Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G vs Apple A12 Bionic

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A12 Bionic
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Apple A12 Bionic

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G and the Apple A12 Bionic and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G 8 core processor released in Q1/2021 with the Apple A12 Bionic which has 6 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2018.
Qualcomm Snapdragon (102) Family Apple A series (22)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 (2) CPU group Apple A12/A12X/A12Z (3)
6 Generation 12
Kryo 460 Architecture A12
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A11 Bionic
-- Successor Apple A13 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.00 GHz. The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Apple A12 Bionic clocks with 2.49 GHz, has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
8 Cores 6
8 Threads 6
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.00 GHz
8x Kryo 460 Gold
A-Core 2.49 GHz
2x Vortex
1.80 GHz
6x Kryo 460 Silver
B-Core 1.59 GHz
4x Tempest

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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
Qualcomm AI engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
Hexagon 686 @ 3.3 TOPS AI specifications 8 Neural cores @ 5 TOPS

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.

Qualcomm Adreno 619 GPU Apple A12
0.95 GHz GPU frequency 1.13 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
6 GPU Generation 9
8 nm Technology 7 nm
2 Max. displays 1
-- Compute units 16
128 Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
4 GB Max. GPU Memory 4 GB
12.1 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.

Qualcomm Adreno 619 GPU Apple A12
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode 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 8 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G, while the Apple A12 Bionic supports a maximum of 4 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 34.1 GB/s enabled.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
8 GB Max. Memory 4 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
17.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 8.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Apple A12 Bionic is 6 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G has 0.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 8 nm. The cache of Apple A12 Bionic is at 8.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 7 nm.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Characteristic Apple A12 Bionic
8 nm Technology 7 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
Q1/2021 Release date Q3/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 2.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple A12 Bionic to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.3 stars (7 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G (45%)
Apple A12 Bionic (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G (60%)
Apple A12 Bionic (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
503 (45%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1116 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
1643 (60%)
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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
Qualcomm Adreno 619 @ 0.95 GHz
536 (93%)
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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
260173 (61%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
425605 (100%)

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).
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
3.3 (66%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
5 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
1286 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
2353 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A12 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
6C 6T @ 2.49 GHz
4846 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G Apple A12 Bionic
Oppo A74 5G
Oppo A5 5G
OnePlus Nord 200
Apple iPhone XR
Apple iPhone XS
Apple iPhone XS Max
Apple iPad mini (5. Gen)
Apple iPad Air (3. Gen)

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