Apple M1 vs Apple A12Z Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple M1 Apple A12Z Bionic

CPU comparison

Apple M1 or Apple A12Z Bionic - 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 M1 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 was released in Q4/2020.

The Apple A12Z Bionic has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.49 GHz. The CPU supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A12Z Bionic was released in Q1/2020.
Apple M series Family Apple A series
Apple M1 CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z
1 Generation 12
M1 Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A10X Fusion
Apple M2 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M1 is 3.20 GHz while the Apple A12Z Bionic has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple A12Z Bionic is at 2.06 GHz.

8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.20 GHz
4x Firestorm
A-Core 2.49 GHz
4x Vortex
2.06 GHz
4x Icestorm
B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest
-- C-Core --

Internal Graphics

The Apple M1 or Apple A12Z Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Apple M1 (8 Core) GPU Apple A12Z
1.30 GHz GPU frequency 1.34 GHz
GPU (Turbo)
1 GPU Generation 9
5 nm Technology 7 nm
2 Max. displays 2
128 Execution units 64
1024 Shader 512
8 GB Max. GPU Memory 6 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.

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

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M1 can use up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 68.2 GB/s. The Apple A12Z Bionic supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 68.2 GB/s.

LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
16 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
68.2 GB/s Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
16.00 MB L2 Cache 8.00 MB
L3 Cache
4.0 PCIe version --
PCIe lanes

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple M1 is 15 W, while the Apple A12Z Bionic has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
20 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M1 is manufactured in 5 nm and has 16.00 MB cache. The Apple A12Z Bionic is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 16.00 MB cache.

5 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
macOS Operating systems iOS
Q4/2020 Release date Q1/2020
-- Release price --
show more data show more data



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
991 (66%)
Show all Cinebench R23 (Single-Core) results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4539 (58%)
Show all Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core) results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1351 (57%)
Show all Geekbench 6 (Single-Core) results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4798 (56%)
Show all Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core) results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
1124 (65%)
Show all Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core) results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
4718 (62%)
Show all Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core) results



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 M1 Apple M1
Apple M1 (8 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2610 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A12Z @ 1.34 GHz
1370 (52%)
Show all iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS) results



AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.

Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
779044 (100%)
Show all AnTuTu 9 Benchmark results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
717401 (100%)
Show all AnTuTu 8 Benchmark results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)
Show all Blender 3.1 Benchmark results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)
Show all Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark results



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 M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)
Show all Blender 2.81 (bmw27) results



V-Ray CPU-Render Benchmark

V-Ray is a 3D rendering software from the manufacturer Chaos for designers and artists. Unlike many other render engines, V-Ray is capable of so-called hybrid rendering, in which the CPU and GPU work together at the same time.

However, the CPU benchmark we used (CPU Render Mode) only uses the system's processor. The working memory used plays a major role in the V-Ray benchmark. For our benchmarks we use the fastest RAM standard approved by the manufacturer (without overclocking).

Due to the high compatibility of V-Ray (including Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, SketchUp, Unreal Engine and Blender), it is a frequently used software. With V-Ray, for example, photorealistic images can be rendered that laypeople cannot distinguish from normal photos.

Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
4935 (100%)
Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z Bionic
8C 8T @ 2.49 GHz
0 (0%)
Show all V-Ray CPU-Render Benchmark results



Devices using this processor

Apple M1 Apple A12Z Bionic
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)
Apple iPad Pro 2020

News and articles for the Apple M1 and the Apple A12Z Bionic


VS Description of the processor

The Apple M1 is Apple's first processor for notebooks. Like the Apple A12Z, it is based on ARM technology and has a total of 8 CPU cores. These are arranged in a hybrid design (big.LITTLE) and are made up of 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. With full system load, the cores can also calculate tasks together.

Since the Apple A12Z also has 8 cores (4 + 4) and is only used in the Apple iPad Pro (2019), the M1 processor can be seen as the direct successor to the Apple A12Z. However, Apple allows the M1 to consume more energy over the long term, which is accompanied by a significantly increased clock rate of 3.2 GHz.

The Apple M1 is manufactured in a new 5 nm process, which enables high clock frequencies with very low consumption at the same time. In addition, Apple can passively cool the M1 in the Apple iPad Pro 2021 or in the Apple MacBook (2020), for example.

With the Apple M1 (8 core GPU), which is also manufactured in 5 nm, Apple was able to increase the graphics performance of the SoC to a remarkable 2.6 TFLOPS. The graphics of the Apple A12Z offer less than half of the graphics performance with 1.1 TFLOPS. In addition, Apple's M1 processor can now decode the free video codec AV1 in hardware, which not only makes the playback of new types of videos appear smoother, but also significantly reduces the system load and the load on the processor when playing AV1 videos. This also benefits the (good) battery life of the new devices with an M1 processor.

Apple was able to double the processor's cache in the M1 compared to the Apple A12Z. 16 MB cache is now available. In the main memory, however, nothing has changed: Apple continues to rely on LPDDR4X-4266 memory and thus avoids switching to the new but also more expensive LPDDR5-5200 memory, which is already used in new Samsung devices, for example.

Leaderboards

In our leaderboards, we have clearly compiled the best processors for specific categories for you. The leaderboards are always up to date and are regularly updated by us. The best processors are selected according to popularity and speed in benchmarks as well as the price-performance ratio.


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