Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A16 Bionic CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple A16 Bionic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple A16 Bionic and the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple A16 Bionic 6 core processor released in Q3/2022 with the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) which has 6 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2021.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple A16 (1) CPU group Apple A15 (2)
16 Generation 15
A16 Architecture A15
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Predecessor Apple A14 Bionic
Apple A17 Pro Successor Apple A16 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A16 Bionic is a 6 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.46 GHz. The processor can compute 6 threads at the same time. The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) clocks with 3.23 GHz, has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6 Cores 6
6 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.46 GHz
2x Everest
A-Core 3.23 GHz
2x Avalanche
2.02 GHz
4x Sawtooth
B-Core 2.02 GHz
4x Blizzard

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 A16 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 17 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Apple A16 (5 GPU Cores) GPU Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores)
1.34 GHz GPU frequency 1.34 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
13 GPU Generation 12
4 nm Technology 5 nm
3 Max. displays 3
20 Compute units 20
640 Shader 640
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 A16 (5 GPU Cores) GPU Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores)
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

Up to 6 GB of memory in a maximum of 1 memory channels is supported by the Apple A16 Bionic, while the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) supports a maximum of 6 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 34.1 GB/s enabled.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
6 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
20.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
24.00 MB L3 Cache 32.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Apple A16 Bionic has a TDP of 7.25 W. The TDP of the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is 7.25 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
7.25 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7.25 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A16 Bionic has 44.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 4 nm. The cache of Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is at 48.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
4 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.6-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems iOS
Q3/2022 Release date Q3/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A16 Bionic to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (13 ratings). Rate now:
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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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
1890 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
1745 (92%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
5465 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
4777 (87%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
2531 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
2245 (89%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
6299 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
5402 (86%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
Apple A16 (5 GPU Cores) @ 1.34 GHz
1789 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores) @ 1.34 GHz
1713 (96%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
947502 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
825116 (87%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
17 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
15.8 (93%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A16 Bionic Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
Apple iPad mini (6. Gen)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 14
Apple iPhone 14 Plus

News and articles for the Apple A16 Bionic and the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)

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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