Apple A17 Pro vs Apple M1

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A17 Pro CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1
Apple A17 Pro Apple M1

CPU comparison

Apple A17 Pro or Apple M1 - 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 A17 Pro has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.78 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A17 Pro was released in Q3/2023.

The Apple M1 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 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 was released in Q4/2020.
Apple A series (24) Family Apple M series (30)
Apple A17 Pro (1) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
17 Generation 1
Ibiza Architecture M1
Smartphone / Tablet Segment Notebook
Apple A16 Bionic Predecessor --
Apple A18 Pro Successor Apple M2

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A17 Pro is a 6 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (3.78 GHz). The Apple M1 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Apple A17 Pro Characteristic Apple M1
6 Cores 8
6 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (3.78 GHz)
2x Ibiza P-Core
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
4x Firestorm
0.74 GHz (2.11 GHz)
4x Ibiza E-Core
B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm

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 A17 Pro Characteristic Apple M1
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 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 A17 Pro (6 GPU Cores) GPU Apple M1 (8 Core)
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
-- GPU Generation 1
3 nm Technology 5 nm
1 Max. displays 2
24 Compute units 128
768 Shader 1024
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
6 GB Max. GPU Memory 8 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 A17 Pro (6 GPU Cores) GPU Apple M1 (8 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
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A17 Pro supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple M1 can connect up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple A17 Pro Characteristic Apple M1
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
8 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
20.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
24.00 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 A17 Pro has a TDP of 11 W, that of the Apple M1 is 18 W.

Apple A17 Pro Characteristic Apple M1
11 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 18 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 20 W
-- TDP down 10 W
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A17 Pro has a 44.00 MB cache, while the Apple M1 cache has a total of 16.00 MB.

Apple A17 Pro Characteristic Apple M1
3 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.6-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems macOS
Q3/2023 Release date Q4/2020
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A17 Pro to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.1 stars (313 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.6 stars (473 ratings). Rate now:

Average performance in benchmarks

Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A17 Pro (100%)
Apple M1 (81%)
Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A17 Pro (81%)
Apple M1 (100%)

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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
2952 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (80%)

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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
7235 (84%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
2140 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (81%)

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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
5868 (77%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (100%)

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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
Apple A17 Pro (6 GPU Cores) @ 1.40 GHz
2147 (82%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
Apple M1 (8 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2610 (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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (31%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
509 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 0.70 GHz
1488440 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 0.70 GHz
1108570 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (100%)

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 A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
7,759 CB R23 MC @ 18 W
431 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A17 Pro Apple M1
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Apple iMac 24 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020)
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Apple Mac mini (2020)
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021)
Apple iPad Air (2022)

News and articles for the Apple A17 Pro and the Apple M1


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