Apple M4 vs Apple A12 Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M4 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12 Bionic
Apple M4 Apple A12 Bionic

CPU comparison

Apple M4 or Apple A12 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 M4 has 9 cores with 9 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.41 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M4 was released in Q2/2024.

The Apple A12 Bionic has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.49 GHz. The CPU supports up to 4 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A12 Bionic was released in Q3/2018.
Apple M series (25) Family Apple A series (22)
Apple M4 (2) CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)
4 Generation 12
M4 Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M3 Predecessor Apple A11 Bionic
-- Successor Apple A13 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M4 is a 9 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz). The Apple A12 Bionic has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.49 GHz.

Apple M4 Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
9 Cores 6
9 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz)
3x P-Core
A-Core 2.49 GHz
2x Vortex
0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
6x E-Core
B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest

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 M4 Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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 M4 (10 Core) GPU Apple A12
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 9
3 nm Technology 7 nm
2 Max. displays 1
160 Compute units 16
1280 Shader 256
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory 4 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 M4 (10 Core) GPU Apple A12
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
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M4 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A12 Bionic can connect up to 4 GB of memory in 1 memory channels.

Apple M4 Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
LPDDR5X-7500 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
8 GB Max. Memory 4 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
18.00 MB L2 Cache 8.00 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 M4 has a TDP of 22 W, that of the Apple A12 Bionic is 6 W.

Apple M4 Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
22 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
15 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M4 has a 18.00 MB cache, while the Apple A12 Bionic cache has a total of 8.00 MB.

Apple M4 Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
3 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv9-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems iOS
Q2/2024 Release date Q3/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M4 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (95 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple A12 Bionic to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (22 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic (40%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic (18%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
2491 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1116 (45%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
3630 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1286 (35%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
13060 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2353 (18%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (100%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
5 (13%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2731 (100%)

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 M4 Apple M4
Apple M4 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Apple A12 @ 1.13 GHz
576 (100%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
425605 (100%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
4846 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M4 Apple A12 Bionic
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024) Apple iPhone XR
Apple iPhone XS
Apple iPhone XS Max
Apple iPad mini (5. Gen)
Apple iPad Air (3. Gen)

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