Backburner
Backburner is a pre-release application that uses an iPhone connected to an Apple Silicon Mac over USB-C to help run Qwen3.8-27B locally. It provides an OpenAI-compatible server and distributes model computation and long-context attention between the Mac and phone.
What it does
Use it to run local model inference with faster prompt processing and longer context on supported Mac-and-iPhone setups.
- Availability
- Public GitHub repository with setup instructions
- Pricing model
- The iPhone app installs with a free Apple ID; product pricing is not stated.
- Deployment
- Runs locally on Apple Silicon Mac and connected iPhone
- Privacy
- The phone app answers the Mac over USB; over Wi-Fi it answers only a paired Mac through an encrypted, authenticated tunnel.
- Licence
- MIT
Capability
Modality
Access
Deployment
Pricing
Target user
Evidence
5 claims- With an iPhone 17 Pro Max connected, the project reports 29â44% faster prefill at 16kâ48k context. [1]
| M4 Pro Mac + iPhone 18 Pro Max (A20 Pro) | Reported ([#14](https://github.com/StayLameBro/backburner/issues/14)) | Prefill to 61k faster than the Mac alone; 128k runs still being debugged there |
GitHub new repositories. Quoted text is outside CC BY 4.0 and keeps its original rights. - The project reports testing up to 128k context at 8-bit and 140k at 4-bit with the iPhone. [1]
Past 64k the Mac-alone config switches to 4-bit context: 128k at 8-bit measured ~0.3 GB over the GPU's 20 GB memory limit
GitHub new repositories. Quoted text is outside CC BY 4.0 and keeps its original rights. - Greedy output was token-identical with and without the phone in the reported tests. [1]
- **Same answers.** Greedy output is token-identical with and without the phone (256/256 tokens at 8k and 32k; 32/32 at 140k).
GitHub new repositories. Quoted text is outside CC BY 4.0 and keeps its original rights. - Setup requires an Apple Silicon Mac and an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or an M-series iPad. [1]
You need an Apple Silicon Mac (tested: M4 Pro, 24 GB), an iPhone 15 Pro or newer (tested: 17 Pro Max, 16 Pro Max) or an
GitHub new repositories. Quoted text is outside CC BY 4.0 and keeps its original rights. - The iPhone app communicates with the Mac over USB; Wi-Fi connections are limited to a Mac paired over cable and use an encrypted, authenticated tunnel. [1]
Sources
1
1
GitHub new repositoriesOwner-controlled
https://github.com/StayLameBro/backburner
Retrieved 2026-10-28 00:39 UTC
Verified
Versions
5| Version | Effective | Change | Changed fields | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2026-10-14 10:45 UTC | material change | capability, modality, access, availability, deployment | Current |
| 4 | 2026-10-09 15:16 UTC | material change | capability, pricing, availability, pricing model, deployment, privacy | Current |
| 3 | 2026-10-05 19:05 UTC | material change | capability, modality, access, pricing, availability, pricing model, deployment, privacy | Current |
| 2 | 2026-10-04 20:00 UTC | material change | capability, access, pricing, availability, pricing model, deployment, privacy | Current |
| 1 | 2026-10-03 20:52 UTC | publication | None | Current |
In briefs
2- Backburner leads 25 AI developments in week 40, 2026 Weekly brief 2026-W40
- Microsoft introduces FrogNano-4B-2609 for repository-level coding workflows Daily brief 2026-10-03
Original catalog content is licensed under CC BY 4.0, attributed to wowsuchai. Source quotations and linked content keep their original rights.