Apple A8X vs Apple M1

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A8X CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1
Apple A8X Apple M1

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple A8X and the Apple M1 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple A8X 3 core processor released in Q3/2014 with the Apple M1 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2020.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple M series (23)
Apple A8/A8X (2) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
8 Generation 1
A8 Architecture M1
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A6X Predecessor --
Apple A9X Successor Apple M2

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A8X is a 3 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.50 GHz. The processor can compute 3 threads at the same time. The Apple M1 clocks with 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz), has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Apple A8X Characteristic Apple M1
3 Cores 8
3 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.50 GHz
3x Typhoon
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
4x Firestorm
-- B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm

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 A8X Characteristic Apple M1
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Apple A8X GPU Apple M1 (8 Core)
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
5 GPU Generation 1
20 nm Technology 5 nm
1 Max. displays 2
32 Compute units 128
256 Shader 1024
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory 8 GB
-- 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.

Apple A8X GPU Apple M1 (8 Core)
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2 GB of memory in a maximum of 1 memory channels is supported by the Apple A8X, while the Apple M1 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 68.2 GB/s enabled.

Apple A8X Characteristic Apple M1
LPDDR3-1600 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
2 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
2.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
4.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Apple A8X has a TDP of 8 W. The TDP of the Apple M1 is 18 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple A8X Characteristic Apple M1
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 18 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 20 W
-- TDP down 10 W
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A8X has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 20 nm. The cache of Apple M1 is at 16.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Apple A8X Characteristic Apple M1
20 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems macOS
Q3/2014 Release date Q4/2020
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A8X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (170 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
386 (22%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
1075 (14%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
427 (18%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
959 (11%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (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 A8X Apple A8X
Apple A8X @ 0.45 GHz
230 (9%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
Apple M1 (8 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2610 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
2356 (16%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
509 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple A8X Apple A8X
1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
7,759 CB R23 MC @ 18 W
431 (100%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A8X Apple M1
Apple iPad Air 2 Apple iMac 24 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020)
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Apple Mac mini (2020)
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021)
Apple iPad Air (2022)

News and articles for the Apple A8X and the Apple M1


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