Apple A16 Bionic vs HiSilicon Kirin 970

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A16 Bionic CPU1 vs CPU2 HiSilicon Kirin 970
Apple A16 Bionic HiSilicon Kirin 970

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple A16 Bionic and the HiSilicon Kirin 970 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple A16 Bionic 6 core processor released in Q3/2022 with the HiSilicon Kirin 970 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2017.
Apple A series (22) Family HiSilicon Kirin (29)
Apple A16 (1) CPU group HiSilicon Kirin 970 (1)
16 Generation 6
A16 Architecture Cortex-A73 / Cortex-A53
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Predecessor --
Apple A17 Pro Successor --

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 HiSilicon Kirin 970 clocks with 2.40 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
6 Cores 8
6 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.46 GHz
2x Everest
A-Core 2.40 GHz
4x Cortex-A73
2.02 GHz
4x Sawtooth
B-Core 1.84 GHz
4x Cortex-A53

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 HiSilicon Kirin 970
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 17 TOPS AI specifications --

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 ARM Mali-G72 MP12
1.34 GHz GPU frequency 0.75 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
13 GPU Generation Bifrost 2
4 nm Technology 16 nm
3 Max. displays 1
20 Compute units 12
640 Shader 192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
-- DirectX Version 12

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 ARM Mali-G72 MP12
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 / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode / Encode
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 HiSilicon Kirin 970 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of -- enabled.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR4X-2133
6 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth --
No ECC No
20.00 MB L2 Cache --
24.00 MB L3 Cache 2.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Apple A16 Bionic has a TDP of 7.25 W. The TDP of the HiSilicon Kirin 970 is 9 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
7.25 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 9 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 HiSilicon Kirin 970 is at 2.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 10 nm.

Apple A16 Bionic Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
4 nm Technology 10 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 Android
Q3/2022 Release date Q3/2017
-- 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 4.4 stars (34 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the HiSilicon Kirin 970 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple A16 Bionic (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 (18%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple A16 Bionic (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 (27%)

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%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
349 (18%)

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%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
1455 (27%)

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%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
ARM Mali-G72 MP12 @ 0.75 GHz
330 (18%)

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%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
1394590 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 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 A16 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
947502 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A16 Bionic HiSilicon Kirin 970
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
Huawei Honor 10
Huawei Note 10
Huawei Play
Huawei Honor View 10
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Huawei P20
Huawei Nova 3
Huawei Nova 4

News and articles for the Apple A16 Bionic and the HiSilicon Kirin 970


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