Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

The Apple A12 Bionic (2018) was designed for iPhone XS and XR, for everyday performance. The Apple A16 Bionic (2022) powers the iPhone 14 Pro series and iPhone 15, positioned for demanding tasks.

The A12 Bionic is manufactured using a 7 nm process and features 8 MB of L2 cache. The A16 Bionic uses a 4 nm process with 20 MB of L2 and 24 MB of L3 cache. Both have 6 cores (two performance cores, four efficiency cores). In benchmarks, the A16 Bionic surpasses the A12 Bionic in single-core and multi-core performance by well over 10 percent.

The multi-core performance of the A16 Bionic is more than twice as high. For gaming, the A12 Bionic offers solid performance with 34 GB/s memory bandwidth. The A16 Bionic with Apple A16 (5 GPU Cores) and 51 GB/s memory bandwidth delivers significantly better graphics performance. The A16 Bionic benefits from the 4 nm process, enabling better energy efficiency than the A12 Bionic's 7 nm process.

This leads to higher performance per watt and longer battery life. Neither processor is available separately. Devices with the A12 Bionic offer good value for money in the mid-range segment. The A16 Bionic is found in newer, higher-priced devices. In summary, the A12 Bionic is a good choice for daily use and budget-conscious buyers.

The A16 Bionic is recommended for demanding applications, gaming, and maximum mobile performance.