Apple A8 Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
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Apple A8 vs Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)

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The Apple A8 (2014) was developed for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) (2021) targets modern high-end smartphones and tablets with high performance requirements.

The Apple A8 (20-nm) features a dual-core CPU, an Apple A8 graphics unit, 1 MB L2 and 4 MB L3 cache, and 13 GB/s memory bandwidth. The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) (5-nm) uses a hexa-core CPU (two performance, four efficiency cores) and an Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores) graphics unit.

It offers 16 MB L2 and 32 MB L3 cache, and 34 GB/s memory bandwidth. The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) significantly outperforms the Apple A8 in single- and multi-core performance. Its modern architecture enables significantly higher performance in benchmarks. For gaming, the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is far superior due to its Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores) graphics unit, allowing for smoother gameplay.

Thanks to the 5-nm process, the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) achieves higher energy efficiency and performance compared to the 20-nm process of the Apple A8. This reduces power consumption and heat generation. Direct CPU market prices are not relevant. Devices with Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) are newer, high-priced models.

Devices with Apple A8 are older and cheaper on the used market. The Apple A8 is suitable for basic mobile tasks. The Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is a powerful, energy-efficient processor for demanding applications and gaming. For high performance, the Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) is recommended; for simple tasks, an A8 device is sufficient.

Apple A8

  • Introduced 2014, 20-nm manufacturing
  • Dual-core CPU with Apple A8 graphics unit
  • 1 MB L2 cache, 4 MB L3 cache
  • Suitable for basic mobile tasks

Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)

  • Introduced 2021, 5-nm manufacturing
  • Hexa-core CPU (2 performance, 4 efficiency cores) with Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores) graphics unit
  • 16 MB L2 cache, 32 MB L3 cache
  • High performance and energy efficiency for demanding applications and gaming

Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks

Single-core performance
Rank 2 - 18 %
Apple A8
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Multi-core performance
Rank 2 - 12 %
Apple A8
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple A8
Apple A8 17 %
2C / 2T · 1.50 GHz
412
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C / 6T · 3.23 GHz
2,370
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple A8
Apple A8 10 %
2C / 2T · 1.50 GHz
588
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C / 6T · 3.23 GHz
5,726
Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core

Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple A8
Apple A8 19 %
2C / 2T · 1.50 GHz
324
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C / 6T · 3.23 GHz
1,745
Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core

Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple A8
Apple A8 13 %
2C / 2T · 1.50 GHz
607
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C / 6T · 3.23 GHz
4,777
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

Apple A8
Apple A8 8 %
Apple A8
136
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores)
1,713

More benchmarks

At a glance

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
FamilyApple A series (27)Apple A series (27)
CPU groupApple A8/A8X (2)Apple A15 (2)
ArchitectureA8A15
Technology20 nm5 nm
SegmentSmartphone / TabletSmartphone / Tablet
Socket
PredecessorApple A7Apple A14 Bionic
SuccessorApple A9Apple A16 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
CPU Cores / Threads2 / 26 / 6
Hyperthreading / SMT
Core architecturenormalhybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core Cluster 1: 2x Typhoon
1.50 GHz
2x Avalanche
3.23 GHz
Core Cluster 2: 4x Blizzard
2.02 GHz
L2-Cache1.00 MB16.00 MB
L3-Cache4.00 MB32.00 MB
Overclocking

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
GPU nameApple A8Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores)
GPU frequency0.53 GHz1.34 GHz
CUs / Shader16 / 12820 / 640
Raytracing
Max. displays13
Max. GPU Memory4 GB6 GB
Technology20 nm5 nm
Release dateQ3/2014Q3/2021

NPU AI performance

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
AI hardwareApple Neural Engine
AI specifications16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS
NPU + CPU + iGPU

Memory & PCIe

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
MemoryLPDDR3-1600 (12.8 GB/s)
LPDDR4X-4266 (34.1 GB/s)
Max. Memory1 GB6 GB
Memory channels11
ECCNoNo
PCIe
PCIe Bandwidth

Thermal Management

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
TDP5 W10 W
TDP (PL2)
TDP up
TDP down
T. junction max.

Technical details

Wischen
Apple A8Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Chip designChipletChiplet
AES-NI
Operating systemsiOSiOS
Instruction setArmv8-A (64 bit)Armv8-A (64 bit)
ISA extensions
Release dateQ3/2014Q3/2021
Release price
Documents

Your rating

Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Apple A8 is 3.2 stars (19 ratings), while Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) has received 4.2 stars (196 ratings).

Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.

Apple A8
Apple A8
2C / 2T · 1.50 GHz
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU)
6C / 6T · 3.23 GHz

Most popular CPUs in both categories

Apple A8
Apple A8
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