Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 vs Apple A13 Bionic

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 – 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 features 8 processor cores and has the capability to manage 8 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q4/2018 and belongs to the 6 generation of the Qualcomm Snapdragon series.
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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855/860 Group Apple A13
6 Generation 13
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Name Apple A13 Bionic
Mobile Segment Mobile
Qualcomm Snapdragon Family Apple A series
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 2.84 GHz.
The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.
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.
Processors with hybrid (big.LITTLE) architecture strike a balance between performance and power efficiency, making them ideal for mobile devices.
2.42 GHz B-Core Frequency 1.8 GHz
hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
1x Kryo 485 Prime Cores A 2x Lightning
8 CPU Cores 6
4x Kryo 485 Silver Cores C None
No Overclocking No
1.8 GHz C-Core Frequency None
No Hyperthreading No
2.84 GHz A-Core Frequency 2.65 GHz
3x Kryo 485 Gold Cores B 4x Thunder
8 Threads 6
 
 

Internal Graphics

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 uses the Qualcomm Adreno 640, which has 384 texture shaders
and 4 execution units.
The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
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.
0.59 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
7 nm Technology 7 nm
12.0 Direct X --
4.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 4.0 GB
4 Execution units 32
Q1/2019 Release date Q3/2019
Qualcomm Adreno 640 GPU name Apple A13
384 Shaders 256
0.25 GHz GPU frequency 1.35 GHz
5 Generation 10
-- Max. displays --
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

-- AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 6 TOPS
-- 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
No VC-1 Decode
No JPEG Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No AVC Decode
No AV1 No
 
 

Memory & PCIe

The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 16.0 GB distributed across 4 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 55.3 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.
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory type LPDDR4X-4266
55.3 GB/s Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No AES-NI No
No ECC No
pci PCIe pci
16.0 GB Max. Memory 4.0 GB
4 Memory channels 1
 
 

Thermal Management

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.
None TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- Tjunction max --
 
 

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 is manufactured using a 7 nm process.
A smaller manufacturing process indicates a more contemporary and energy-efficient CPU.
In total, this processor boasts a generous 2.0 MB cache.
A substantial cache can significantly enhance the processor's performance, particularly in scenarios like gaming.
The Apple A13 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
SM8150 Part Number --
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Q4/2018 Release date Q3/2019
-- Release price --
1.8 MB L2-Cache 8.0 MB
Technical data sheet Documents Technical data sheet
2.0 MB L3-Cache 0 bytes
Socket
Android Operating systems iOS
Kryo 485 Architecture A13 (Lightning / Thunder)
 
 

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and Apple A13 Bionic in leaderboards