Apple A11 Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

The Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A11 Bionic are System-on-a-Chips (SoCs) developed by Apple for mobile devices.

They serve as the central processing unit for a variety of applications in smartphones and tablets. The Apple A12 Bionic (codename A12) is manufactured using a 7-nm fabrication process, while the Apple A11 Bionic (codename A11) utilizes a 10-nm process. Both processors employ a Big.LITTLE architecture with a combination of high-performance and energy-efficient cores to optimize battery life.

Both have an 8 MB Level 2 Cache. In single-core and multi-core performance, the Apple A12 Bionic offers significantly higher performance than the Apple A11 Bionic, which is due to architectural improvements and the finer fabrication process. The Apple A11 Bionic still delivers solid performance for most typical applications.

For gaming scenarios, the Apple A12 Bionic is superior due to its integrated graphics unit (Apple A12) and overall better processor performance, leading to smoother gaming experiences. The integrated graphics unit of the Apple A11 Bionic (Apple A11) offers lower performance. Both have a memory bandwidth of 34 GB/s.

Thanks to the 7-nm fabrication process, the Apple A12 Bionic is more energy-efficient, consumes less power, and generates less heat than the 10-nm Apple A11 Bionic. This can positively impact battery life. Since these are integrated SoCs, no separate market prices are available; the price-performance ratio depends on the specific end device.

The Apple A12 Bionic is the more powerful and energy-efficient processor, ideal for demanding applications and gaming. The Apple A11 Bionic offers good performance for everyday tasks and is a more cost-effective option in older devices.