Apple M4 GPU (8-core) vs A18 Pro GPU

We compared two integrated laptop graphics cards: the Apple M4 GPU (8-core) with 128 pipelines and 1024 shaders against the A18 Pro GPU that utilizes 128 pipelines and 768 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.

Review

General comparison of performance in games, applications, power efficiency, and other metrics
Gaming
Performance in DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan games
Workstation
Perf. in 3D modeling, video editing and rendering apps
Energy Efficiency
Power consumption efficiency in different scenarios
NanoReview Final Score
Overall video card score

Key differences

Key distinctions and advantages of A18 Pro GPU over M4 GPU (8-core)
Reasons to consider the Apple M4 GPU (8-core)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 93%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • 30% higher maximum theoretical performance (3 vs 2.3 TFLOPS)
  • Has 33% more shading units (1024 vs 768)

Benchmarks

Graphics cards’ performance in recent benchmarking apps

3D Mark

Multiplatform graphics benchmark suite that directly correlates with performance in modern games
Steel Nomad Lite Score
3462
Solar Bay 13969 7374
Wild Life Extreme 7931 3947
Sources: 3DMark [1], [2]

GeekBench 6 GPU Compute

GPU test for computational tasks (image processing, photography, computer vision, and ML)
GB6 Compute Score
31229
Background Blur 57.4 img/sec 57.1 img/sec
Face Detection 41.3 img/sec 91.4 img/sec
Horizon Detection 1.21 Gpixels/sec 0.92 Gpixels/sec
Edge Detection 1.74 Gpixels/sec 1.21 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian Blur 1.12 Gpixels/sec 1.5 Gpixels/sec
Feature Matching 0.43 Gpixels/sec 0.45 Gpixels/sec
Stereo Matching 94.9 Gpixels/sec 84.2 Gpixels/sec
Particle Physics 3902.5 FPS 3061 FPS
API OpenCL Metal
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]

Blender

Rendering performance test for 3D modeling
Blender GPU
Sources: Blender [9] – 100 samples

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M4 GPU (8-core)
No benchmark results yet
Apple A18 Pro GPU
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-04-24 -> RennsportGeekbench 6 OpenCL19670

Artificial Intelligence Tests

Performance in machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks

GeekBench 6 ML

Tests throughput of AI operations in single, half, and quantized precision
GB6 ML Single Precision
GB6 ML Half Precision
GB6 ML Quantized
Image Classification (SP) - 3264
Image Segmentation (HP) - 4550
Image Super Resolution (Q) - 6705
Face Detection (HP) - 11770
Pose Estimation (Q) - 15548
Text Classification (SP) - 3678
Machine Translation (HP) - 5678
Object Detection (SP) - 3360
Depth Estimation (Q) - 13468
Style Transfer (SP) - 31541
Framework - Core ML
Backend - GPU
Sources: Geekbench [9]

Specifications

Technical specifications of Apple M4 GPU (8-core) and A18 Pro GPU

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Build Integrated Integrated
Released October 29, 2024 September 9, 2024
Case Laptop Laptop
Purpose Professional Generic
Segment Mid-range Mid-range
Architecture Apple M GPU Apple M GPU
GPU Codename Custom Custom
Successor - Apple M5 GPU (8-Core) -
Recommended CPU - Apple M4 (8-Core) or above - Apple A18 Pro (MacBook) or above
Used in CPUs - Apple M4 (8-Core) - Apple A18 Pro (MacBook)
Laptop GPU ranking (66th and 81st place)

Graphics Processing Unit

Base Clock 500 MHz -
Boost Clock 1470 MHz 1490 MHz
Shading Units 1024 768
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) 64 40
Render Output Units (ROPs) 32 -
Compute Units (Pipelines) 128 128
Instructions Per Cycle 2 IPC 2 IPC

Raw Performance

Pixel Fill Rate 47 GPixel/s -
Texture Fill Rate 94 GTexel/s 60 GTexel/s
FLOPS (FP32)
3 TFLOPS
2.3 TFLOPS

Physical

Interface Custom Custom
TGP 15 W -
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Fabrication Process 3 nm 3 nm
Max. Temperature 100°C -

Memory

Memory Type System Shared System Shared
Memory Clock 7500 MHz 7500 MHz
Effective Memory Speed 15000 Mbps -
Bus 128-bit 128-bit
ECC No No
Memory Bandwidth

API

Ray Tracing Yes Yes
DLSS No No

Cast your vote

Choose between two graphics cards
14 (93.3%)
1 (6.7%)
Total votes: 15

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