Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) vs Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)

CPU comparison

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) or Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) - 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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.23 GHz. Up to 6 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.

The Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) has 16 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) was released in Q4/2023.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple M series (25)
Apple A15 (2) CPU group Apple M3 (6)
15 Generation 3
A15 Architecture M3
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) is a 6 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.23 GHz. The Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) has 16 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz).

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
6 Cores 16
6 Threads 16
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.23 GHz
2x Avalanche
A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
12x P-Core
2.02 GHz
4x Blizzard
B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
4x E-Core

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores) GPU Apple M3 Max (40 Core)
1.34 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
12 GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology 3 nm
3 Max. displays 5
16 Compute units 640
512 Shader 5120
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 128 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 A15 (4 GPU Cores) GPU Apple M3 Max (40 Core)
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
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) supports a maximum of 6 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) can connect up to 128 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR5-6400
6 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 409.6 GB/s
No ECC No
16.00 MB L2 Cache 36.00 MB
32.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has a TDP of 7.25 W, that of the Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) is 57 W.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
7.25 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 57 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has a 48.00 MB cache, while the Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) cache has a total of 36.00 MB.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
5 nm Technology 3 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q3/2021 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.4 stars (19 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (545 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) (77%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) (24%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) (100%)

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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
1745 (81%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
2150 (100%)

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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
4777 (21%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 3.60 GHz
22736 (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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
2245 (72%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
3125 (100%)

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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
5402 (26%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 3.60 GHz
21045 (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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores) @ 1.34 GHz
1370 (10%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
Apple M3 Max (40 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
14200 (100%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
15.8 (45%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
141 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
1607 (100%)

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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
1968 (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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 3.60 GHz
24028 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
496 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 3.60 GHz
6311 (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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
806250 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 4.06 GHz
266 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
16C 16T @ 3.60 GHz
3375 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
24,028 CB R23 MC @ 57 W
422 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)
Apple iPhone 13 mini
Apple iPhone 13
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

News and articles for the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) and the Apple M3 Max (16-CPU 40-GPU)


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