Apple A9 Benchmark, Test and specs

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The Apple A9 has 2 cores with 2 threads and is based on the 9. gen of the Apple A series series. The processor was released in Q3/2015. The Apple A9 scores 558 points in the Geekbench 5 single-core benchmark. In the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark, the result is 1,024 points.
Apple A9

At a glance

Name: Apple A9
Family: Apple A series (25)
CPU group: Apple A9/A9X (2)
Architecture: A9
Technology: 16 nm
Segment: Smartphone / Tablet
Generation: 9
Predecessor: Apple A8
Successor: Apple A10 Fusion

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A9 has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A9 is 1.85 GHz. The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.

CPU Cores / Threads: 2 / 2
Core architecture: normal
Cores: 2x Twister
Hyperthreading / SMT: No
Overclocking: No
Frequency: 1.85 GHz
Turbo Frequency (1 Core): --
Turbo Frequency (2 Cores): --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple A9 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. Specifically, the Apple A9 uses the Apple A9, which has 192 texture shaders and 24 execution units. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

GPU name: Apple A9
GPU frequency: 0.65 GHz
GPU (Turbo): No turbo
Compute units: 24
Shader: 192
Hardware Raytracing: No
Release date: Q3/2015
Max. displays: 1
Generation: 6
Direct X: --
Technology: 16 nm
Max. GPU Memory: 4 GB
Frame Generation: No

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.

h265 / HEVC (8 bit): Decode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit): Decode
h264: Decode
VP8: Decode
VP9: No
AV1: No
AVC: Decode
VC-1: Decode
JPEG: Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The processor can use up to 2 GB memory in 1 (Single Channel) memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6 GB/s. The memory type as well as the amount of memory can greatly affect the speed of the system.

Memory type: Memory bandwidth:
LPDDR4-3200
25.6 GB/s
Max. Memory: 2 GB
Memory channels: 1 (Single Channel)
ECC: No
PCIe:
PCIe Bandwidth: --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the processor is 5 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently. The TDP usually gives a rough idea of the actual power consumption of the CPU.

TDP (PL1 / PBP): 5 W
TDP (PL2): --
TDP up: --
TDP down: --
Tjunction max.: --

Technical details

The Apple A9 is made in 16 nm. The smaller the manufacturing process of a CPU, the more modern and energy-efficient it is. Overall, the processor has 7.00 MB cache. A large cache can greatly speed up the processor's speed in some cases such as games.

Technology: 16 nm
Chip design: Chiplet
Socket: --
L2-Cache: 3.00 MB
L3-Cache: 4.00 MB
AES-NI: No
Operating systems: iOS
Virtualization: None
Instruction set (ISA): Armv8-A (64 bit)
ISA extensions: --
Release date: Q3/2015
Release price: --
Part Number: --
Documents: --

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Benchmark results

Verified Benchmark results
The benchmark results for the Apple A9 have been carefully checked by us. We only publish benchmark results that have been created by us or that have been submitted by a visitor and then checked by a team member. All results are based on and fullfill our benchmark guidelines.


Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 is a partial load benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. In the single-core test, only the fastest CPU core is measured. The test run simulates the performance in practice.
MediaTek Dimensity 800 MediaTek Dimensity 800
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
675
MediaTek Helio G95 MediaTek Helio G95
8C 8T @ 2.05 GHz
662
MediaTek Helio G90T MediaTek Helio G90T
8C 8T @ 2.05 GHz
633
Apple A9 Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
632
MediaTek Dimensity 720 MediaTek Dimensity 720
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
599
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
8C 8T @ 2.80 GHz
552
Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 4G Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 4G
8C 8T @ 2.80 GHz
487

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

The practical Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark tests the system's performance under partial load. The processor's maximum power consumption is far from being used up.
MediaTek Helio X27 MediaTek Helio X27
10C 10T @ 2.60 GHz
942
Samsung Exynos 850 Samsung Exynos 850
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
942
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
941
Apple A9 Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
921
Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Qualcomm Snapdragon 652
8C 8T @ 1.80 GHz
920
Samsung Exynos 7904 Samsung Exynos 7904
8C 8T @ 1.80 GHz
910
Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 Qualcomm Snapdragon 626
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
910

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 810 HiSilicon Kirin 810
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
592
Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 5G
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
585
MediaTek Dimensity 810 MediaTek Dimensity 810
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
564
Apple A9 Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
558
Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
558
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2
8C 8T @ 2.55 GHz
553
Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
549

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.
Samsung Exynos 7885 Samsung Exynos 7885
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1032
Samsung Exynos 850 Samsung Exynos 850
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
1027
Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 Qualcomm Snapdragon 653
8C 8T @ 1.95 GHz
1026
Apple A9 Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
1024
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Qualcomm Snapdragon 630
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1014
Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Qualcomm Snapdragon 652
8C 8T @ 1.80 GHz
1007
HiSilicon Kirin 955 HiSilicon Kirin 955
8C 8T @ 2.50 GHz
989

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.
Samsung Exynos 880 Samsung Exynos 880
ARM Mali-G76 MP5 @ 0.72 GHz
260
Samsung Exynos 980 Samsung Exynos 980
ARM Mali-G76 MP5 @ 0.72 GHz
260
MediaTek Dimensity 930 MediaTek Dimensity 930
PowerVR IMG AXM-8-256 @ 1.00 GHz
250
Apple A9 Apple A9
Apple A9 @ 0.65 GHz
250
HiSilicon Kirin 960 HiSilicon Kirin 960
ARM Mali-G71 MP8 @ 0.90 GHz
245
HiSilicon Kirin 960S HiSilicon Kirin 960S
ARM Mali-G71 MP8 @ 0.90 GHz
245
MediaTek Dimensity 700 MediaTek Dimensity 700
ARM Mali-G57 MP2 @ 0.95 GHz
243

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 662 Qualcomm Snapdragon 662
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
176983
Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 Qualcomm Snapdragon 670
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
175698
Samsung Exynos 8895 Samsung Exynos 8895
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
175045
Apple A9 Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
172160
Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
171683
Samsung Exynos 9610 Samsung Exynos 9610
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
171465
MediaTek Helio P60 MediaTek Helio P60
8C 8T @ 2.00 GHz
166740

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.
MediaTek Helio X27 MediaTek Helio X27
10C 10T @ 2.60 GHz
2139
MediaTek Helio G37 MediaTek Helio G37
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
2134
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
8C 8T @ 1.80 GHz
2117
Apple A9 Apple A9
2C 2T @ 1.85 GHz
2053
Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 Qualcomm Snapdragon 632
8C 8T @ 1.80 GHz
2007
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Qualcomm Snapdragon 630
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1850
MediaTek Helio P35 MediaTek Helio P35
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
1844

Benchmarks





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