Apple A12X Bionic vs Apple A16 Bionic (5-CPU 4-GPU)

The Apple A12X Bionic, introduced in late 2018, was designed for powerful tablets and aimed at professional mobile applications.

It is manufactured using the 7 nm process and utilizes the A12 architecture. This processor features an advanced CPU configuration and an integrated graphics unit named Apple A12X. Technically, it is equipped with an 8 MB L2 cache and achieves a maximum memory bandwidth of 68 GB/s. In terms of computing power, it offers solid single-core performance and good multi-core performance, even if it can no longer keep up with the latest chips.

For gaming, the integrated graphics unit delivers appealing performance for titles of its era. Power consumption is adequate for its generation, although performance per watt is surpassed in newer chips. It can be found in older iPad Pro models, offering an attractive price-performance ratio for the remaining performance.

The Apple A16 Bionic (5-CPU 4-GPU), launched in late 2022, is primarily intended for high-end smartphones and addresses demanding mobile computing.

It benefits from a more advanced 4 nm manufacturing process and is based on the A16 architecture. The chip integrates a configuration with 5 CPU cores and 4 GPU cores, with the graphics unit named Apple A16 (4 GPU Cores). For improved performance, a 20 MB L2 cache and a 24 MB L3 cache are present, while the maximum memory bandwidth is 51 GB/s.

This processor shows significantly higher single-core and multi-core performance and is excellently suited for current games and computationally intensive tasks thanks to its powerful graphics unit. The 4 nm process enables excellent energy efficiency, leading to lower power consumption and better performance stability.

It is built into newer devices that have a higher price point but offer state-of-the-art performance.