Apple A14 Bionic vs Apple A12Z Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A14 Bionic CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A14 Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic

CPU comparison

Apple A14 Bionic or Apple A12Z 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 A14 Bionic has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.00 GHz. Up to 6 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A14 Bionic was released in Q3/2020.

The Apple A12Z Bionic has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.49 GHz. The CPU supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A12Z Bionic was released in Q1/2020.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple A14 (1) CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)
14 Generation 12
A14 (Firestorm/Icestorm) Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A13 Bionic Predecessor Apple A10X Fusion
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A14 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A14 Bionic is 3.00 GHz while the Apple A12Z Bionic has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple A12Z Bionic is at 2.49 GHz.

Apple A14 Bionic Characteristic Apple A12Z Bionic
6 Cores 8
6 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz
2x Firestorm
A-Core 2.49 GHz
4x Vortex
1.82 GHz
4x Icestorm
B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Apple A14 Bionic Characteristic Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The Apple A14 Bionic or Apple A12Z 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 A14 GPU Apple A12Z
1.46 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
11 GPU Generation 9
5 nm Technology 7 nm
3 Max. displays 1
16 Compute units 32
256 Shader 512
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 6 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.

Apple A14 GPU Apple A12Z
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 A14 Bionic can use up to 6 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 34.1 GB/s. The Apple A12Z Bionic supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 68.2 GB/s.

Apple A14 Bionic Characteristic Apple A12Z Bionic
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
6 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
12.00 MB L2 Cache 8.00 MB
16.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A14 Bionic is 7.25 W, while the Apple A12Z Bionic has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A14 Bionic Characteristic Apple A12Z Bionic
7.25 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A14 Bionic is manufactured in 5 nm and has 28.00 MB cache. The Apple A12Z Bionic is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 8.00 MB cache.

Apple A14 Bionic Characteristic Apple A12Z Bionic
5 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems iOS
Q3/2020 Release date Q1/2020
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A14 Bionic to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (7 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple A12Z Bionic to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (4 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
1590 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1124 (71%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
4247 (90%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4718 (100%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
2072 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1351 (65%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
4689 (98%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4798 (100%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
Apple A14 @ 1.46 GHz
749 (65%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A12Z @ 1.13 GHz
1152 (100%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
729968 (94%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
779044 (100%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
628047 (88%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
717401 (100%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
11 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
5 (45%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
991 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4539 (100%)

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 A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
8514 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A14 Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple iPhone 12 mini
Apple iPhone 12
Apple iPhone 12 Pro
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple iPad Air (4. Gen)
Apple iPad Pro 2020

Comparison of the two processors

While the Apple A12Z has 8 CPU cores, the Apple A14 processor has to get by with 6 cores. However, thanks to the new 5 nm manufacturing technology (TSMC), these are clocked particularly high at up to 3.1 GHz. Both processors rely on Apple's custom ARMv8 architecture, which is based on the big.LITTLE logic.

Processors with big.LITTLE core architecture have, on the one hand, so-called "performance" cores, which have a high level of performance, but also require a correspondingly high amount of energy during operation. In addition, these processors have very energy-saving cores that are not quite as powerful as the "performance" cores. These cores are usually clocked lower and therefore require significantly less energy. These cores are responsible for background tasks and ensure a long battery life for the device. If necessary, the computing load can also be shared across all cores at the same time, which leads to high multi-core performance.

Apple's A14 Bionic Processor is found in the Apple iPhone 12 (various sizes) and also in the Apple iPhone 12 Pro. The processor is also built into the Apple iPad Air (4th Gen, 2020). Apple's A12Z, on the other hand, is only built into the Apple iPad Pro 2020 and differs from the Apple A12X only in that one more GPU core has been activated. Apple was able to achieve this through an optimized 7 nm manufacturing process, in which the production yield usually increases over time.

The A14 Bionic is Apple's first processor that can decode the new AV1 video codec in hardware. This free video codec is used more and more frequently due to its non-existent license costs and could become the most popular video codec of the current time. In addition, the A14 can for the first time fall back on LPDDR5-5500 RAM from Samsung, which significantly accelerates read, write and copy processes compared to the LPDDR4X-4266 in the Apple A12Z.

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