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Apple A12Z Bionic vs Apple M3 (8-GPU)
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Summary
The Apple A12Z Bionic, introduced in 2020, was primarily designed for the iPad Pro as a mobile processor.
The Apple M3 (8-GPU), released in 2023, targets entry-level Mac models and delivers higher performance for desktop applications.
The Apple A12Z Bionic uses 7 nm manufacturing (A12 architecture), an 8-core GPU, and 8 MB L2 cache. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) uses 3 nm (M3 architecture), an 8-core GPU, and 20 MB L2 cache. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) shows significant superiority over the Apple A12Z Bionic in single-core and multi-core performance, leading to faster application performance.
For gaming, the Apple M3 (8-GPU) offers superior performance thanks to a more modern 8-core GPU and higher memory bandwidth (102 GB/s vs. 68 GB/s). The M3 also supports PCIe 4.0. Specific TDP figures are missing. However, the Apple M3 (8-GPU) is more energy-efficient than the 7 nm Apple A12Z Bionic due to its 3 nm manufacturing process.
Both processors are not available individually. The A12Z Bionic is integrated into older iPad Pro models, while the M3 (8-GPU) offers significantly higher performance in current Macs. The Apple A12Z Bionic was powerful for mobile iPads. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) offers significantly more computing and graphics performance as well as energy efficiency.
For maximum performance, the M3 is the recommendation.
The Apple M3 (8-GPU), released in 2023, targets entry-level Mac models and delivers higher performance for desktop applications.
The Apple A12Z Bionic uses 7 nm manufacturing (A12 architecture), an 8-core GPU, and 8 MB L2 cache. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) uses 3 nm (M3 architecture), an 8-core GPU, and 20 MB L2 cache. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) shows significant superiority over the Apple A12Z Bionic in single-core and multi-core performance, leading to faster application performance.
For gaming, the Apple M3 (8-GPU) offers superior performance thanks to a more modern 8-core GPU and higher memory bandwidth (102 GB/s vs. 68 GB/s). The M3 also supports PCIe 4.0. Specific TDP figures are missing. However, the Apple M3 (8-GPU) is more energy-efficient than the 7 nm Apple A12Z Bionic due to its 3 nm manufacturing process.
Both processors are not available individually. The A12Z Bionic is integrated into older iPad Pro models, while the M3 (8-GPU) offers significantly higher performance in current Macs. The Apple A12Z Bionic was powerful for mobile iPads. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) offers significantly more computing and graphics performance as well as energy efficiency.
For maximum performance, the M3 is the recommendation.
Apple A12Z Bionic
- 7 nm manufacturing
- 8-core GPU
- Designed for iPad Pro
- Lower memory bandwidth
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
- 3 nm manufacturing
- Significantly higher computing power
- Higher memory bandwidth
- Supports PCIe 4.0
Benchmarks
Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks
Single-core performance
Multi-core performance
Cinebench R23 Single-Core
Single-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
50 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 4.06 GHz
Cinebench R23 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
43 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 4.06 GHz
Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
43 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 4.06 GHz
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
40 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 4.06 GHz
Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core
Single-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
52 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 4.06 GHz
Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
45 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 4.06 GHz
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
Apple A12Z Bionic
41 %
Apple A12Z
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
Apple M3 (8 Core)
AI performance (NPU)
Apple A12Z Bionic
14 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
Apple M3 (8-GPU)
100 %
8C / 8T · 0.70 GHz
More benchmarks
Cinebench 2026 (ST)
218 entries
218 entries
Cinebench 2026 (MC)
219 entries
219 entries
Cinebench 2024 (SC)
427 entries
427 entries
Cinebench 2024 (MC)
422 entries
422 entries
Cinebench R23 (SC)
690 entries
690 entries
Cinebench R23 (MC)
665 entries
665 entries
Geekbench 6 (SC)
1,989 entries
1,989 entries
Geekbench 6 (MC)
1,927 entries
1,927 entries
Geekbench 5 (SC)
2,512 entries
2,512 entries
Geekbench 5 (MC)
2,483 entries
2,483 entries
FP32 SP (iGPU)
2,219 entries
2,219 entries
AnTuTu 9 Benchmark
90 entries
90 entries
AnTuTu 8 Benchmark
118 entries
118 entries
CPU performance per watt (efficiency)
140 entries
140 entries
AI performance (NPU)
218 entries
218 entries
Specifications
At a glance
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Apple A series (27) | Apple M series (38) |
| CPU group | Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3) | Apple M3 (6) |
| Architecture | A12 | M3 |
| Technology | 7 nm | 3 nm |
| Segment | Smartphone / Tablet | Notebook |
| Socket | ||
| Predecessor | Apple A10X Fusion | Apple M2 (8-GPU) |
| Successor |
CPU Cores and Base Frequency
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 | 8 / 8 |
| Hyperthreading / SMT | ✗ | ✗ |
| Core architecture | hybrid (big.LITTLE) | hybrid (big.LITTLE) |
| Core Cluster 1: | 4x Vortex 2.49 GHz |
4x Ibiza P-Core 0.70 - 4.06 GHz |
| Core Cluster 2: | 4x Tempest 1.59 GHz |
4x Ibiza E-Core 0.74 - 2.75 GHz |
| L2-Cache | 8.00 MB | 20.00 MB |
| L3-Cache | ||
| Overclocking | ✗ | ✗ |
Integrated graphics (iGPU)
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| GPU name | Apple A12Z | Apple M3 (8 Core) |
| GPU frequency | 1.13 GHz | 0.39 - 1.40 GHz |
| CUs / Shader | 32 / 512 | 128 / 1024 |
| Raytracing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Max. displays | 1 | 2 |
| Max. GPU Memory | 6 GB | 24 GB |
| Technology | 7 nm | 3 nm |
| Release date | Q1/2020 | Q4/2023 |
NPU AI performance
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| AI hardware | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| AI specifications | 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS | 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS |
| NPU + CPU + iGPU |
Memory & PCIe
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | LPDDR4X-4266 (68.2 GB/s) | LPDDR5-6400 (102.4 GB/s) |
| Max. Memory | 6 GB | 24 GB |
| Memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| ECC | No | No |
| PCIe | 4.0 | |
| PCIe Bandwidth |
Thermal Management
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 15 W | 22 W |
| TDP (PL2) | ||
| TDP up | ||
| TDP down | 10 W | |
| T. junction max. | 100 °C |
Technical details
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M3 (8-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Chip design | Chiplet | Monolithic |
| AES-NI | ✗ | ✓ |
| Operating systems | iOS | macOS, iPadOS |
| Instruction set | Armv8-A (64 bit) | Armv8-A (64 bit) |
| ISA extensions | Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation | |
| Release date | Q1/2020 | Q4/2023 |
| Release price | ||
| Documents |
User Reviews
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 M3 (8-GPU) has received 4.5 stars (130 ratings).
Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.
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