Apple A7 vs Apple A8X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A7 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A8X
Apple A7 Apple A8X

CPU comparison

Apple A7 or Apple A8X - 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 A7 has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.40 GHz. Up to 1 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A7 was released in Q3/2013.

The Apple A8X has 3 cores with 3 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 2 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A8X was released in Q3/2014.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple A7 (1) CPU group Apple A8/A8X (2)
7 Generation 8
A7 Architecture A8
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A6 Predecessor Apple A6X
Apple A8 Successor Apple A9X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A7 is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.40 GHz. The Apple A8X has 3 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 1.50 GHz.

Apple A7 Characteristic Apple A8X
2 Cores 3
2 Threads 3
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.40 GHz Frequency 1.50 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

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 A7 Characteristic Apple A8X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

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.

PowerVR G6430 GPU Apple A8X
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.45 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 5
28 nm Technology 20 nm
2 Max. displays 1
16 Compute units 32
128 Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 2 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 G6430 GPU Apple A8X
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A7 supports a maximum of 1 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A8X can connect up to 2 GB of memory in 1 memory channels.

Apple A7 Characteristic Apple A8X
LPDDR3-1333 Memory LPDDR3-1600
1 GB Max. Memory 2 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 12.8 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache 2.00 MB
4.00 MB L3 Cache 4.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple A7 has a TDP of --, that of the Apple A8X is 8 W.

Apple A7 Characteristic Apple A8X
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 8 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A7 has a 5.00 MB cache, while the Apple A8X cache has a total of 6.00 MB.

Apple A7 Characteristic Apple A8X
28 nm Technology 20 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems iOS
Q3/2013 Release date Q3/2014
-- Release price --
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks

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 A7 Apple A7
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
278 (72%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
386 (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 A7 Apple A7
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
528 (49%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
1075 (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 A7 Apple A7
PowerVR G6430 @ 0.45 GHz
115 (50%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
Apple A8X @ 0.45 GHz
230 (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 A7 Apple A7
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
427 (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 A7 Apple A7
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
959 (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 A7 Apple A7
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
2356 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A7 Apple A8X
Apple iPhone 6
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Apple iPad Mini 4
Apple TV HD
Apple HomePod
Apple iPod touch (6. Gen)
Apple iPad Air 2

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