Apple A5X vs Apple A12X Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A5X CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12X Bionic
Apple A5X Apple A12X Bionic

CPU comparison

Apple A5X or Apple A12X Bionic - 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 A5X has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.00 GHz. Up to 1 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Apple A5X was released in Q1/2011.

The Apple A12X Bionic has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.49 GHz. The CPU supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A12X Bionic was released in Q3/2018.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple A5/A5X (2) CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)
5 Generation 12
A5 Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A10X Fusion
Apple A6X Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A5X has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A5X is 1.00 GHz while the Apple A12X Bionic has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple A12X Bionic is at 2.49 GHz.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple A12X Bionic
2 Cores 8
2 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.00 GHz
2x Cortex-A9
A-Core 2.49 GHz
4x Vortex
-- B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest

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 A5X Characteristic Apple A12X Bionic
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple A5X or Apple A12X Bionic 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.

PowerVR SGX543MP4 (4 Cores) GPU Apple A12X
0.20 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 9
45 nm Technology 7 nm
1 Max. displays 1
8 Compute units 28
64 Shader 448
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 6 GB
10 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.

PowerVR SGX543MP4 (4 Cores) GPU Apple A12X
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A5X can use up to 1 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 12.8 GB/s. The Apple A12X Bionic supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 68.2 GB/s.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple A12X Bionic
LPDDR2-800 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
1 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache 8.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A5X is --, while the Apple A12X Bionic has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple A12X Bionic
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A5X is manufactured in 32 nm and has 1.00 MB cache. The Apple A12X Bionic is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 8.00 MB cache.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple A12X Bionic
32 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv7-A (32 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems iOS
Q1/2011 Release date Q3/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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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 A5X Apple A5X
PowerVR SGX543MP4 (4 Cores) @ 0.20 GHz
26 (3%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
Apple A12X @ 1.13 GHz
1008 (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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
991 (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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4539 (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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1124 (100%)

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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4718 (100%)

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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1341 (100%)

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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4745 (100%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
713640 (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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
10921 (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 A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12X Bionic Apple A12X Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
5 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A5X Apple A12X Bionic
Apple iPad 2 (3. Gen) Apple iPad Pro 2018

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