Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) vs Apple A6

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A6
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple A6

CPU comparison

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) or Apple A6 - 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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) has 10 cores with 10 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.

The Apple A6 has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.30 GHz. The CPU supports up to 1 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A6 was released in Q3/2012.
Apple M series (23) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple M1 (9) CPU group Apple A6/A6X (2)
1 Generation 6
M1 Architecture A6
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A5
Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Successor Apple A7

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) is a 10 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz). The Apple A6 has 2 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 1.30 GHz.

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Characteristic Apple A6
10 Cores 2
10 Threads 2
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
8x Firestorm
A-Core 1.30 GHz
2x Swift
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm
B-Core --

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 M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Characteristic Apple A6
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M1 Pro (16 Core) GPU PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores)
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.27 GHz
1.30 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology 32 nm
3 Max. displays 1
256 Compute units 6
2048 Shader 48
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
16 GB Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version 10

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 M1 Pro (16 Core) GPU PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A6 can connect up to 1 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Characteristic Apple A6
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR2-1066
32 GB Max. Memory 1 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 8.5 GB/s
No ECC No
28.00 MB L2 Cache 1.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) has a TDP of 45 W, that of the Apple A6 is --.

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Characteristic Apple A6
45 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) has a 28.00 MB cache, while the Apple A6 cache has a total of 1.00 MB.

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Characteristic Apple A6
5 nm Technology 32 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv7-A (32 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
macOS Operating systems iOS
Q3/2021 Release date Q3/2012
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Apple M1 Pro (16 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
5300 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
PowerVR SGX543MP3 (3 Cores) @ 0.27 GHz
68 (1%)

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 M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
113 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
802 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12390 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1768 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12574 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12407 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
192 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
12,390 CB R23 MC @ 45 W
275 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
10C 10T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)
Apple A6 Apple A6
2C 2T @ 1.30 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Apple A6
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Apple iPhone 5
Apple iPhone 5C

News and articles for the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) and the Apple A6


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