Apple A6 vs HiSilicon Kirin 655

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A6 CPU1 vs CPU2 HiSilicon Kirin 655
Apple A6 HiSilicon Kirin 655

CPU comparison

Apple A6 or HiSilicon Kirin 655 - 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 A6 has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.30 GHz. Up to 1 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple A6 was released in Q3/2012.

The HiSilicon Kirin 655 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.12 GHz. The CPU supports up to GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The HiSilicon Kirin 655 was released in Q2/2016.
Apple A series (22) Family HiSilicon Kirin (29)
Apple A6/A6X (2) CPU group HiSilicon Kirin 650 (4)
6 Generation 4
A6 Architecture Cortex-A53 / Cortex-A53
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A5 Predecessor --
Apple A7 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A6 has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A6 is 1.30 GHz while the HiSilicon Kirin 655 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the HiSilicon Kirin 655 is at 2.12 GHz.

Apple A6 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 655
2 Cores 8
2 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.30 GHz
2x Swift
A-Core 2.12 GHz
4x Cortex-A53
-- B-Core 1.70 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 A6 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 655
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Apple A6 or HiSilicon Kirin 655 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 SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) GPU ARM Mali-T830 MP2
0.27 GHz GPU frequency 0.90 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation Midgard 4
32 nm Technology 28nm
1 Max. displays 2
6 Compute units 2
48 Shader 32
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
10 DirectX Version 11

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 SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) GPU ARM Mali-T830 MP2
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A6 can use up to 1 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 8.5 GB/s. The HiSilicon Kirin 655 supports up to GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to --.

Apple A6 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 655
LPDDR2-1066 Memory LPDDR3-933
1 GB Max. Memory
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
8.5 GB/s Max. Bandwidth --
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A6 is --, while the HiSilicon Kirin 655 has a TDP of --. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A6 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 655
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A6 is manufactured in 32 nm and has 1.00 MB cache. The HiSilicon Kirin 655 is manufactured in 16 nm and has a 0.00 MB cache.

Apple A6 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 655
32 nm Technology 16 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 Android
Q3/2012 Release date Q2/2016
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A6 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the HiSilicon Kirin 655 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


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 A6 Apple A6
PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) @ 0.27 GHz
68 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
ARM Mali-T830 MP2 @ 0.90 GHz
61 (90%)

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 A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
168 (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 A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
794 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A6 HiSilicon Kirin 655
Apple iPhone 5
Apple iPhone 5C
Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Apple A5Apple A6 Apple A5 vs Apple A6
2. HiSilicon Kirin 655Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
3. Apple A6Apple A7 Apple A6 vs Apple A7
4. Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)Apple A6 Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) vs Apple A6
5. HiSilicon Kirin 655Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
6. HiSilicon Kirin 655Intel Core i5-11300H HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Intel Core i5-11300H
7. HiSilicon Kirin 655Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
8. HiSilicon Kirin 655Intel Core i5-3610ME HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Intel Core i5-3610ME
9. AMD Ryzen 5 5600UHiSilicon Kirin 655 AMD Ryzen 5 5600U vs HiSilicon Kirin 655
10. HiSilicon Kirin 655Intel Celeron N3350 HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Intel Celeron N3350


back to index