Apple A11 Bionic vs Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A11 Bionic CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)

CPU comparison

Apple A11 Bionic or Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Apple A11 Bionic has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.39 GHz. Up to 3 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A11 Bionic was released in Q3/2017.

The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.23 GHz. The CPU supports up to 6 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple A11 (1) CPU group Apple A15 (2)
11 Generation 15
A11 Architecture A15
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A10 Fusion Predecessor --
Apple A12 Bionic Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A11 Bionic is a 6 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.39 GHz. The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.23 GHz.

Apple A11 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6 Cores 6
6 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.39 GHz
2x Monsoon
A-Core 3.23 GHz
2x Avalanche
1.19 GHz
4x Mistral
B-Core 2.02 GHz
4x Blizzard

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Apple A11 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
2 Neural cores @ 0.6 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple A11 GPU Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores)
1.07 GHz GPU frequency 1.34 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
8 GPU Generation 12
10 nm Technology 5 nm
1 Max. displays 3
12 Compute units 16
192 Shader 512
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
3 GB Max. GPU Memory 6 GB
-- DirectX Version --

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.

Apple A11 GPU Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores)
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A11 Bionic supports a maximum of 3 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) can connect up to 6 GB of memory in 1 memory channels.

Apple A11 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
3 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
8.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 32.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple A11 Bionic has a TDP of 8 W, that of the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) is 7.25 W.

Apple A11 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7.25 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A11 Bionic has a 8.00 MB cache, while the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) cache has a total of 48.00 MB.

Apple A11 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
10 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems iOS
Q3/2017 Release date Q3/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A11 Bionic to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (4 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
932 (53%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
1745 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
2569 (54%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
4777 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
1093 (49%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
2245 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
1997 (37%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
5402 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
Apple A11 @ 1.07 GHz
409 (30%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores) @ 1.34 GHz
1370 (100%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
0.6 (4%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
15.8 (100%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
806250 (100%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
295465 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Apple A11 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.39 GHz
4360 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A11 Bionic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple iPhone 8
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
Apple iPhone X
Apple iPhone 13 mini
Apple iPhone 13

News and articles for the Apple A11 Bionic and the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)


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