You don’t need a super expensive piece of hardware to run powerful AI models. Plenty of AI companies are working to make their local models optimized for phones. Bonsai 27B is the first 27B class model to run on a phone. It is based on Qwen 3.6. As PrismML explains, a 27B model occupies 54GB or so in 16-bit precision and 18GB with a 4-bit build, just too big for a phone. This model is available in two variants and run on your phone:
• Ternary Bonsai 27B: 5.9 GB, 1.71 effective bits per weight, optimized for laptop-class quality.
• 1-bit Bonsai 27B: 3.9 GB, 1.125 effective bits per weight, optimized for phone-class footprint.
Today, we’re announcing Bonsai 27B: the first 27B-class model to run on a phone.
Bonsai 27B is the new multimodal flagship of the Bonsai family. Based on Qwen3.6 27B, it brings a new capability tier to local AI: multi-step reasoning, structured tool use, long-context workflows,… pic.twitter.com/8N0sdU04D2
— PrismML (@PrismML) July 14, 2026
Everything is open sourced under Apache 2.0 license.
