Apple M1 Apple A13 Bionic
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Apple M1 vs Apple A13 Bionic

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The Apple A13 Bionic, introduced in September 2019, was primarily designed for smartphones and tablets to provide robust mobile performance.

It features 8 MB of L2 cache and 34 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The Apple M1, unveiled in November 2020, marked Apple's transition to proprietary chips for Macs and iPads.

It offers 16 MB of L2 cache, supports PCIe 4.0, and achieves a higher memory bandwidth of 68 GB/s, focused on high performance and energy efficiency. In terms of performance, the Apple M1 significantly surpasses the Apple A13 Bionic in both single-core and multi-core applications.

This translates to noticeably faster execution of complex workflows. Even in gaming scenarios, the Apple M1, with its Apple M1 (8 Core) graphics unit and higher memory bandwidth, delivers significantly superior performance compared to the Apple A13 graphics unit. Both processors are energy-efficient.

The A13 Bionic is optimized for mobile power consumption. The M1 offers desktop-level performance with excellent efficiency and is found in newer devices that provide outstanding value for demanding tasks. Older A13 Bionic devices are more affordable. In summary, the Apple A13 Bionic is suitable for everyday mobile use and budget-conscious buyers.

The Apple M1 is recommended for users seeking significantly higher performance for creative and productive tasks in an energy-efficient package.

Apple A13 Bionic

  • Robust mobile performance
  • Efficient 7 nm manufacturing process
  • Optimized for low power consumption in mobile devices
  • More affordable in older devices

Apple M1

  • Significantly higher overall performance
  • Advanced 5 nm manufacturing process
  • Excellent energy efficiency with desktop performance
  • Superior integrated graphics performance

Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks

Single-core performance
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple M1
Rank 2 - 74 %
Apple A13 Bionic
Multi-core performance
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple M1
Rank 2 - 41 %
Apple A13 Bionic
Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple M1
Apple M1 100 %
8C / 8T · 3.20 GHz
2,369
Apple A13 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.65 GHz
1,710
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple M1
Apple M1 100 %
8C / 8T · 3.20 GHz
8,576
Apple A13 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.65 GHz
3,599
Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core

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

Apple M1
Apple M1 100 %
8C / 8T · 3.20 GHz
1,742
Apple A13 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.65 GHz
1,336
Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core

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

Apple M1
Apple M1 100 %
8C / 8T · 3.20 GHz
7,650
Apple A13 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.65 GHz
3,429
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

Apple M1
Apple M1 100 %
Apple M1 (8 Core)
2,610
Apple A13 Bionic
Apple A13
691
AI performance (NPU)

AI performance (NPU)

Apple M1
Apple M1 100 %
8C / 8T · 0.60 GHz
11.0 TOPS
Apple A13 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.65 GHz
6.0 TOPS

More benchmarks

At a glance

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
FamilyApple M series (38)Apple A series (27)
CPU groupApple M1 (9)Apple A13 (1)
ArchitectureM1A13 (Lightning / Thunder)
Technology5 nm7 nm
SegmentNotebookSmartphone / Tablet
Socket
PredecessorApple A12 Bionic
SuccessorApple M2Apple A14 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
CPU Cores / Threads8 / 86 / 6
Hyperthreading / SMT
Core architecturehybrid (big.LITTLE)hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core Cluster 1: 4x Firestorm
0.60 - 3.20 GHz
2x Lightning
2.65 GHz
Core Cluster 2: 4x Icestorm
0.60 - 2.06 GHz
4x Thunder
1.80 GHz
L2-Cache16.00 MB8.00 MB
L3-Cache
Overclocking

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
GPU nameApple M1 (8 Core)Apple A13
GPU frequency0.39 - 1.30 GHz1.35 GHz
CUs / Shader128 / 102416 / 256
Raytracing
Max. displays21
Max. GPU Memory8 GB4 GB
Technology5 nm7 nm
Release dateQ4/2020Q3/2019

NPU AI performance

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
AI hardwareApple Neural EngineApple Neural Engine
AI specifications16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS8 Neural cores @ 6 TOPS
NPU + CPU + iGPU

Memory & PCIe

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
MemoryLPDDR4X-4266 (68.2 GB/s)
LPDDR4X-4266 (34.1 GB/s)
Max. Memory16 GB4 GB
Memory channels21
ECCNoNo
PCIe4.0
PCIe Bandwidth

Thermal Management

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
TDP18 W6 W
TDP (PL2)
TDP up20 W
TDP down10 W
T. junction max.

Technical details

Wischen
Apple M1Apple A13 Bionic
Chip designMonolithicChiplet
AES-NI
Operating systemsmacOSiOS
Instruction setArmv8.5-A (64 bit)Armv8-A (64 bit)
ISA extensionsRosetta 2 x86-Emulation
Release dateQ4/2020Q3/2019
Release price
Documents

Your rating

Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Apple M1 is 4.5 stars (775 ratings), while Apple A13 Bionic has received 3.8 stars (187 ratings).

Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.

Apple M1
Apple M1
8C / 8T · 0.60 - 3.20 GHz
Apple A13 Bionic
Apple A13 Bionic
6C / 6T · 2.65 GHz

Most popular CPUs in both categories

Apple M1
Apple M1
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