Use cases
Four workflows you can run
One dedicated physical Mac, configured for the task. These are usage examples, not customer stories or performance tests.
Indie developersTYO · Arm Line M4 · Daily
Code in Flutter by day, sign and upload at night
Write Flutter code on Windows during the day. At night, connect to a Tokyo host over VNC, check signing in Xcode, create an archive, and upload it to TestFlight. Keep your everyday development environment where it is.
Sync your source code and dependency lockfiles, then prepare your signing certificate and provisioning profile. Keep the build log from your first release; automate repeat steps with Fastlane.
Flutter → Xcode archive → TestFlight
CI teamsSG · Arm Line M4 · Monthly
Register your dedicated host as a runner
Register the host as a GitHub Actions self-hosted runner. Trigger an archive on each PR and send the build to internal distribution. GitLab Runner can use the same native macOS environment.
Use job labels to separate toolchains and restrict repository access. Store caches separately from build artifacts. Determine concurrency through project testing; don’t use job count as a substitute for resource planning.
runs-on: [self-hosted, macOS, ARM64]
AI experimentsSEL · Arm Grid M4 Pro · Daily
Test models with 64GB of unified memory
Use MLX on the M4 Pro / 64GB / 2TB configuration to test inference with quantized 7B–13B models and LoRA fine-tuning. Export weights and logs when you’re done, then end your rental through the order workflow.
Whether a model fits depends on quantization, context length, and training parameters. Start with a small sample to check memory use, then scale up. Model parameter count alone does not guarantee a fit.
mlx_lm.lora --train --iters 600
Audio and video workflowsUSE · Arm Grid M4 Pro · Weekly
Export projects in the cloud, send masters back
Use +2TB SSD storage for Final Cut or Logic project assets, and consider Thunderbolt 5 linking where your workflow calls for it. Prepare software licenses, plugins, and media dependencies in advance.
Connecting multiple devices doesn’t automatically distribute render jobs across apps. Check how your software handles collaboration, verify export settings, then transfer the master and project archive.
+2TB SSD $13.2/week · TB5 linking $4.5/week/device