Apple A7 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A7 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Apple A7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660

CPU comparison

Apple A7 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 - 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 was released in Q2/2017.
Apple A series (22) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
Apple A7 (1) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (2)
7 Generation 5
A7 Architecture Kryo 260
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A6 Predecessor --
Apple A8 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A7 is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.40 GHz. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.20 GHz.

Apple A7 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
2 Cores 8
2 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.40 GHz
2x Cyclone
A-Core 2.20 GHz
4x Kryo 260 Gold
-- B-Core 1.84 GHz
4x Kryo 260 Silver

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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
-- AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
-- AI specifications Hexagon 680

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 Qualcomm Adreno 512
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.60 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 0.60 GHz
-- GPU Generation 5
28 nm Technology 14 nm
2 Max. displays 0
16 Compute units --
128 Shader 128
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 G6430 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 512
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode
No Codec VP9 Decode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A7 supports a maximum of 1 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 can connect up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple A7 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
LPDDR3-1333 Memory LPDDR4-3733
1 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 14.9 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 is --.

Apple A7 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A7 has a 5.00 MB cache, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 cache has a total of 0.00 MB.

Apple A7 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
28 nm Technology 14 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 Android
Q3/2013 Release date Q2/2017
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:


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 (84%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
330 (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 (39%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1356 (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 (75%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Qualcomm Adreno 512 @ 0.60 GHz
154 (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%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
350 (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%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1288 (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 A7 Apple A7
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
158369 (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%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
2344 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Apple iPhone 6
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Apple iPad Mini 4
Apple TV HD
Apple HomePod
Apple iPod touch (6. Gen)
Unknown

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