Apple A13 Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A13 Bionic CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A13 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic

CPU comparison

Apple A13 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 A13 Bionic has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.65 GHz. Up to 4 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A13 Bionic was released in Q3/2019.

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 Family Apple A series
Apple A13 CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z
13 Generation 12
A13 (Lightning / Thunder) Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A12 Bionic Predecessor Apple A11 Bionic
Apple A14 Bionic Successor Apple A13 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A13 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A13 Bionic is 2.65 GHz while the Apple A12 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and 6 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple A12 Bionic is at 1.80 GHz.

6 Cores 6
6 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.65 GHz
2x Lightning
A-Core 2.49 GHz
2x Vortex
1.80 GHz
4x Thunder
B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest
-- C-Core --

Internal Graphics

The Apple A13 Bionic or Apple A12 Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Apple A13 GPU Apple A12
1.35 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
GPU (Turbo)
10 GPU Generation 9
7 nm Technology 7 nm
1 Max. displays 1
32 Execution units 32
256 Shader 256
4 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.

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 A13 Bionic can use up to 4 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 34.1 GB/s. The Apple A12 Bionic supports up to 4 GB of memory in 1 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 34.1 GB/s.

LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
4 GB Max. Memory 4 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
34.1 GB/s Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
8.00 MB L2 Cache 8.00 MB
L3 Cache
-- PCIe version --
PCIe lanes

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A13 Bionic is 6 W, while the Apple A12 Bionic has a TDP of 6 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

6 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A13 Bionic is manufactured in 7 nm and has 8.00 MB cache. The Apple A12 Bionic is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 8.00 MB cache.

7 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
ISA extensions
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems iOS
Q3/2019 Release date Q3/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
1710 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1286 (75%)
Show all Geekbench 6 (Single-Core) results



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
3599 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2353 (65%)
Show all Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core) results



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
1336 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1116 (84%)
Show all Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core) results



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
3429 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2731 (80%)
Show all Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core) results



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
Apple A13 @ 1.35 GHz
691 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A12 @ 1.13 GHz
576 (83%)
Show all iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS) results



AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.

Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
648406 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)
Show all AnTuTu 9 Benchmark results



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
523650 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
425605 (81%)
Show all AnTuTu 8 Benchmark results



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 A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.65 GHz
5368 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
4846 (90%)
Show all Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark results



Devices using this processor

Apple A13 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple iPhone 11
Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE
Apple iPhone XR
Apple iPhone XS
Apple iPhone XS Max
Apple iPad mini (5. Gen)
Apple iPad Air (3. Gen)

Leaderboards

In our leaderboards, we have clearly compiled the best processors for specific categories for you. The leaderboards are always up to date and are regularly updated by us. The best processors are selected according to popularity and speed in benchmarks as well as the price-performance ratio.


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