Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
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Apple A12Z Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

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The Apple A12Z Bionic and the Apple A12 Bionic are System-on-a-Chip (SoC) processors developed by Apple, based on the same A12 architecture.

The Apple A12 Bionic was designed for mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. The Apple A12Z Bionic, however, targeted professional users in more powerful iPad Pro models. Both chips are manufactured using a 7nm process. The Apple A12Z Bionic differs with an expanded graphics unit and significantly higher memory bandwidth of 68 GB/s, compared to 34 GB/s for the Apple A12 Bionic.

In single-core performance, both processors are comparable. However, the multi-core performance of the Apple A12Z Bionic is considerably superior, especially in demanding applications. This performance increase and the stronger graphics unit enable the Apple A12Z Bionic to deliver significantly better performance in gaming scenarios and graphics-intensive tasks.

Both are designed to be energy-efficient. The Apple A12Z Bionic can consume more power under full load but is also optimized for efficient heat dissipation. As integrated components, they do not have separate market prices. For users who need maximum performance for professional applications and demanding gaming, the Apple A12Z Bionic is the clear recommendation.

The Apple A12 Bionic offers solid and efficient performance for daily use and general mobile applications.

Apple A12Z Bionic

  • Superior multi-core performance
  • Stronger graphics unit
  • Higher memory bandwidth (68 GB/s)
  • For professional applications and demanding gaming

Apple A12 Bionic

  • Solid single-core performance
  • Efficient for everyday tasks
  • Good performance for general mobile applications
  • Lower power consumption under light load

Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks

Single-core performance
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple A12Z Bionic
Rank 2 - 97 %
Apple A12 Bionic
Multi-core performance
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple A12Z Bionic
Rank 2 - 55 %
Apple A12 Bionic
Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
1,351
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz
1,286
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
4,798
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz
2,353
Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core

Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
1,124
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz
1,116
Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core

Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
4,718
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz
2,731
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A12Z
1,152
Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A12
576
AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
717,401 pts
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz
425,605 pts
AI performance (NPU)

AI performance (NPU)

Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
5.0 TOPS
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz
5.0 TOPS

More benchmarks

At a glance

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
FamilyApple A series (27)Apple A series (27)
CPU groupApple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)
ArchitectureA12A12
Technology7 nm7 nm
SegmentSmartphone / TabletSmartphone / Tablet
Socket
PredecessorApple A10X FusionApple A11 Bionic
SuccessorApple A13 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
CPU Cores / Threads8 / 86 / 6
Hyperthreading / SMT
Core architecturehybrid (big.LITTLE)hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core Cluster 1: 4x Vortex
2.49 GHz
2x Vortex
2.49 GHz
Core Cluster 2: 4x Tempest
1.59 GHz
4x Tempest
1.59 GHz
L2-Cache8.00 MB8.00 MB
L3-Cache
Overclocking

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
GPU nameApple A12ZApple A12
GPU frequency1.13 GHz1.13 GHz
CUs / Shader32 / 51216 / 256
Raytracing
Max. displays11
Max. GPU Memory6 GB4 GB
Technology7 nm7 nm
Release dateQ1/2020Q3/2018

NPU AI performance

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
AI hardwareApple Neural EngineApple Neural Engine
AI specifications8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS
NPU + CPU + iGPU

Memory & PCIe

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
MemoryLPDDR4X-4266 (68.2 GB/s)
LPDDR4X-4266 (34.1 GB/s)
Max. Memory6 GB4 GB
Memory channels21
ECCNoNo
PCIe
PCIe Bandwidth

Thermal Management

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
TDP15 W6 W
TDP (PL2)
TDP up
TDP down
T. junction max.

Technical details

Wischen
Apple A12Z BionicApple A12 Bionic
Chip designChipletChiplet
AES-NI
Operating systemsiOSiOS
Instruction setArmv8-A (64 bit)Armv8-A (64 bit)
ISA extensions
Release dateQ1/2020Q3/2018
Release price
Documents

Your rating

Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Apple A12Z Bionic is 4.2 stars (85 ratings), while Apple A12 Bionic has received 3.4 stars (106 ratings).

Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.

Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A12 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.49 GHz

Most popular CPUs in both categories

Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A12Z Bionic
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