A14 Bionic vs A12 Bionic

We compared two 6-core processors: Apple A14 Bionic (with Apple GPU graphics) and A12 Bionic (Apple A12 Bionic GPU). Here you will find the pros and cons of each chip, technical specs, and comprehensive tests in benchmarks, like AnTuTu and Geekbench.

Review

General comparison of performance, power consumption, and other indicators
CPU Performance
Single and multi-core processor tests
Gaming Performance
GPU performance in games and OpenCL/Vulcan
Battery life
Efficiency of battery consumption
NanoReview Score
Overall chip score

Key Differences

Main differences and advantages of each chip
Pros of Apple A14 Bionic
  • Announced 2-years later
  • Has a smaller size transistor (5 versus 7 nm)
  • Shows better (up to 37%) AnTuTu 9 score – 725K vs 530K
  • Supports 25% higher memory bandwidth (42.7 against 34.1 GB/s)
  • 24% higher CPU clock speed (3100 vs 2490 MHz)
  • Better instruction set architecture
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Benchmarks

Performance tests in popular benchmarks

AnTuTu 9

The AnTuTu Benchmark measures CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance in different scenarios
A14 Bionic +37%
725581
530181
CPU 202575 143402
GPU 273954 186891
Memory 115865 91638
UX 129781 107048
Total score 725581 530181

GeekBench 5

The GeekBench test shows raw single-threaded and multithreaded CPU performance
Single-Core Score
A14 Bionic +41%
1596
1131
Multi-Core Score
A14 Bionic +41%
4150
2935
Image compression 171.5 Mpixels/s 132.8 Mpixels/s
Face detection 33.6 images/s 14.5 images/s
Speech recognition 94.8 words/s 67.8 words/s
Machine learning 93.1 images/s 54.1 images/s
Camera shooting 38.7 images/s 14.6 images/s
HTML 5 4.5 Mnodes/s 3.27 Mnodes/s
SQLite 1060 Krows/s 745 Krows/s

3DMark

A cross-platform benchmark that assesses graphics performance in Vulkan (Metal)
3DMark Wild Life Performance
A14 Bionic +45%
7608
5231
Stability 77% 69%
Graphics test 45 FPS 31 FPS
Score 7608 5231

Specifications

Full list of technical specifications of A14 Bionic and A12 Bionic

CPU

Architecture 2x 3.1 GHz – Firestorm
4x 1.8 GHz – Icestorm
2x 2.49 GHz – Vortex
4x 1.6 GHz – Tempest
Cores 6 6
Frequency 3100 MHz 2490 MHz
Instruction set ARMv8.5-A ARMv8.3-A
L1 cache - 128 KB
L2 cache 8 MB 8 MB
Process 5 nanometers 7 nanometers
Transistor count 11.8 billion 6.9 billion
TDP 6 W 6 W

Graphics

GPU name Apple GPU Apple A12 Bionic GPU
GPU frequency - 1125 MHz
Execution units 4 32
Shading units - 256
FLOPS - 560 Gigaflops
Vulkan version - 1.1
OpenCL version - 2.0
DirectX version - 12

Memory

Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory frequency - 2133 MHz
Bus - 1x 64 Bit
Max bandwidth 42.7 Gbit/s 34.1 Gbit/s
Max size 6 GB 12 GB

Multimedia (ISP)

Neural processor (NPU) Neural Engine Yes
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Max display resolution 2732 x 2048 2688 x 1242
Max camera resolution - 2x 12MP
Video capture 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video playback 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video codecs H.264, H.265, Motion JPEG H.264, H.265, Motion JPEG
Audio codecs AAC, AIFF, CAF, MP3, MP4, WAV, AC-3, E-AC-3, AAX, AAX+ AAC, AAC‑LC, Apple Lossless, HE‑AAC, Linear PCM, AAX и AAX+, HE‑AAC v2, MP3

Connectivity

4G support LTE Cat. 18 LTE Cat. 18
5G support Yes No
Download speed - Up to 1000 Mbps
Upload speed - Up to 150 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 5
Bluetooth 5.0 5.0
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo

Info

Announced September 2020 September 2018
Class Flagship Flagship
Model number APL1W01 APL1W81

Cast your vote

So, which SoC would you choose?
604 (71.6%)
240 (28.4%)
Total votes: 844

Comments

Please give your opinion on the comparison of A12 Bionic and A14 Bionic, or ask any questions
Avatar
Aparna 26 June 2021 13:39
Is 14bionic chip needed for a non gamer like me ? Specially when I’m considering buying the iPad 2020 chiefly for reading, writing and watching movies.
+97 Reply
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Kenny 01 June 2022 05:22
If u need a clear screen which is a laminated screen plus a way better speaker then iPad air way suitable for iPad.
0 Reply
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Helen Gofton 13 May 2021 14:36
Would the average person notice the difference between a 12 Bionic chip and a 14 Bionic chip.
+81 Reply
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Mark Christian Balan 28 May 2021 13:49
Probably no for now. But when the devices age, you will definitely notice a difference
+34 Reply
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Me. 09 January 2022 14:40
The biggest difference is A14 bionic doesn't optimize very well on gaming especially with the heaviest RPG game that I play currently. I'm just waiting to optimize the A14 before I planned to buy it.
+8 Reply
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