Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

CPU comparison

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 - 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 (5-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 (5-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 16 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 was released in Q2/2022.
Apple A series (24) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (104)
Apple A15 (2) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 7/8 Gen 1 (3)
15 Generation 1
A15 Architecture Cortex-X2 / -A710 / -A510
Smartphone / Tablet Segment Smartphone / Tablet
Apple A14 Bionic Predecessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Apple A16 Bionic Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is 3.23 GHz while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is at 3.20 GHz.

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
6 Cores 8
6 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.23 GHz
2x Avalanche
A-Core 3.20 GHz
1x Kryo Prime
2.02 GHz
4x Blizzard
B-Core 2.75 GHz
3x Kryo Gold
-- C-Core 2.00 GHz
4x Kryo Silver

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 (5-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS AI specifications Hexagon
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 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 A15 (5 GPU Cores) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 730
1.34 GHz GPU frequency 0.90 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
12 GPU Generation 7
5 nm Technology 4 nm
3 Max. displays 0
20 Compute units --
640 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 8 GB
-- DirectX Version 12.1

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 (5 GPU Cores) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 730
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 A15 Bionic (5-GPU) can use up to 6 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 34.1 GB/s. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 supports up to 16 GB of memory in 4 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 25.6 GB/s.

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR5-6400
6 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
No ECC No
16.00 MB L2 Cache 2.00 MB
32.00 MB L3 Cache 6.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is 10 W, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 has a TDP of --. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
10 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has 48.00 MB cache. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is manufactured in 4 nm and has a 8.00 MB cache.

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
5 nm Technology 4 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv9-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems Android, Windows 10 (ARM)
Q3/2021 Release date Q2/2022
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (111 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (35 ratings). Rate now:

Average performance in benchmarks

Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (70%)
Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) (93%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (85%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a partial load benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. In the single-core test, only the fastest CPU core is measured. The test run simulates the performance in practice.
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
2370 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1657 (70%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

The practical Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark tests the system's performance under partial load. The processor's maximum power consumption is far from being used up.
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
5726 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
4231 (74%)

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 (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
1745 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1228 (70%)

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 (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
4777 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
3924 (82%)

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 (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores) @ 1.34 GHz
1713 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Qualcomm Adreno 730 @ 0.90 GHz
818 (48%)

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 (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
825116 (80%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1032680 (100%)

AnTuTu 10 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 10 benchmark is one of the best-known benchmarks for mobile processors, which is now available in version 10. There is a version for Android-based smartphones and tablets, as well as a version for Apple mobile devices, i.e. iPhones and iPads.

The Antutu 10 benchmark has 3 phases. In the first phase, the device's RAM is tested, in phase 2 the graphics are tested and in the final phase the entire device is pushed to its performance limits by rendering 3D graphics.

Antutu 10 is therefore ideal for comparing the performance of different devices.
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
1157370 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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 A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7189 (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 (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
15.8 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Apple iPad mini (6. Gen)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 14
Apple iPhone 14 Plus
Unknown

News and articles for the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ vs Apple A16 and Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ vs Apple A16 and Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Posted by Stefan on 2022-09-22
With the Dimensity 9000+, Mediatek presents the latest of its smartphone chips. The successor to the Mediatek Dimensity 9000 achieves higher CPU and GPU clock frequencies thanks to better binning. The CPU clock of the prime core (A core) increases from 3.0 to 3.2 GHz. And the ARM Mali-G710 MP10 GPU can now clock at 0.9 GHz (previously 0.85 GHz).

Both are a good improvement over the Dimensity 9000 in theory but the increase in performance should not usually be noticeable in practice. In the end, the overall performance of the Mediatek Dimensity 9000+ is impressive: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is beaten in Geekbench 5 in both the single-core and multi-core benchmarks.
What we know about the new Apple A16 Bionic in Apples iPhone 14
What we know about the new Apple A16 Bionic in Apples iPhone 14
Posted by Stefan on 2022-08-23
Every year Apple releases a new iPhone series and with the release of the series always the latest Apple A processor. This has become even more important in recent years, as it has also formed the basis for Apple's M processor series since 2020. The Apple M processors are based on the same core architecture as the Apple A processors, but have been significantly upgraded in many areas such as memory bandwith, amount of memory or cache.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is more powerful and efficient
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is more powerful and efficient
Posted by Stefan on 2022-07-11
Qualcomm is changing the contract manufacturer from Samsung to TSMC for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. By switching to the TSMC 4 nm manufacturing process, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is not only 10 percent faster but also 15 percent more efficient than its predecessor. This makes Qualcomm's TOP SoC one of the fastest smartphone chips on the market.

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