Apple A11 Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Apple A11 Bionic or Apple A11 Bionic – which processor offers superior performance? In this comparison, we examine disparities and assess which of these two CPUs outperforms the other. We delve into technical specifications and benchmark outcomes.
The Apple A11 Bionic features 6 processor cores and has the capability to manage 6 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2017 and belongs to the 11 generation of the Apple A series series.
The Apple A12 Bionic features 6 processor cores and has the capability to manage 6 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2018 and belongs to the 12 generation of the Apple A series series.
Apple A11 Group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z
11 Generation 12
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A11 Bionic Name Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A series Family Apple A series
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A11 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 2.39 GHz.
The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.
Processors with hybrid (big.LITTLE) architecture strike a balance between performance and power efficiency, making them ideal for mobile devices.
The Apple A12 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 2.49 GHz.
6 Threads 6
1.19 GHz B-Core Frequency 1.59 GHz
6 CPU Cores 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
2x Monsoon Cores A 2x Vortex
No Hyperthreading No
2.39 GHz A-Core Frequency 2.49 GHz
No Overclocking No
4x Mistral Cores B 4x Tempest
 
 

Internal Graphics

The Apple A11 Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A11 Bionic uses the Apple A11, which has 192 texture shaders
and 24 execution units.
The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
The Apple A12 Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A12 Bionic uses the Apple A12, which has 256 texture shaders
and 32 execution units.
192 Shaders 256
Q3/2017 Release date Q3/2018
10 nm Technology 7 nm
-- Direct X --
3.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 4.0 GB
-- Max. displays --
24 Execution units 32
1.07 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
8 Generation 9
-- GPU (Turbo) --
Apple A11 GPU name Apple A12
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

2 Neural cores @ 0.6 TOPS AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
 
 

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.
Decode / Encode VP8 Decode / Encode
Decode VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode JPEG Decode / Encode
No AV1 No
Decode h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode AVC Decode
Decode / Encode h264 Decode / Encode
Decode VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
 
 

Memory & PCIe

The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 3.0 GB distributed across 1 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 34.1 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 4.0 GB distributed across 1 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 34.1 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
pci PCIe pci
No AES-NI No
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory type LPDDR4X-4266
No ECC No
3.0 GB Max. Memory 4.0 GB
1 Memory channels 1
34.1 GB/s Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
 
 

Thermal Management

The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 8 W watts.
TDP indicates the cooling solution needed to effectively manage the processor's heat. It generally provides an approximate indication of the actual power consumption of the CPU itself.
The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 6 W watts.
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- Tjunction max --
 
 

Technical details

The Apple A11 Bionic is manufactured using a 10 nm process.
A smaller manufacturing process indicates a more contemporary and energy-efficient CPU.
A substantial cache can significantly enhance the processor's performance, particularly in scenarios like gaming.
The Apple A12 Bionic is manufactured using a 7 nm process.
Q3/2017 Release date Q3/2018
None Virtualization None
ISA extensions
10 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
-- Release price --
A11 Architecture A12
0 bytes L3-Cache 0 bytes
iOS Operating systems iOS
Technical data sheet Documents Technical data sheet
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
-- Part Number --
Socket
8.0 MB L2-Cache 8.0 MB
 
 

Benchmarks

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
425605
425605
Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
295465
295465

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
4846
4846
Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
4360
4360

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2731
2731
Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
2569
2569

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2353
2353
Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
1997
1997

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1286
1286
Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
1093
1093

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1116
1116
Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
932
932