Apple A9 Benchmark, Test and specs

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CPU lineage

The Apple A9 features 2 processor cores and has the capability to manage 2 threads concurrently. It was released in Q3/2015 and belongs to the 9 generation of the Apple A series series.
Name: Apple A9
Family: Apple A series
Group: Apple A9/A9X
Segment: Mobile
Generation: 9

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A9 has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A9 is 1.85 GHz
CPU Cores: 2
Threads: 2
Cores: 2x Twister
Core architecture: normal
Hyperthreading: No
Overclocking: No
Frequency: 1.85 GHz

Internal Graphics

The Apple A9 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. Specifically, the Apple A9 uses the Apple A9, 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.
GPU name: Apple A9
GPU frequency: 0.65 GHz
GPU (Turbo): --
Execution units: 24
Shaders: 192
Max. GPU Memory: 4.0 GB
Max. displays: --
Generation: 6
Direct X: --
Technology: 16 nm
Release date: Q3/2015

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

Memory & PCIe

The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 2.0 GB distributed across 1 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
Memory type: LPDDR4-3200
Max. Memory: 2.0 GB
Memory channels: 1
Bandwidth: 25.6 GB/s
ECC: No
PCIe: pci
AES-NI: No

Thermal Management

The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 5 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.
TDP (PL1 / PBP): 5 W
TDP (PL2): None
TDP up: None
TDP down: None
Tjunction max: --

Technical details

The Apple A9 is manufactured using a 16 nm process. A smaller manufacturing process indicates a more contemporary and energy-efficient CPU. In total, this processor boasts a generous 4.0 MB cache. A substantial cache can significantly enhance the processor's performance, particularly in scenarios like gaming.
Technology: 16 nm
Chip design: Chiplet
Socket:
L2-Cache: 3.0 MB
L3-Cache: 4.0 MB
Architecture: A9
Operating systems: iOS
Virtualization: None
Instruction set (ISA): ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
ISA extensions:
Release date: Q3/2015
Release price: --
Part Number: --
Documents: Technical data sheet
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Benchmarks

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

Qualcomm Snapdragon 670
8C 8T @ 2.0 GHz
175698
175698
Samsung Exynos 8895
NoneC NoneT @ --
175045
175045
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
172160
172160
Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
8C 8T @ 2.0 GHz
171683
171683
Samsung Exynos 9610
8C 8T @ 2.3 GHz
171465
171465

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Intel Core i5-2435M
2C 4T @ 2.4 GHz
2060
2060
AMD Phenom II X2 B57
2C 2T @ 3.2 GHz
2060
2060
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
2053
2053
AMD A8-3500M
4C 4T @ 1.5 GHz
2052
2052
Intel Core i7-3517U
2C 4T @ 1.9 GHz
2031
2031

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 653
NoneC NoneT @ --
1026
1026
Intel Pentium G2010
2C 2T @ 2.8 GHz
1026
1026
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
1024
1024
Intel Pentium 3550M
2C 2T @ 2.3 GHz
1023
1023
AMD Athlon II X4 600e
4C 4T @ 2.2 GHz
1022
1022

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Intel Pentium G3440T
2C 2T @ 2.8 GHz
929
929
Intel Core i3-3120M
2C 4T @ 2.5 GHz
927
927
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
921
921
Intel Celeron G1850
2C 2T @ 2.9 GHz
920
920
Intel Core i3-4010Y
2C 4T @ 1.3 GHz
920
920

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Intel Core i5-3380M
2C 4T @ 2.9 GHz
632
632
Intel Xeon E5-2650 v2
8C 16T @ 2.6 GHz
632
632
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
632
632
Intel Xeon E5-2650 v2
8C 16T @ 2.6 GHz
632
632
Intel Core i5-3380M
2C 4T @ 2.9 GHz
632
632

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G
NoneC NoneT @ --
558
558
Intel Xeon Bronze 3204
6C 6T @ 1.9 GHz
558
558
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
558
558
Intel Xeon Bronze 3204
6C 6T @ 1.9 GHz
558
558
Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G
NoneC NoneT @ --
558
558

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

MediaTek Dimensity 930
8C 8T @ 2.2 GHz
250
250
Intel Core i5-2435M
2C 4T @ 2.4 GHz
250
250
Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
250
250
Intel Core i7-2920XM
4C 8T @ 2.5 GHz
250
250
Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 2.7 GHz
250
250