Apple A12 Bionic vs Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Apple A12 Bionic or Apple A12 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 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.
The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) features 6 processor cores and has the capability to manage 6 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2021 and belongs to the 15 generation of the Apple A series series.
Apple A12/A12X/A12Z Group Apple A15
12 Generation 15
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A12 Bionic Name Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple A series Family Apple A series
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

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.
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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 3.23 GHz.
6 Threads 6
1.59 GHz B-Core Frequency 2.02 GHz
6 CPU Cores 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
2x Vortex Cores A 2x Avalanche
No Hyperthreading No
2.49 GHz A-Core Frequency 3.23 GHz
No Overclocking No
4x Tempest Cores B 4x Blizzard
 
 

Internal Graphics

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.
The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) uses the Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores), which has 1024 texture shaders
and 128 execution units.
256 Shaders 1024
Q3/2018 Release date Q3/2021
7 nm Technology 5 nm
-- Direct X --
4.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 8.0 GB
-- Max. displays --
32 Execution units 128
1.13 GHz GPU frequency 0.6 GHz
9 Generation 12
-- GPU (Turbo) --
Apple A12 GPU name Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores)
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 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 / Encode h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode AVC Decode
Decode / Encode h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
 
 

Memory & PCIe

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.
The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 6.0 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
4.0 GB Max. Memory 6.0 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 6 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 8.5 W watts.
6 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 8.5 W
-- Tjunction max --
 
 

Technical details

The Apple A12 Bionic is manufactured using a 7 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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) is manufactured using a 5 nm process.
In total, this processor boasts a generous 32.0 MB cache.
Q3/2018 Release date Q3/2021
None Virtualization None
ISA extensions
7 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
-- Release price --
A12 Architecture A15
0 bytes L3-Cache 32.0 MB
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 16.0 MB
 
 

Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) in leaderboards