Home > Smartphone processors comparison > A17 Pro vs A16 Bionic – what's better?

A17 Pro vs A16 Bionic

A17 Pro
VS
A16 Bionic
A17 Pro
A16 Bionic

We compared two 6-core processors: Apple A17 Pro (with Apple A17 GPU graphics) and A16 Bionic (Apple A16 GPU). Here you will find the pros and cons of each chip, technical specs, and comprehensive tests in benchmarks, like AnTuTu and Geekbench.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Benchmarks
  4. AnTuTu v11
  5. GeekBench 6
  6. Specs
  7. Comments (19)

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/Vulkan
Battery life
Efficiency of battery consumption
NanoReview Score
Overall chip score

Key Differences

Main differences and advantages of each chip
Pros of Apple A17 Pro
  • Has a smaller size transistor (3 versus 4 nm)
  • Performs 20% better in floating-point computations
  • 9% higher CPU clock speed (3780 vs 3460 MHz)
Pros of Apple A16 Bionic
  • Shows better (up to 11%) AnTuTu 11 score – 1626K vs 1467K

Benchmarks

Performance tests in popular benchmarks
SoC:
A17 Pro
vs
A16 Bionic

AnTuTu 11

The AnTuTu Benchmark measures CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance in different scenarios
A17 Pro
1467470
A16 Bionic +11%
1626008
CPU 374357 432740
GPU 463612 490354
Memory 184670 216774
UX 444831 486140
Total score 1467470 1626008
Samples [21 tests] [36 tests]
Submit your AnTuTu result

GeekBench 6

The GeekBench test shows raw single-threaded and multithreaded CPU performance
Single-Core Score
A17 Pro +13%
2969
A16 Bionic
2631
Multi-Core Score
A17 Pro +15%
7599
A16 Bionic
6602
Asset compression 254.1 MB/sec 234.4 MB/sec
HTML 5 Browser 166 pages/sec 155.2 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 180.7 Mpixels/sec 157.5 Mpixels/sec
Image detection 178.7 images/sec 149.7 images/sec
HDR 240.3 Mpixels/sec 202.6 Mpixels/sec
Background blur 26.7 images/sec 25.9 images/sec
Photo processing 77.8 images/sec 76.8 images/sec
Ray tracing 7.76 Mpixels/sec 6.74 Mpixels/sec
Samples 32 tests 24 tests
Compute Score (GPU)
A17 Pro +23%
28057
A16 Bionic
22851
Background blur 55.5 images/sec 39.5 images/sec
Face detection 65.1 images/sec 50.9 images/sec
Horizon detection 0.8 Gpixels/sec 0.73 Gpixels/sec
Edge detection 1.08 Gpixels/sec 1.05 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian blur 1.11 Gpixels/sec 1.22 Gpixels/sec
Feature matching 0.43 Gpixels/sec 0.29 Gpixels/sec
Stereo matching 87.6 Gpixels/sec 70.4 Gpixels/sec
Particle physics 3313.9 FPS 2162.5 FPS
API Metal Metal
Samples 22 tests 12 tests

3DMark

A cross-platform benchmark that assesses graphics performance in Vulkan (Metal)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
A17 Pro
1391
A16 Bionic
n/a
Score 1391 -
Stability 71% -
Graphics test 10 FPS -
3DMark Solar Bay
A17 Pro +43%
6089
A16 Bionic
4266
Score 6089 4266
Stability 73% 74%
Graphics test 23 FPS 16 FPS
Section 1 29 FPS 20 FPS
Section 2 23 FPS 16 FPS
Section 3 16 FPS 12 FPS
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
A17 Pro +10%
3655
A16 Bionic
3335
Score 3655 3335
Stability 63% 71%
Graphics test 21 FPS 19 FPS

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple A17 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-23 (podsolnuh)AnTuTu 111357765
📘 2026-09-11 (Zabza)AnTuTu 111599694
📘 2026-09-10 (elio)AnTuTu 111445771
📘 2026-07-28 (human)Geekbench 6 GPU26734
📘 2026-07-28 (human)Geekbench 6 CPU2892 / 7293
Add View all (69)
Apple A16 Bionic
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-21 (Атомная бомба)AnTuTu 111772840
📘 2026-09-19 (Bear lover)AnTuTu 111714105
📘 2026-09-14 (ZUSEPRO)AnTuTu 111603687
📘 2026-08-31 (LORDroid)AnTuTu 111445126
📘 2026-08-16 (Ronaldo)AnTuTu 111626008
Add View all (62)

Specifications

Full list of technical specifications of A17 Pro and A16 Bionic

CPU

Architecture 2x 3.78 GHz – Everest
4x 2.11 GHz – Sawtooth		 2x 3.46 GHz – Everest
4x 2.02 GHz – Sawtooth
Cores 6 6
Frequency 3780 MHz 3460 MHz
Instruction set ARMv8.6-A ARMv8.6-A
L1 cache 256 KB 256 KB
L2 cache 16 MB 16 MB
Process 3 nanometers 4 nanometers
Transistor count 19 billion 16 billion
TDP (Sustained Power Limit) 8 W 8 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC

Graphics

GPU name Apple A17 GPU Apple A16 GPU
Architecture Apple Bionic GPU Apple Bionic GPU
GPU frequency 1398 MHz 1398 MHz
Pipelines 6 5
Shading units 128 128
Total shaders 768 640
FLOPS 2147.2 Gigaflops 1789.4 Gigaflops

AI Accelerator

Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
NPU theoretical performance 35 TOPS 17 TOPS

Memory

Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory frequency 3200 MHz 3200 MHz
Bus 4x 16 Bit 4x 16 Bit
Max bandwidth 51.2 Gb/s 51.2 Gb/s
Max size 8 GB 6 GB

Multimedia (ISP)

Storage type NVMe NVMe
Max display resolution 1290 x 2796 2796 x 1290
Max camera resolution 1x 48MP 1x 48MP
Video capture 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video playback 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video codecs - H.264
- H.265
- AV1
- VP8
- VP9
- Motion JPEG		 - H.264
- H.265
- VP8
- VP9
- Motion JPEG
Audio codecs - AAC
- AAX
- AAX+
- AC-3
- AIFF
- CAF
- E-AC-3
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV		 - AAC
- AAX
- AAX+
- AC-3
- AIFF
- CAF
- E-AC-3
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV

Connectivity

Modem Snapdragon X70 -
4G support LTE Cat. 24 LTE Cat. 24
5G support Yes Yes
Download speed Up to 7500 Mbps Up to 7500 Mbps
Upload speed Up to 3500 Mbps Up to 3500 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 6
Bluetooth 5.3 5.3
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS

Info

Announced September 2023 September 2022
Class Flagship Flagship
Model number APL1V02 APL1W10
Successor - Apple A19 Pro - Apple A19 Pro

Cast your vote

So, which SoC would you choose?
1777 (59.6%)
1203 (40.4%)
Total votes: 2980

Related Comparisons

1. Apple A17 Pro vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (141)
2. Apple A17 Pro vs Apple M1 (iPad) (8)
3. Apple A17 Pro vs Apple A18 Pro (19)
4. Apple A17 Pro vs Google Tensor G4
5. Apple A17 Pro vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (58)
6. Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple M2 (iPad)
7. Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple A18 (7)
8. Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple M1 (iPad) (3)
9. Apple A16 Bionic vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (3)
10. Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple M4 (iPad)
Compare other chipsets (190+)

Comments

Please give your opinion on the comparison of A16 Bionic and A17 Pro, or ask any questions
🌐 Register your profile and become part of NanoReview community!
Avatar
BlahBlahBlah May 31, 2026 at 02:37 PM
A16 is more op the heating issue a17
+1 Reply
Avatar
BlahBlahBlah June 2, 2026 at 07:17 AM
Right it’s a scam iPhone 15 pro max
0 Reply
Avatar
H Tech August 31, 2025 at 06:33 PM
Apple A16 not support wifi 6
+5 Reply
Avatar
Soontoberich July 17, 2024 at 06:16 PM
I don't think you will see the difference in actual usage, i choose the 15 plus
+9 Reply
Avatar
Exino July 20, 2026 at 07:42 AM
Same Bro, I also have 15 plus, but i didn't see any difference compare with 15 pro
0 Reply
Avatar
Khalid June 4, 2024 at 02:56 PM
It is natural for the A17 Pro to defeat the A16 Bionic because the tech was developed by Apple in different years, and Apple improved its processors more in everything.
+14 Reply
Avatar
Daine the Snapdragon Fan June 12, 2024 at 04:28 AM
The A17 Pro is just an overclocked A16 Bionic manufactured in 3.5nm, you know?
+92 Reply
Avatar
FlyingHopes_19 May 21, 2026 at 03:27 PM
Are you NPC or AI? Of course it should defeat? :D
0 Reply
Avatar
Daine the random Qualcomm Snapdragon lover May 19, 2024 at 01:19 PM
I choose the Apple iPhone 15 Plus 128GB Variant btw, it could be a good decision Even if the Apple A16 Bionic is from 2022 and performs just under the new Apple A17 Pro, it's still MORE than enough for everyday use!
+26 Reply
Avatar
Daine the random Qualcomm Snapdragon lover April 28, 2024 at 03:13 AM
Apple A17 Pro = Overclocked Apple A16 Bionic is 3nm hence the overheating issues the Apple iPhone 15 Pro models have been facing.
+45 Reply
Avatar
Hmu2 March 2, 2024 at 08:38 AM
This is ridiculous, ima switch to android if apple get’s this shitty
+30 Reply
Avatar
Hmu February 11, 2024 at 01:16 PM
At this rate, I might just switch to Android, which has more innovation.
+31 Reply
Avatar
ZhYaR December 27, 2023 at 06:52 PM
13Max > 14Max > 15Max. Nice strategy! 🙂 Opt for the 14Max. It's not worth buying the 15Max or even upgrading from the 13Max. It uses the same chipset with an overclocked CPU & GPU, and iOS 17, which causes overheating and drains performance. #iPhone 15ProMax.
+46 Reply
Avatar
Boris December 31, 2023 at 08:37 PM
Yes, the 15 Pro is essentially the same as the 14 S Pro - a very uninspired model, lacking uniqueness. The 13 Pro is my favorite, closely followed by the 14 Pro.
+21 Reply
Avatar
reviewer November 5, 2023 at 06:25 AM
Wrong instruction set of a16 bionic (Arm v8.6A not v9).
+62 Reply
Avatar
InvaderZen October 7, 2023 at 11:46 PM
A17 Pro is literally the A16 Bionic with its 2 performance cores overclocked by 320Mhz lol. The efficiency cores are still the same 2.02Ghz, and are still based on ARMv9-A cores. Memory bus is the same, RAM speed & bandwidth is the same, the only difference there is support for an additional 2GB total RAM. GPU gained an additional EU/core on the A17, hence the slightly better graphics performance but in pretty much every aspect it is far from what I’d call a meaningful “upgrade”. The real kicker is that thus far no one has ever complained about thermal throttling on the A16, so in a laughably ironic twist of fate the two likely perform almost identically in heavily single/multi-threaded workloads due to the A17’s inability to run full tilt without thermals impacting its peak performance. I suppose that’s why even when benchmarked, the difference in single/multi-core scores is negligible at best. Either way, Apple’s silicon is still some of the best hardware around for an ARM-based device. Qualcomm has come a long way with the SD Gen 1, 1+, 2, etc but still can’t seem to manage to close the gap with Apple’s modern Bionic SoCs (even with the latter having a 2 core deficit). Don’t even get me started on Samsun—I mean “Google’s” Tensor chips. I used a Pixel 7 for about 6 months, and the Tensor G2 is hardly worth calling a “flagship” SoC. Perhaps the G3 will rectify the atrocious idle battery drain & improve the on-board GPU so that gaming can be more than just an afterthought. As well as the mediocre Exynos modem that they’ve insisted on using in the first two iterations of the Tensor line. After all, there’s a reason Samsung has all but abandoned its Exynos chips in favor of Qualcomm…
+65 Reply
Avatar
Boris October 10, 2023 at 04:43 PM
A few things here are incorrect. The E-Cores are overclocked, not to 2.02GHz, but to 2.11GHz. Additionally, both SoCs are ARMv8.6, not version 9. Furthermore, there's an added GPU core and an entirely new GPU architecture that supports hardware ray tracing, mesh shaders, and so on.
+97 Reply
Avatar
ak32 June 23, 2024 at 07:51 AM
Boris, yet 98% of what he said is correct ...a17 pro is a16, with juuuuust .1ghz diff like you said, both are even arm v9. not new model at all A17 sounds likw woah must be so different than a16, but its literally same, no other fair arg sadly
+1 Reply
Avatar
FlyingHopes_19 May 21, 2026 at 03:28 PM
ak32, Absolutely, these heating issues are disaster too..
0 Reply
EnglishРусский