# MLC Chat — Chat with Open Language Models > Local chat with open language models on mobile devices. (iPhone/iPad app by Tianqi Chen.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Tianqi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1684828246) - Category: Productivity, Developer Tools - Price: Free - Rating: 4.24/5 from 78 App Store ratings · 63 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 17+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 1.7 GB - Languages: English - Released: 2023-05-31 - Data updated: 2026-08-19 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews.md ## What is MLC Chat? MLC Chat lets users chat with open language models locally on ipads and iphones. After a model is downloaded to the app, everything runs locally without server support, and it works without internet connections do not record any information. Because the models run locally, it only works for the devices with sufficient VRAM depending on the models being used. MLC Chat is part of open source project MLC LLM, with allows any language model to be deployed natively on a diverse set of hardware backends and native applications. MLC Chat is a runtime that runs different open model architectures on your phone. The app is intended for non-commercial purposes. It allows you to run open-language models downloaded from the internet. Each model can be subject to its respective licenses. ## Key features - Local AI model chat - Offline functionality - No internet required - Privacy-focused - Open-source project integration - Downloadable language models ## What do users think of MLC Chat? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 🚀 Runs fast locally - ✅ Works offline - 💰 Free to use - 👍 Easy to use - 💡 Supports various LLM models - 📱 Great on newer iPhones - ✨ Impressive proof of concept **Cons** - ⚠️ Limited model selection - 📉 High VRAM requirements - 📱 Incompatible with older devices - ❌ Crashes on some devices/models - 🗄️ Cannot save conversations - 🔄 Download/upload features removed/broken - 🐌 Slow updates/downloads **Commonly reported bugs** - Phi model crashes on iOS 26.0.1 17 Pro Max - App crashes on iPad Pro 4th Gen, iPadOs 17.7 - RedPajama model crashes app on initialization - Update is extremely slow - Download model button disabled in new version - RedPajama model crashes, custom model download removed - App closes when hitting send on iPhone 13 - Conversation resets when app is backgrounded - Vicuna and Mistral 7B models cause crashes - Some 7b q4f16/q4f32 models crash on iPhone 15 Pro - App crashes on iPhone 13 mini - Cannot load other models from URL - Crash on iPhone 12 - Severe heating and frequency reduction on A15 - Low VRAM failed initialization on 3GB LP DDR4X phone - Cannot run 4bit model on iPhone 15 with 8GB RAM - Loading models from HF MLC official Repo causes crashes **Most requested features** - Ability to import custom models (from URL/Hugging Face) - Support for more specific models (DeepSeek, Phi-2, Gemma 2B/7B, MoE Mixtral 8x7B, LLaVA) - History of conversations - iOS shortcuts support - Ability to export entire responses - Information on VRAM requirements per phone/model - Ability to change system message/create custom profiles - Ability to edit responses and system prompt - Add coffee support - Delete downloaded models - Change settings per model (repetition penalties, temperature) - How-to guide for importing/recompiling LLMs - Estimate model compatibility before download - Support for CN and ZH languages ## Recent user reviews (10 of 63) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Nope *2026-06-09, version 1.6* Overly censored and a waste of time. I get done censorship, but when you over censor everything, you become useless!!! Try putting rules in place to block the underage and allow the adults to be adults and make their own decisions. If kids gain access, that’s the parent’s fault! We shouldn’t have to suffer because people don’t know how to correct their bad behaved children! ### 5/5 — Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy on your phone *2026-03-28, version 1.6* Amazing. Offline researching soil Ph levels in the Scottish Cairngorms! ### 3/5 — Pre-Selected Models *2026-02-01, version 1.6* Look it works so I’ll give it that but you can only use one of 5 models. Maybe it’s hard to code the ability to import others but add that and it’s 5 stars ### 4/5 — Phi is broken and crashes *2025-10-05, version 1.6* It’s a great app it’s very nice on 17 pro max but phi does always crash on iOS 26.0.1 17 pro max. Might just be on this phone but I never got this model to work. Everything else works perfectly though ### 1/5 — No point *2025-04-06, version 1.6* This app allows you to download only 4 very small open source models. LLM Farm is what you people are looking for not this ### 4/5 — Good *2025-03-09, version 1.6* It works ### 4/5 — Completely offline, no subscription! *2025-01-28, version 1.6* I love that it’s completely offline, with local inference and that there’s no subscription. But, it’d be a lot cooler with two additional features: (a) history of conversations and (b) ability to use the LLMs in iOS shortcuts ### 5/5 — Awesome! *2025-01-27, version 1.6* MLC Chat is awesome! It offers great chat models like Llama, Gemma, Phi, and Mistral, and the app runs smoothly with quick responses. It’s super easy to use and really fun to interact with. The only thing I’d love to see is support for DeepSeek R1 1.5b and 3b to make it even better. Highly recommend! ### 4/5 — It runs really fast! *2025-01-17, version 1.6* can you add some features like model download/switch; serving with openai-like api? ### 4/5 — Crashes on iPad Pro 4th Gen, iPadOs 17.7 *2024-10-21, version 1.6* I’ve heard good things about this app. And I’d really love to try these carefully selected smallLLMs, unfortunately the App crashes on my machines, an iPad Pro 4th Generation. There is a blank window with some text, a startup message “System initialize…” then the screen disappears. This happen with all language models I’ve downloaded. Waiting for the next version. ## Frequently asked questions about MLC Chat ### What does MLC Chat do? MLC Chat allows you to chat with open language models directly on your iPad and iPhone. Once a model is downloaded, all processing happens locally on your device, meaning it works without an internet connection and without recording any information. ### How does MLC Chat ensure privacy? The app ensures privacy by running all language models locally on your device. This means no data is sent to servers, and no information is recorded, providing a secure and private chat experience. ### Is MLC Chat free to use? Yes, MLC Chat is a free application. It is part of an open-source project and is intended for non-commercial purposes, allowing users to download and run various open-language models. ### What are the device requirements for MLC Chat? Because the language models run locally, the app requires devices with sufficient VRAM. The specific VRAM needed will depend on the size and complexity of the models you choose to download and use. ### Can I use MLC Chat offline? Absolutely. Once you have downloaded a language model to the app, MLC Chat operates entirely locally. This means you can chat with the AI models without needing an internet connection. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.6 — 2024-09-27 This version include llama 3.2 3b ### 1.5 — 2024-08-02 This version features gemma2 2b ### 1.4 — 2024-06-24 This version features the latest LLMs, phi3, mistral v3 and qwen2 ### 1.2 — 2023-12-16 This version add mistral support ### 1.1 — 2023-07-20 This version brings llama2 support (need latest iphone). We still recommend RedPajama for devices with less VRAM ## Apps similar to MLC Chat | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [OpenCat - AI Chat, Agent, MCP](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opencat-ai-chat-agent-mcp/id6445999201) | 4.6 (837) | Free | Productivity | | [Local Brain](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-brain/id6476066730) | 1.3 (6) | Free | Productivity | | [Pal Chat - AI Chat Client](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pal-chat-ai-chat-client/id6447545085) | 4.3 (417) | Free | Productivity | | [PocketGPT: Private AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocketgpt-private-ai/id6479569299) | 4.4 (17) | Free | Productivity | | [Locally AI by LM Studio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/locally-ai-by-lm-studio/id6741426692) | 4.7 (1,486) | Free | Productivity | | [Enclave - Local AI Assistant](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/enclave-local-ai-assistant/id6476614556) | 4.7 (1,029) | Free | Productivity | ## Related topics [mlc llm](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mlc-llm) · [mlc chat](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mlc-chat) · [rfsm](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/rfsm) · [mlc](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mlc) · [llm farm](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/llm-farm) · [bigwig language center](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bigwig-language-center) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*