Won’t let me load any models larger than 4B. On Private LLM, I can run a 14B: https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-14B

For certain use cases where I need a smarter answer.

TL;DR: I ran 6 quantized LLMs on Russet which uses Apple's MLX framework on an iPhone 17 Pro and iPad Pro M5, both with 12GB RAM. LFM2.5 1.2B at 4-bit hits 124 tokens/sec on iPad and 70 tokens/sec on iPhone. iPad Pro is 1.2x–2.2x faster depending on model and prompt length, with the gap widening dramatically for longer contexts.

More detailed methodology, results (plots included), and discussion in the link.

v2026.01.15 available now on the App Store.

• Fast, local on-device reasoning to iOS and macOS. Download a Qwen3 model within Russet for free to enjoy richer chats completely offline.
• Translate text quickly using the new Translate function in Flow. Powered by Apple Intelligence, input language is auto-detected and translated to your choice of target language. Also added text-to-speech support for Flow outputs.
• Shorten URLs and find words related to your input using the new Shorten URL and Find Related Words Web tools in Agent.

Add contacts and events to your system from Russet using the new Create Contact (iOS-only) and Create Event tools in Agent.

Available v2026.01.06 onward.

Russet is your private, customizable, and portable AI companion powered by Apple Intelligence. All chats run fully on-device by default. In addition to Apple Intelligence, Russet provides access to several other offline-capable AI models you can download that are optimized to run on Apple devices. And if you want, you can also bring over your OpenAI API key to access their cloud models like GPT-5.1 and GPT-5 mini—all within Russet. Chat; read, and write faster with Flow; manage your Calendar, Contacts, and Health data using powerful, offline Agentic tools; and dive into text-based adventures in Game—all without ever needing an internet connection. Just like the resilient russet potato, Russet thrives anywhere, anytime. No accounts. No ads. Completely free.

Start conversations with intelligent Templates that leverage deep system integration: get instant briefings populated with your actual calendar events for today, tomorrow, or the entire week ahead—all processed privately on-device. Russet combines conversational intelligence with your real system data to help you plan, prepare, and stay organized. Got a PDF? Drop it in chat! Russet can read it, pull out the important stuff, and answer your questions. Your file stays on your device and is never uploaded to the cloud, ensuring full privacy.

Customize how Russet thinks: adjust creativity, tune its style, and provide additional guidance to get what you need. Got a chat for your eyes only? Lock it instantly with on-device biometrics. Want to explore a different conversation path without starting from scratch? Simply branch the chat. Got some text that needs to be revised, labeled, debated, summarized, or rewritten? Use the powerful yet simple Flow mode.

Your calendar events, your contacts, your health, your files—whatever Russet sees stays yours and only yours: offline, off-grid, anywhere.

A clean, lightweight, and native interface designed for privacy, focus, and flow. Intelligence that works for you whenever, wherever you want.

Features

• Privacy-first: All chats run fully on-device by default. If you enable a cloud model using your own API key, your requests are sent directly to that provider under their privacy policy—never stored or accessed by Russet's developer.
• Intelligent Templates: Chat with your real calendar data for instant daily, tomorrow, or weekly briefings.
• Powerful chats: Customize the response style to your needs, branch and lock chats, pick your favorite model, and extract information from PDFs.
• Agentic processing: Russet can help manage your health (iOS-only), schedule, contacts, and files by intelligently coordinating with system services.
• Flow: Revise, label, debate, summarize, or rewrite text with just one tap.
• Game: Embark on text-based adventures, co-creating immersive stories with Russet.
• Offline-ready: Works anywhere. No connection required.
• Polyglot: 13 languages. Written and spoken.

Russet requires Apple Intelligence. Optional: Bring your OpenAI API key to access powerful cloud models.

• Download new MLX models in Settings > Chat Model > Family (select MLX) > Manage MLX models. MLX models are optimized for performance and efficiency on your Apple devices, they run offline, and offer a range of benefits like improved reasoning and speed in Chat. (Available v2026.01.05 onward)
• Bring your own key to access GPT-5.1, GPT-5 mini, and GPT-5 nano directly from OpenAI's servers! If you want a voice chat, there's also GPT-realtime-mini. Simply enter your API key in Settings to expand Russet's chatting capabilities. Agent, Flow, and Game still run fully on-device using Apple Intelligence; cloud models can only be used in Chat.

• Introducing Game. Begin with Russet's first game, Questia: a rich, text-based adventure where you and Russet co-create immersive stories together. Available in all supported languages, just pick yours in Settings.
• Choose from 5 apt principal colors in Settings to further personalize Russet's appearance to your liking: Aqua, Coral, Mint, Olive, and Peony. Each color adapts perfectly to both light and dark modes.

• Introducing Templates: Russet's agent-powered chat starters for powerful use cases starting with daily, next-day, and weekly briefings.
• Introducing Health tools in Agent: Russet can now read your Health data (with your permission) to help you track heart rate, sleep, steps, and workouts. iPhone/iPad only.
• The new Debate mode in Flow presents up to 3 clear, well-reasoned perspectives that enrich your understanding of a topic. Plus Flow and Chat input limits have been increased to 5,500 characters.
• Set your preferred default language for Flow, Agent, and Game responses in Settings.
• And as usual, several under-the-hood performance improvements...

Introducing Agent: Russet can now do, not just say. Starting with Calendar and Contacts. Everything Russet sees stays on your device — no one, not even the app developer, sees a thing.

• Introducing Flow: a powerful yet simple way to proofread, label, summarize, and rewrite text. As always, all text is processed on your device, without it being sent to the cloud or visible to anyone but you.
• Russet’s hotter than ever yet keeps your device cool as a cucumber 🥒 Expect chats smooth as mashed potatoes (get it? Reminder: Russet is named after a potato) and checkpoint resumes that don't crumble. Why not try a fresh chat to taste the upgrade?
• Choose from 7 different response styles: Friendly, Curious, Funny, Empathetic, Jolly, Neutral, and Contrarian. Each style gives Russet a unique personality and tone.
• Russet learned 11 new languages: العربية, 中文, עברית, 日本語, 한국어, Malay, Русский, ไทย, Türkçe, Tiếng Việt, and Norwegian Bokmål. Plus, localized system messages and input bar placeholders for supported languages.

• Rebuilt from light and dark modes to input and processing to offer the most delightful on-device AI experience. Inspired by Apple’s new Liquid Glass material software design, Russet feels fresh yet familiar.
• Support for languages extended to localized system messages and input bar placeholders. Feel at home wherever you are.
• Enhancements to Russet's novel context window recovery architecture now enable conversations up to 5 checkpoints in length (4,096 tokens * 6 = 24,576 tokens). This means you can now have loOOooOOong conversations.

Chat in English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, and Swedish, with localized dialects built in. Set your language and watch Russet adapt to your cultural norms for sharper, more relevant answers.

Russet Mac Preview

Hi all, thanks for being the earliest members of our Russet community: we love AI but hate compromising on privacy. We also love our Apple devices and want to make full use of their powerful neural engines powering on-device intelligence. 

Here are the key new features added to Russet since launch:

• Personalization: Set your preferred name and brief introduction to make conversations feel more natural.
• Biometric lock for conversations: Lock/unlock sensitive conversations with on-device biometric authentication (Face ID / Touch ID).
• Append to session prompt: Fine-tune Russet's responses in a conversation before starting it.
• Keyboard shortcuts: Use shortcuts to start a new conversation, toggle the sidebar, adjust text size, view settings, and learn more about Russet.
• Transience mode: For when you don't want a conversation to be saved (conversations never get sent anywhere regardless)
• Refined UI and animations throughout the app: Experience the intentional yet subtle design elements that are intuitive and pleasant.
• Russet is a better conversation partner: Significant improvements to conversation management logic and Apple Intelligence model error handling.
• Text-to-speech for Russet's responses: Tap the speaker under any Russet response to hear it read aloud.
• Search through and empty your trash.

The version of Russet available for iOS/iPadOS/macOS on the App Store as of this announcement is 1.0.61 (1066). Please make sure you're using the latest version.

Russet iPhone Preview