Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) vs Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) and the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) 8 core processor released in Q3/2021 with the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) which has 6 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2021.
Apple M series (25) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple M1 (9) CPU group Apple A15 (2)
1 Generation 15
M1 Architecture A15
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) clocks with 3.23 GHz, has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
8 Cores 6
8 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
6x Firestorm
A-Core 3.23 GHz
2x Avalanche
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm
B-Core 2.02 GHz
4x Blizzard

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) GPU Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores)
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 1.34 GHz
1.30 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation 12
5 nm Technology 5 nm
3 Max. displays 3
224 Compute units 16
1792 Shader 512
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
32 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.

Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) GPU Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores)
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

Up to 32 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU), while the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) supports a maximum of 6 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 34.1 GB/s enabled.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
32 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
24.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 32.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has a TDP of 35 W. The TDP of the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) is 7.25 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
35 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7.25 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has 24.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) is at 48.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
5 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 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 Q3/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (197 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.4 stars (20 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) (97%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) (50%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1768 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
1745 (99%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
9996 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
4777 (48%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
2245 (94%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
10412 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
5402 (52%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
4580 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple A15 (4 GPU Cores) @ 1.34 GHz
1370 (30%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (70%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
15.8 (100%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
113 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
628 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
9569 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 GHz
806250 (100%)

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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
181 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
6C 6T @ 3.23 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 (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
9,569 CB R23 MC @ 35 W
273 (100%)
Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
3.23 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Apple iPhone 13 mini
Apple iPhone 13

News and articles for the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) and the Apple A15 Bionic (4-GPU)

What we know about the new Apple A16 Bionic in Apples iPhone 14
What we know about the new Apple A16 Bionic in Apples iPhone 14
Posted by Stefan on 2022-08-23
Every year Apple releases a new iPhone series and with the release of the series always the latest Apple A processor. This has become even more important in recent years, as it has also formed the basis for Apple's M processor series since 2020. The Apple M processors are based on the same core architecture as the Apple A processors, but have been significantly upgraded in many areas such as memory bandwith, amount of memory or cache.
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-28
After Apple surprisingly presented the normal Apple M2 processor as the first successor to the Apple M1 already in June 2022, the Apple M2 Pro and the Apple M2 Max may follow in autumn. The difference in performance compared to the basic version could be even greater this time and range from 25 to 40 percent.

In this article we describe how Apple could realize this and why the price should also go up.
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-09
During WWDC 2022 on June 6th, 2022 Apple surprisingly presented its new Apple M2 processor. This will initially be installed in a completely revised Apple MacBook Air with 13.6 inches, a even thinner form factor and new colors. Apple also updated the already known (old) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 with touch bar.

Many leakers had counted on Apple not presenting its new second-generation M processor until the fall. But things turned out differently. And there is very likely a reason for that: the improvements in the Apple M2 are limited compared to the predecessor.

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