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Apple A6 vs Apple A18 Pro
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Summary
The Apple A6, architectural name A6, was introduced in 2012 as a mobile processor for the iPhone 5, designed for basic smartphone functions.
It was manufactured using a 32-nm process, featured a dual-core CPU and a PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) graphics unit. Its maximum memory bandwidth was 9 GB/s. The Apple A18 Pro, architectural name Donan, is a state-of-the-art mobile processor expected to be used in Apple's flagship smartphones in 2024.
Manufactured using the advanced 3-nm process, it integrates a multi-core CPU and a powerful Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) graphics unit. With 60 GB/s memory bandwidth, 20 MB L2 cache, and 24 MB L3 cache, it offers significantly higher performance. In terms of single-core and multi-core performance, as well as in gaming scenarios, the Apple A18 Pro significantly surpasses the Apple A6.
The A6 is insufficient in performance for modern applications, while the A18 Pro enables peak performance and fluid gameplay thanks to its architecture. The energy efficiency of the Apple A18 Pro is significantly better than that of the 32-nm Apple A6, thanks to the 3-nm process. This leads to lower power consumption with significantly higher performance.
Both processors are an integral part of their respective Apple devices and are not available separately.
It was manufactured using a 32-nm process, featured a dual-core CPU and a PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) graphics unit. Its maximum memory bandwidth was 9 GB/s. The Apple A18 Pro, architectural name Donan, is a state-of-the-art mobile processor expected to be used in Apple's flagship smartphones in 2024.
Manufactured using the advanced 3-nm process, it integrates a multi-core CPU and a powerful Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) graphics unit. With 60 GB/s memory bandwidth, 20 MB L2 cache, and 24 MB L3 cache, it offers significantly higher performance. In terms of single-core and multi-core performance, as well as in gaming scenarios, the Apple A18 Pro significantly surpasses the Apple A6.
The A6 is insufficient in performance for modern applications, while the A18 Pro enables peak performance and fluid gameplay thanks to its architecture. The energy efficiency of the Apple A18 Pro is significantly better than that of the 32-nm Apple A6, thanks to the 3-nm process. This leads to lower power consumption with significantly higher performance.
Both processors are an integral part of their respective Apple devices and are not available separately.
Apple A6
- Introduced in 2012 for basic smartphone functions
- 32-nm manufacturing process and dual-core CPU
- PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) graphics unit
- 9 GB/s maximum memory bandwidth
Apple A18 Pro
- Expected to be introduced in 2024 for flagship smartphones
- 3-nm manufacturing process and multi-core CPU
- Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) graphics unit
- 60 GB/s maximum memory bandwidth with ample cache
Benchmarks
Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks
Single-core performance
Multi-core performance
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
Apple A6
2 %
PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores)
Apple A18 Pro
100 %
Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores)
More benchmarks
Specifications
At a glance
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Apple A series (27) | Apple A series (27) |
| CPU group | Apple A6/A6X (2) | Apple A18 (2) |
| Architecture | A6 | Donan |
| Technology | 32 nm | 3 nm |
| Segment | Smartphone / Tablet | Smartphone / Tablet |
| Socket | ||
| Predecessor | Apple A5 | Apple A17 Pro |
| Successor | Apple A7 | Apple A19 Pro |
CPU Cores and Base Frequency
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores / Threads | 2 / 2 | 6 / 6 |
| Hyperthreading / SMT | ✗ | ✗ |
| Core architecture | normal | hybrid (big.LITTLE) |
| Core Cluster 1: | 2x Swift 1.30 GHz |
2x Donan P-Core 0.70 - 4.04 GHz |
| Core Cluster 2: | 4x Donan E-Core 0.74 - 2.30 GHz |
|
| L2-Cache | 1.00 MB | 20.00 MB |
| L3-Cache | 24.00 MB | |
| Overclocking | ✗ | ✗ |
Integrated graphics (iGPU)
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| GPU name | PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) | Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) |
| GPU frequency | 0.27 GHz | 0.39 - 1.68 GHz |
| CUs / Shader | 6 / 48 | 24 / 768 |
| Raytracing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Max. displays | 1 | 1 |
| Max. GPU Memory | 8 GB | |
| Technology | 32 nm | 3 nm |
| Release date | Q3/2012 | Q3/2024 |
NPU AI performance
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| AI hardware | Apple Neural Engine | |
| AI specifications | 16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS | |
| NPU + CPU + iGPU |
Memory & PCIe
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | LPDDR2-1066 (8.5 GB/s) | LPDDR5X-7500 (60.0 GB/s) |
| Max. Memory | 1 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory channels | 2 | 1 |
| ECC | No | No |
| PCIe | ||
| PCIe Bandwidth |
Thermal Management
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 12 W | |
| TDP (PL2) | ||
| TDP up | ||
| TDP down | ||
| T. junction max. |
Technical details
|
Wischen
|
Apple A6 | Apple A18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Chip design | Chiplet | Chiplet |
| AES-NI | ✗ | ✗ |
| Operating systems | iOS | iOS |
| Instruction set | Armv7-A (32 bit) | Armv9-A (64 bit) |
| ISA extensions | ||
| Release date | Q3/2012 | Q3/2024 |
| Release price | ||
| Documents |
User Reviews
Your rating
Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Apple A6 is 4.3 stars (3 ratings), while Apple A18 Pro has received 4.1 stars (513 ratings).
Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.
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Apple A18 Pro
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