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InnoReviews

Apple A12 Bionic vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 860

WINNER
Apple A12 Bionic
35.2Inno Score
VS
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
34.9Inno Score
32.4CPU33.1
29.9GPU27.3
—Benchmarks49.1
20AIspec-based—
41.8Efficiencyspec-based32.1
3 spec wins — Apple A12 Bionic4 spec wins — Qualcomm Snapdragon 860

InnoReviews verdict

This one is close to a dead heat: Apple A12 Bionic scores 35.2 against 34.9 for Qualcomm Snapdragon 860. Pick by the categories that matter to you — Apple A12 Bionic edges ahead in GPU, or by price.

Which would you pick?

Key differences

Reasons to pick the Apple A12 Bionic

  • 70% higher 3DMark Wild Life Extreme: 1,408 vs 830
  • 40% lower TDP (typical): 6 W vs 10 W
  • 28% higher Geekbench 6 (single): 1,325 vs 1,037

Reasons to pick the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860

  • 33% higher cores: 8 vs 6
  • 19% higher Max clock: 2.96 GHz vs 2.49 GHz

General

General comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
Announced20182021
Process7 nm7 nm
TDP (typical)6 W+40%10 W
ArchitectureArmv8.3Armv8.2

CPU

CPU comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
Cores68+33%
Core configuration2x2.49 GHz Vortex + 4x1.52 GHz Tempest1x2.96 GHz Cortex-A76 + 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A76 + 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55
Max clock2.49 GHz2.96 GHz+19%

GPU

GPU comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
GPUApple GPU (4-core)Qualcomm Adreno 640
GPU clock—700 MHz

AI

AI comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
NPUNeural Engine (8-core)Qualcomm Hexagon 690
AI performance5 TOPS—

Memory

Memory comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
Memory typeLPDDR4X-2133LPDDR4X-2133
Max bandwidth34.1 GB/s34.1 GB/s

Connectivity

Connectivity comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
ModemIntel XMM 7560 LTE (external)Snapdragon X15 LTE
Wi-FiWi-Fi 5Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth5.05.1

Media

Media comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
Max displayRetina XDR4K @ 60Hz / FHD+ @ 144Hz
Video capture4K@60fps4K@60fps

Benchmarks

Benchmarks comparison: Apple A12 Bionic versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
SpecApple A12 BionicQualcomm Snapdragon 860
AnTuTu—795,334Bottom 31%
AnTuTu 11 (CPU)—294,736Bottom 31%
AnTuTu 11 (GPU)—118,830Bottom 27%
AnTuTu 11 (Memory)—160,316Bottom 35%
AnTuTu 11 (UX)—221,452Bottom 31%
AnTuTu 12—923,253Bottom 37%
Geekbench 6 (single)1,325+28%Top 36%1,037Bottom 50%
Geekbench 6 (multi)2,850Bottom 47%3,038+7%Top 48%
3DMark Wild Life Extreme1,408+70%Top 35%830Bottom 50%

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