe intent, capabilities, and supported stacks. They do not prove Apple Silicon speed by themselves.
Field reality on Apple Silicon
Qwen 3 235B-A22B: 5 Apple Silicon field reports; best reported generation ~30 tok/s; seen on MacBook Pro M4 MAX 128GB, Mac Studio 512GB, M2 ULTRA 192GB; via MLX, LM Studio.
8Benchmark rows
5Field reports
6Practitioner signals
Sparse BenchmarksEvidence status
What practitioners keep saying
- One operator reports running the 3-bit DWQ quant on a 128GB MacBook Pro only after closing nearly everything else.
- This is real Apple Silicon usage, but it is clearly a stretch-tier setup rather than a comfortable default.
- The owner reports Qwen3-235B-A22B at 27.36 tok/sec with 1.73s to first token on a 512GB Mac Studio in LM Studio.
Apple Silicon field sources
Qwen 3 235B-A22B is already being stretched onto 128GB Apple laptops, but only as a high-friction top-end experiment.
A 512GB Mac Studio report turns Qwen 3 235B-A22B from theoretical fit into real Apple Silicon throughput at an interactive top-end tier.
Top-end Apple Silicon owners are already using low-quant Qwen 3 235B-A22B as a retained model choice, not only as a one-time stunt.
Ultra-class Apple desktops can run Qwen 3 235B-A22B at genuinely interactive speed, not just as a memory-fit stunt.
A direct M4 Max 128GB report says Qwen 3 235B-A22B can move from stretch-fit theory into genuinely interactive Apple laptop throughput, at least for shorter prompts.
1 more Apple Silicon field source tracked in the research queue.
Runtime mentions in the field
LM StudioMLXOllama
Hardware mentioned in reports
128GBM3 UltraM4MacMac StudioMacBookMacBook Pro
What would improve confidence
- Reproduce Field Performance Signal
- Upgrade To First Party Measurement
Current published coverage
Published chip coverage includes M4 Max (128 GB), M3 Ultra (512 GB), M3 Ultra (256 GB), M2 Ultra (192 GB), M4 Ultra (192 GB) plus 1 more chip tier. Fastest published row is 30.0 tok/s on M4 Max (128 GB) at 3bit. Lowest published RAM requirement is 100.0 GB on M4 Max (128 GB). Catalog context window is 10k.
Related Qwen 3 models with published pages: Qwen 3 32B · Qwen 3 30B-A3B · Qwen 3 4B · Qwen 3 8B · Qwen 3 14B · Qwen 3 0.6B
Raw benchmark rows for Qwen 3 235B-A22B
Rows stay below the ranking because this page is answer-first. Use them to inspect exact chips, quantizations, runtimes, and sources.
| Chip | Quant | Avg tok/s | Runtime | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M4 Max (128 GB) | 3bit | 30.0 tok/s | MLX | ref |
| M3 Ultra (512 GB) | 4bit | 27.4 tok/s | LM Studio | ref |
| M3 Ultra (256 GB) | Q4 | 27.0 tok/s | MLX | ref |
| M2 Ultra (192 GB) | Q4 | 26.4 tok/s | MLX | ref |
| M4 Ultra (192 GB) | Q4_K - Medium | 22.0 tok/s | MLX | ref |
| M5 Max (128 GB) | Q4_K - Medium | 18.0 tok/s | MLX | ref |
| M5 Max (128 GB) | Q4_K - Medium | 15.0 tok/s | Ollama | ref |
| M4 Max (128 GB) | Q4_K - Medium | 8.1 tok/s | LM Studio | ref |
Chips with published results for Qwen 3 235B-A22B
Data
benchmarks.json — full dataset · models.json — model summaries · benchmarks.csv — CSV export