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Apple A12Z Bionic vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU)
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Summary
The Apple A12Z Bionic and the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) target different user groups.
While the Apple A12Z Bionic was designed for mobile devices and compact workstations, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) is intended for professional workflows in the desktop segment. The Apple A12Z Bionic is manufactured using a 7 nm process and uses the A12 architecture with eight cores.
In contrast, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) is based on the M5 architecture, uses the 3 nm process, and features 18 CPU cores as well as a 22 MB L2 cache. In benchmarks, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) shows significantly higher single-core and multi-core performance. Also in gaming scenarios, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) is clearly superior thanks to the Apple M5 Max (40 Core) graphics and a memory bandwidth of 614 GB/s, which also enables good AI performance.
The Apple A12Z Bionic with the Apple A12Z graphics is optimized for less intensive tasks. The power consumption of the Apple A12Z Bionic is designed for fanless designs, while the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) requires a higher thermal budget. In terms of price, the Apple A12Z Bionic is positioned in the more affordable segment.
The Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) offers high performance for professionals but is more expensive. For mobility, the Apple A12Z Bionic is recommended; for maximum computing load, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU).
While the Apple A12Z Bionic was designed for mobile devices and compact workstations, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) is intended for professional workflows in the desktop segment. The Apple A12Z Bionic is manufactured using a 7 nm process and uses the A12 architecture with eight cores.
In contrast, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) is based on the M5 architecture, uses the 3 nm process, and features 18 CPU cores as well as a 22 MB L2 cache. In benchmarks, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) shows significantly higher single-core and multi-core performance. Also in gaming scenarios, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) is clearly superior thanks to the Apple M5 Max (40 Core) graphics and a memory bandwidth of 614 GB/s, which also enables good AI performance.
The Apple A12Z Bionic with the Apple A12Z graphics is optimized for less intensive tasks. The power consumption of the Apple A12Z Bionic is designed for fanless designs, while the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) requires a higher thermal budget. In terms of price, the Apple A12Z Bionic is positioned in the more affordable segment.
The Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) offers high performance for professionals but is more expensive. For mobility, the Apple A12Z Bionic is recommended; for maximum computing load, the Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU).
Apple A12Z Bionic
- 7 nm manufacturing process
- A12 architecture
- 8 MB L2 cache
- Optimized for mobile devices
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU)
- 3 nm manufacturing process
- 614 GB/s memory bandwidth
- Good AI performance
- 40 GPU cores for graphics calculations
Benchmarks
Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks
Single-core performance
Multi-core performance
Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
32 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Apple A12Z Bionic
16 %
8C / 8T · 2.49 GHz
18C / 18T · 0.91 GHz
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
Apple A12Z
Apple M5 Max (40 Core)
More benchmarks
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
AI performance (NPU)
218 entries
218 entries
Specifications
At a glance
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Apple A series (27) | Apple M series (38) |
| CPU group | Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3) | Apple M5 (6) |
| Architecture | A12 | M5 |
| Technology | 7 nm | 3 nm |
| Segment | Smartphone / Tablet | Notebook |
| Socket | ||
| Predecessor | Apple A10X Fusion | Apple M4 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) |
| Successor |
CPU Cores and Base Frequency
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 | 18 / 18 |
| Hyperthreading / SMT | ✗ | ✗ |
| Core architecture | hybrid (big.LITTLE) | hybrid (big.LITTLE) |
| Core Cluster 1: | 4x Vortex 2.49 GHz |
6x Super-Core 0.91 - 4.61 GHz |
| Core Cluster 2: | 4x Tempest 1.59 GHz |
12x Performance-Core 0.90 - 3.05 GHz |
| L2-Cache | 8.00 MB | 22.00 MB |
| L3-Cache | ||
| Overclocking | ✗ | ✗ |
Integrated graphics (iGPU)
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| GPU name | Apple A12Z | Apple M5 Max (40 Core) |
| GPU frequency | 1.13 GHz | 0.34 - 1.90 GHz |
| CUs / Shader | 32 / 512 | 640 / 5120 |
| Raytracing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Max. displays | 1 | 3 |
| Max. GPU Memory | 6 GB | 128 GB |
| Technology | 7 nm | 3 nm |
| Release date | Q1/2020 | Q1/2026 |
NPU AI performance
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| AI hardware | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| AI specifications | 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS | 16 Neural cores @ 60 TOPS |
| NPU + CPU + iGPU |
Memory & PCIe
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | LPDDR4X-4266 (68.2 GB/s) | LPDDR5X-9600 (614.4 GB/s) |
| Max. Memory | 6 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory channels | 2 | 8 |
| ECC | No | No |
| PCIe | 5.0 x 8 | |
| PCIe Bandwidth | 31.5 GB/s |
Thermal Management
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 15 W | 60 W |
| TDP (PL2) | ||
| TDP up | ||
| TDP down | ||
| T. junction max. | 100 °C |
Technical details
|
Wischen
|
Apple A12Z Bionic | Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Chip design | Chiplet | Monolithic |
| AES-NI | ✗ | ✓ |
| Operating systems | iOS | macOS, iPadOS |
| Instruction set | Armv8-A (64 bit) | Armv9.2-A (64 bit) |
| ISA extensions | Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME | |
| Release date | Q1/2020 | Q1/2026 |
| 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 (86 ratings), while Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) has received 4.9 stars (130 ratings).
Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.
Most popular CPUs in both categories
1
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU)
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
2
Apple M2 Ultra (76-GPU)
24C / 24T · 3.50 GHz
3
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU)
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
4
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C / 20T · 3.20 GHz
5
Apple M5 Pro (15-CPU 16-GPU)
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Apple M2 Ultra (60-GPU)
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7
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C / 8T · 3.20 GHz
8
Apple M1 Max (24-GPU)
10C / 10T · 3.20 GHz
9
Apple A12Z Bionic
8C / 8T · 0.00 GHz
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