Apple A12X Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A12X Bionic CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12 Bionic

CPU comparison

Apple A12X Bionic or Apple A12 Bionic - 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 A12X Bionic has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.49 GHz. Up to 6 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple A12X Bionic was released in Q3/2018.

The Apple A12 Bionic has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.49 GHz. The CPU supports up to 4 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A12 Bionic was released in Q3/2018.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3) CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)
12 Generation 12
A12 Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A10X Fusion Predecessor Apple A11 Bionic
-- Successor Apple A13 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A12X Bionic is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.49 GHz. The Apple A12 Bionic has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.49 GHz.

Apple A12X Bionic Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
8 Cores 6
8 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.49 GHz
4x Vortex
A-Core 2.49 GHz
2x Vortex
1.59 GHz
4x Tempest
B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest

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 A12X Bionic Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 5 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 A12X GPU Apple A12
1.13 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
9 GPU Generation 9
7 nm Technology 7 nm
1 Max. displays 1
28 Compute units 16
448 Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 4 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 A12X GPU Apple A12
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode 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 A12X Bionic supports a maximum of 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A12 Bionic can connect up to 4 GB of memory in 1 memory channels.

Apple A12X Bionic Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
6 GB Max. Memory 4 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
8.00 MB L2 Cache 8.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple A12X Bionic has a TDP of 15 W, that of the Apple A12 Bionic is 6 W.

Apple A12X Bionic Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A12X Bionic has a 8.00 MB cache, while the Apple A12 Bionic cache has a total of 8.00 MB.

Apple A12X Bionic Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
7 nm Technology 7 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
Q3/2018 Release date Q3/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1124 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1116 (99%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4718 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2731 (58%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1341 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1286 (96%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4745 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2353 (50%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
Apple A12X @ 1.13 GHz
1008 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A12 @ 1.13 GHz
576 (57%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
713640 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
425605 (60%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
10921 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
4846 (44%)

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 A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
5 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
5 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
991 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4539 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple iPad Pro 2018 Apple iPhone XR
Apple iPhone XS
Apple iPhone XS Max
Apple iPad mini (5. Gen)
Apple iPad Air (3. Gen)

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