Apple A12Z Bionic vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus

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CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Apple A12Z Bionic or Apple A12Z 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 A12Z Bionic features 8 processor cores and has the capability to manage 8 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q1/2020 and belongs to the 12 generation of the Apple A series series.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus features 8 processor cores and has the capability to manage 8 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2020 and belongs to the 7 generation of the Qualcomm Snapdragon series.
Apple A12/A12X/A12Z Group Qualcomm Snapdragon 865/870
12 Generation 7
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A12Z Bionic Name Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus
Apple A series Family Qualcomm Snapdragon
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A12Z Bionic has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 3.1 GHz.
None None 4x Kryo 585 Silver
8 Threads 8
1.59 GHz B-Core Frequency 2.42 GHz
8 CPU Cores 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
4x Vortex Cores A 1x Kryo 585 Prime
No Hyperthreading No
2.49 GHz A-Core Frequency 3.1 GHz
No Overclocking No
4x Tempest Cores B 3x Kryo 585 Gold
None None 1.8 GHz
 
 

Internal Graphics

The Apple A12Z Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A12Z Bionic uses the Apple A12Z, which has 512 texture shaders
and 64 execution units.
The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus uses the Qualcomm Adreno 650, which has 512 texture shaders
and 2 execution units.
512 Shaders 512
Q1/2020 Release date Q4/2019
7 nm Technology 7 nm
-- Direct X 12.0
6.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 0 bytes
-- Max. displays --
64 Execution units 2
1.34 GHz GPU frequency 0.25 GHz
9 Generation 6
-- GPU (Turbo) 0.67 GHz
Apple A12Z GPU name Qualcomm Adreno 650
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS AI specifications --
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI 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 6.0 GB distributed across 2 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 68.2 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, LPDDR5-5500
No ECC No
6.0 GB Max. Memory 16.0 GB
2 Memory channels 4
68.2 GB/s Bandwidth --
 
 

Thermal Management

The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 15 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 10 W watts.
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 10 W
-- Tjunction max --
 
 

Technical details

The Apple A12Z 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus is manufactured using a 7 nm process.
In total, this processor boasts a generous 3.0 MB cache.
Q1/2020 Release date Q3/2020
None Virtualization None
ISA extensions
7 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
-- Release price --
A12 Architecture Kryo 585
0 bytes L3-Cache 3.0 MB
iOS Operating systems Android
Technical data sheet Documents Technical data sheet
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
-- Part Number SM8250-AB
Socket
8.0 MB L2-Cache 2.0 MB