Apple M4 vs NVIDIA Tegra X1

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M4 CPU1 vs CPU2 NVIDIA Tegra X1
Apple M4 NVIDIA Tegra X1

CPU comparison

Apple M4 or NVIDIA Tegra X1 - 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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.00 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The NVIDIA Tegra X1 was released in Q1/2017.
Apple M series (25) Family NVIDIA Tegra (2)
Apple M4 (2) CPU group NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2)
4 Generation 2
M4 Architecture Cortex-A57/-A53
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M3 Predecessor --
-- Successor --

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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.00 GHz.

Apple M4 Characteristic NVIDIA Tegra X1
9 Cores 8
9 Threads 8
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 2.00 GHz
4x Cortex-A57
0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
6x E-Core
B-Core 2.00 GHz
4x Cortex-A53

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 NVIDIA Tegra X1
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications --
-- 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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell)
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.30 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.00 GHz
-- GPU Generation 1
3 nm Technology 20 nm
2 Max. displays 1
160 Compute units 2
1280 Shader 256
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
-- DirectX Version 12

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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode
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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 can connect up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple M4 Characteristic NVIDIA Tegra X1
LPDDR5X-7500 Memory LPDDR4-3200
8 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
No ECC No
18.00 MB L2 Cache 2.50 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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 is 7 W.

Apple M4 Characteristic NVIDIA Tegra X1
22 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
15 W TDP down 5 W
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M4 has a 18.00 MB cache, while the NVIDIA Tegra X1 cache has a total of 2.50 MB.

Apple M4 Characteristic NVIDIA Tegra X1
3 nm Technology 20 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
Q2/2024 Release date Q1/2017
-- 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 NVIDIA Tegra X1 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (9 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (8%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (6%)

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%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 NVIDIA Tegra X1
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
308 (8%)

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%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 NVIDIA Tegra X1
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
798 (6%)

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%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 NVIDIA Tegra X1
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 NVIDIA Tegra X1
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) @ 1.00 GHz
512 (100%)

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%)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 NVIDIA Tegra X1
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M4 NVIDIA Tegra X1
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024) NVIDIA Shield (1. Gen)
Nintendo Switch

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