Apple A13 Bionic vs Apple A12X Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Apple A13 Bionic or Apple A13 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 A13 Bionic features 6 processor cores and has the capability to manage 6 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2019 and belongs to the 13 generation of the Apple A series series.
The Apple A12X Bionic features 8 processor cores and has the capability to manage 8 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2018 and belongs to the 12 generation of the Apple A series series.
Apple A13 Group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z
13 Generation 12
Apple A13 Bionic Name Apple A12X Bionic
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A series Family Apple A series
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A13 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 2.65 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 A12X Bionic has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 2.49 GHz.
1.8 GHz B-Core Frequency 1.59 GHz
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
2x Lightning Cores A 4x Vortex
6 CPU Cores 8
No Overclocking No
No Hyperthreading No
2.65 GHz A-Core Frequency 2.49 GHz
4x Thunder Cores B 4x Tempest
6 Threads 8
 
 

Internal Graphics

The Apple A13 Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A13 Bionic uses the Apple A13, 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 A12X Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A12X Bionic uses the Apple A12X, which has 448 texture shaders
and 56 execution units.
-- GPU (Turbo) --
7 nm Technology 7 nm
-- Direct X --
4.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 6.0 GB
32 Execution units 56
Q3/2019 Release date Q3/2018
Apple A13 GPU name Apple A12X
256 Shaders 448
1.35 GHz GPU frequency 1.34 GHz
10 Generation 9
-- Max. displays --
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

8 Neural cores @ 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 h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode VP8 Decode / Encode
Decode VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode JPEG Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode AVC Decode
No AV1 No
 
 

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 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.
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory type LPDDR4X-4266
34.1 GB/s Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No AES-NI No
No ECC No
pci PCIe pci
4.0 GB Max. Memory 6.0 GB
1 Memory channels 2
 
 

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 15 W watts.
6 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- Tjunction max --
 
 

Technical details

The Apple A13 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 A12X Bionic is manufactured using a 7 nm process.
None Virtualization None
7 nm Technology 7 nm
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
ISA extensions
-- Part Number --
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Q3/2019 Release date Q3/2018
-- Release price --
8.0 MB L2-Cache 8.0 MB
Technical data sheet Documents Technical data sheet
0 bytes L3-Cache 0 bytes
Socket
iOS Operating systems iOS
A13 (Lightning / Thunder) Architecture A12
 
 

Benchmarks

Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12X Bionic in leaderboards