Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) vs Apple M4

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M4
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple M4

CPU comparison

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) or Apple M4 - 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 M4 has 9 cores with 9 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.41 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M4 was released in Q2/2024.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple M series (25)
Apple A15 (2) CPU group Apple M4 (2)
15 Generation 4
A15 Architecture M4
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple M3
-- 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 M4 has 9 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz).

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M4
6 Cores 9
6 Threads 9
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.23 GHz
2x Avalanche
A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz)
3x P-Core
2.02 GHz
4x Blizzard
B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
6x 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 M4
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 38 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 M4 (10 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 2
16 Compute units 160
512 Shader 1280
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 24 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 M4 (10 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 M4 can connect up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M4
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR5X-7500
6 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 120.0 GB/s
No ECC No
16.00 MB L2 Cache 18.00 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 M4 is 22 W.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M4
7.25 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 22 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down 15 W
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) has a 48.00 MB cache, while the Apple M4 cache has a total of 18.00 MB.

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Characteristic Apple M4
5 nm Technology 3 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv9-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME
-- Socket --
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q3/2021 Release date Q2/2024
-- 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 (20 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M4 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (96 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) (66%)
Apple M4 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) (41%)
Apple M4 (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 (70%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
2491 (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 (62%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
3630 (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 (41%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
13060 (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 (42%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (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 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
Apple M4 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple M4
Apple iPhone 13 mini
Apple iPhone 13
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024)

News and articles for the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) and the Apple M4


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