Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple A18
VS

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) vs Apple A18

Last updated:
The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) was designed for professional users in laptops and compact desktops, while the Apple A18 was developed for use in mobile devices.

The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) is based on the M1 architecture and is manufactured using the 5 nm process with ten cores. In contrast, the Apple A18 uses the Donan architecture and is produced using the more efficient 3 nm process with six cores. In terms of memory bandwidth, the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) at 102 GB/s is ahead of the Apple A18 at 60 GB/s.

Additionally, the Apple A18 features a 24 MB Level 3 cache, which the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) does not have. In benchmarks, the Apple A18 shows significantly higher single-core performance. However, the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) achieves higher multi-core performance, making it ideal for parallel tasks.

In gaming scenarios, the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) is superior due to the Apple M1 Pro (16 Core) graphics unit, as it offers more resources for complex calculations than the Apple A18 (5 GPU Cores) unit. While the Apple A18 is optimized for minimal energy consumption in fanless systems, the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) offers higher thermal stability under continuous load.

The price of the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) reflects its workstation status, whereas the Apple A18 is marketed as part of overall mobile systems. In summary, the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) is the recommendation for workstation users, while the Apple A18 convinces with efficiency in single applications.

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)

  • Ten CPU cores for high multi-core performance
  • Integrated Apple M1 Pro (16 Core) graphics
  • Memory bandwidth of 102 GB/s
  • Consistent performance in professional workflows

Apple A18

  • Efficient manufacturing in the 3 nm process
  • High single-core performance through Donan architecture
  • Integrated 24 MB Level 3 cache
  • Low thermal power dissipation for mobile devices

Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks

Single-core performance
Rank 2 - 71 %
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple A18
Multi-core performance
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Rank 2 - 68 %
Apple A18
Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C / 10T · 3.20 GHz
2,397
Apple A18
Apple A18 100 %
6C / 6T · 4.04 GHz
3,384
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C / 10T · 3.20 GHz
12,407
Apple A18
Apple A18 68 %
6C / 6T · 4.04 GHz
8,430
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Apple M1 Pro (16 Core)
5,300
Apple A18
Apple A18 41 %
Apple A18 (5 GPU Cores)
2,150
AI performance (NPU)

AI performance (NPU)

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C / 10T · 0.60 GHz
11.0 TOPS
Apple A18
Apple A18 100 %
6C / 6T · 0.70 GHz
38.0 TOPS

More benchmarks

At a glance

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
FamilyApple M series (38)Apple A series (27)
CPU groupApple M1 (9)Apple A18 (2)
ArchitectureM1Donan
Technology5 nm3 nm
SegmentNotebookSmartphone / Tablet
Socket
PredecessorApple A16 Bionic
SuccessorApple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)Apple A19

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
CPU Cores / Threads10 / 106 / 6
Hyperthreading / SMT
Core architecturehybrid (big.LITTLE)hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core Cluster 1: 8x Firestorm
0.60 - 3.20 GHz
2x Donan P-Core
0.70 - 4.04 GHz
Core Cluster 2: 2x Icestorm
0.60 - 2.06 GHz
4x Donan E-Core
0.74 - 2.30 GHz
L2-Cache28.00 MB20.00 MB
L3-Cache24.00 MB
Overclocking

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
GPU nameApple M1 Pro (16 Core)Apple A18 (5 GPU Cores)
GPU frequency0.39 - 1.30 GHz0.39 - 1.68 GHz
CUs / Shader256 / 204820 / 640
Raytracing
Max. displays31
Max. GPU Memory16 GB8 GB
Technology5 nm3 nm
Release dateQ3/2021Q3/2024

NPU AI performance

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
AI hardwareApple Neural EngineApple Neural Engine
AI specifications16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS
NPU + CPU + iGPU

Memory & PCIe

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
MemoryLPDDR5-6400 (102.4 GB/s)
LPDDR5X-7500 (60.0 GB/s)
Max. Memory32 GB8 GB
Memory channels21
ECCNoNo
PCIe4.0
PCIe Bandwidth

Thermal Management

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
TDP45 W12 W
TDP (PL2)
TDP up
TDP down
T. junction max.

Technical details

Wischen
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)Apple A18
Chip designMonolithicChiplet
AES-NI
Operating systemsmacOSiOS
Instruction setArmv8.5-A (64 bit)Armv9-A (64 bit)
ISA extensionsRosetta 2 x86-Emulation
Release dateQ3/2021Q3/2024
Release price
Documents

Your rating

Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) is 4.8 stars (242 ratings), while Apple A18 has received 4.1 stars (224 ratings).

Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C / 10T · 0.60 - 3.20 GHz
Apple A18
Apple A18
6C / 6T · 0.70 - 4.04 GHz

Most popular CPUs in both categories

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Buy now on Amazon and save! Buy on Amazon