Apple A8X vs Apple A8

The Apple A8X and Apple A8 are mobile system-on-chips (SoCs) from Apple, both manufactured using the 20nm process.

They were developed for different performance requirements in tablets (Apple A8X) and smartphones/smaller tablets (Apple A8) of the same generation. The Apple A8X features a triple-core CPU, 2 MB L2 cache, and 4 MB L3 cache. The Apple A8 is equipped with a dual-core CPU, 1 MB L2 cache, and 4 MB L3 cache.

Both utilize the A8 architecture and offer a maximum memory bandwidth of 13 GB/s. In single-core performance (Geekbench 6), both processors show similar performance. However, for multi-core tasks, the Apple A8X delivers significantly higher performance than the Apple A8.

This is also confirmed in the single-core performance of Cinebench R23, where the Apple A8X significantly outperforms the Apple A8. For gaming scenarios, the Apple A8X is the superior choice due to its more robust graphics unit, which integrates more compute cores than the Apple A8.

It enables the rendering of more complex graphics and potentially higher frame rates. It can be assumed that the more powerful Apple A8X will have higher power consumption and heat generation under load than the Apple A8. Both SoCs are optimized for energy-efficient operation in mobile devices. Since these processors are permanently installed in older Apple devices, they are not available separately.

Therefore, an evaluation of their price-performance ratio or current market prices as individual components is not relevant.