HiSilicon Kirin 655 vs Apple A8X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


HiSilicon Kirin 655 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A8X
HiSilicon Kirin 655 Apple A8X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the HiSilicon Kirin 655 and the Apple A8X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the HiSilicon Kirin 655 8 core processor released in Q2/2016 with the Apple A8X which has 3 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2014.
HiSilicon Kirin (29) Family Apple A series (22)
HiSilicon Kirin 650 (4) CPU group Apple A8/A8X (2)
4 Generation 8
Cortex-A53 / Cortex-A53 Architecture A8
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A6X
-- Successor Apple A9X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The HiSilicon Kirin 655 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.12 GHz. The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Apple A8X clocks with 1.50 GHz, has 3 CPU cores and can calculate 3 threads in parallel.

HiSilicon Kirin 655 Characteristic Apple A8X
8 Cores 3
8 Threads 3
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.12 GHz
4x Cortex-A53
A-Core 1.50 GHz
3x Typhoon
1.70 GHz
4x Cortex-A53
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.

HiSilicon Kirin 655 Characteristic Apple A8X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

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.

ARM Mali-T830 MP2 GPU Apple A8X
0.90 GHz GPU frequency 0.45 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
Midgard 4 GPU Generation 5
28nm Technology 20 nm
2 Max. displays 1
2 Compute units 32
32 Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
11 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.

ARM Mali-T830 MP2 GPU Apple A8X
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode
No Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the HiSilicon Kirin 655, while the Apple A8X supports a maximum of 2 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s enabled.

HiSilicon Kirin 655 Characteristic Apple A8X
LPDDR3-933 Memory LPDDR3-1600
Max. Memory 2 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
-- Max. Bandwidth 12.8 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 2.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 4.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The HiSilicon Kirin 655 has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Apple A8X is 8 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

HiSilicon Kirin 655 Characteristic Apple A8X
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 8 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The HiSilicon Kirin 655 has 0.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 16 nm. The cache of Apple A8X is at 6.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 20 nm.

HiSilicon Kirin 655 Characteristic Apple A8X
16 nm Technology 20 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
Android Operating systems iOS
Q2/2016 Release date Q3/2014
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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Here you can rate the Apple A8X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
HiSilicon Kirin 655 (44%)
Apple A8X (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
HiSilicon Kirin 655 (74%)
Apple A8X (100%)

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.
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
168 (44%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
386 (100%)

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.
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
794 (74%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
1075 (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.
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
ARM Mali-T830 MP2 @ 0.90 GHz
61 (27%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
Apple A8X @ 0.45 GHz
230 (100%)

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.
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
427 (100%)

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.
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
959 (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.
HiSilicon Kirin 655 HiSilicon Kirin 655
8C 8T @ 2.12 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
2356 (100%)

Devices using this processor

HiSilicon Kirin 655 Apple A8X
Unknown Apple iPad Air 2

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