M1 (iPad) vs A17 Pro

We compared the 8-core Apple M1 (iPad) (custom) with the newer 6-core A17 Pro (Apple A17 GPU) SoC. 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/Vulkan
Battery life
Efficiency of battery consumption
NanoReview Score
Overall chip score

Key Differences

Main differences and advantages of each chip
Pros of Apple M1 (iPad)
  • Shows better (up to 38%) AnTuTu 11 score – 2027K vs 1467K
  • Has 2 more cores
  • Supports 33% higher memory bandwidth (68.25 against 51.2 GB/s)
  • Performs 22% better in floating-point computations
Pros of Apple A17 Pro
  • Has a smaller size transistor (3 versus 5 nm)
  • 18% higher CPU clock speed (3780 vs 3200 MHz)
  • Higher GPU frequency (~9%)
  • Better instruction set architecture

Benchmarks

Performance tests in popular benchmarks
SoC:
vs

AnTuTu 11

The AnTuTu Benchmark measures CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance in different scenarios
M1 (iPad) +38%
2027700
1467470
CPU 629472 374357
GPU 687856 463612
Memory 214672 184670
UX 495700 444831
Total score 2027700 1467470
Samples [9 tests] [21 tests]

GeekBench 6

The GeekBench test shows raw single-threaded and multithreaded CPU performance
Single-Core Score
2385
A17 Pro +24%
2969
Multi-Core Score
M1 (iPad) +15%
8775
7599
Asset compression 331.8 MB/sec 254.1 MB/sec
HTML 5 Browser 174.3 pages/sec 166 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 223.3 Mpixels/sec 180.7 Mpixels/sec
Image detection 192.9 images/sec 178.7 images/sec
HDR 290 Mpixels/sec 240.3 Mpixels/sec
Background blur 34.7 images/sec 26.7 images/sec
Photo processing 72.7 images/sec 77.8 images/sec
Ray tracing 9.72 Mpixels/sec 7.76 Mpixels/sec
Samples 5 tests 32 tests
Compute Score (GPU)
M1 (iPad) +18%
33168
28057
Background blur 59.4 images/sec 55.5 images/sec
Face detection 71.1 images/sec 65.1 images/sec
Horizon detection 1.09 Gpixels/sec 0.8 Gpixels/sec
Edge detection 1.52 Gpixels/sec 1.08 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian blur 1.6 Gpixels/sec 1.11 Gpixels/sec
Feature matching 0.42 Gpixels/sec 0.43 Gpixels/sec
Stereo matching 107 Gpixels/sec 87.6 Gpixels/sec
Particle physics 3208.4 FPS 3313.9 FPS
API Metal Metal
Samples Less than 3 22 tests

3DMark

A cross-platform benchmark that assesses graphics performance in Vulkan (Metal)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
M1 (iPad) +41%
1965
1391
Score 1965 1391
Stability 77% 71%
Graphics test 15 FPS 10 FPS
3DMark Solar Bay
M1 (iPad) +5%
6406
6089
Score 6406 6089
Stability 83% 73%
Graphics test 24 FPS 23 FPS
Section 1 30 FPS 29 FPS
Section 2 24 FPS 23 FPS
Section 3 19 FPS 16 FPS
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
M1 (iPad) +38%
5045
3655
Score 5045 3655
Stability 76% 63%
Graphics test 30 FPS 21 FPS

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M1 (iPad)
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-24 -> op1Geekbench 6 CPU2420 / 8793
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-04 (クラ硢)AnTuTu 112074840
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-18 (Avacada)Geekbench 6 CPU2385 / 8775
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-08 (AL10)AnTuTu 112123766
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-29 (Blizz)AnTuTu 112011970
Apple A17 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-23 (podsolnuh)AnTuTu 111357765
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-11 (Zabza)AnTuTu 111599694
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-10 (elio)AnTuTu 111445771
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-28 (human)Geekbench 6 GPU26734
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-28 (human)Geekbench 6 CPU2892 / 7293

Specifications

Full list of technical specifications of M1 (iPad) and A17 Pro

CPU

Architecture 4x 3.2 GHz – Firestorm
4x 2.1 GHz – Icestorm
2x 3.78 GHz – Everest
4x 2.11 GHz – Sawtooth
Cores 8 6
Frequency 3200 MHz 3780 MHz
Instruction set ARMv8.5-A ARMv8.6-A
L1 cache 192 KB 256 KB
L2 cache 12 MB 16 MB
Process 5 nanometers 3 nanometers
Transistor count 16 billion 19 billion
TDP (Sustained Power Limit) 14 W 8 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC

Graphics

GPU name - Apple A17 GPU
Architecture - Apple Bionic GPU
GPU frequency 1278 MHz 1398 MHz
Pipelines - 6
Shading units - 128
Total shaders - 768
FLOPS 2617 Gigaflops 2147.2 Gigaflops

AI Accelerator

Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
NPU theoretical performance 11 TOPS 35 TOPS

Memory

Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory frequency 2133 MHz 3200 MHz
Bus 8x 16 Bit 4x 16 Bit
Max bandwidth 68.25 Gb/s 51.2 Gb/s
Max size 16 GB 8 GB

Multimedia (ISP)

Storage type NVMe NVMe
Max display resolution 2732 x 2048 1290 x 2796
Max camera resolution - 1x 48MP
Video capture 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video playback 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video codecs - H.264
- H.265
- VP9
- Motion JPEG
- H.264
- H.265
- AV1
- VP8
- VP9
- Motion JPEG
Audio codecs - AAC
- AIFF
- CAF
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV
- AAC
- AAX
- AAX+
- AC-3
- AIFF
- CAF
- E-AC-3
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV

Connectivity

Modem - Snapdragon X70
4G support LTE Cat. 18 LTE Cat. 24
5G support Yes Yes
Download speed Up to 7500 Mbps Up to 7500 Mbps
Upload speed Up to 2500 Mbps Up to 3500 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 6
Bluetooth 5.0 5.3
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC

Info

Announced November 2020 September 2023
Class Flagship Flagship
Model number APL1102 APL1V02
Successor - Apple M4 (iPad) - Apple A19 Pro

Cast your vote

So, which SoC would you choose?
930 (66.5%)
468 (33.5%)
Total votes: 1398

Comments

Please give your opinion on the comparison of A17 Pro and M1 (iPad), or ask any questions
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Garrett August 30, 2026 at 12:48 AM
I really with they implemented a better cooling system in the iPhone 15 Pro. The A17 Pro was a good chip limited by throttling
0 Reply
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Vipinverma July 31, 2025 at 03:11 PM
Real world now day apple ai not use so m1 is best and winner no doubts cheaper option
+3 Reply
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vipin verma November 5, 2024 at 07:16 PM
a17 pro is batter now day ai 35 tpo fir ai
+10 Reply
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Emmex001 March 28, 2026 at 11:30 PM
It’s honestly not better, during high intensive gaming like wuwa and zzz it struggles to even give consistent 40fps even without few stutters. The m1 wayy more efficient in overall task management, editing (especially 3d), gaming, cooling, etc. i compared the ipad mini 7 A17 pro to an ipad pro 11 m1 and there was noticeable difference especially if your a heavy user. If you’re just scrolling, texting etc the A12 Bionic can easily handle it so i only compared them on higher demanding task still yet m1 won
0 Reply
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Sean December 1, 2023 at 05:44 PM
Pretty impressive for the a17 to be very similar in performance with fewer cores and almost half the power consumption. CPU performance is pretty equal, but the m1 blows out the a17 in graphical performance.
+121 Reply
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Dean April 10, 2024 at 07:13 AM
Actually, iOS caps 3DMark at 60fps. Therefore, in reality, the difference isn't that significant.
+6 Reply
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Dean May 17, 2024 at 02:22 PM
Dean, No it doesn't, you have to configure settings
+4 Reply
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Bean May 17, 2024 at 02:22 PM
Dean, Have you tried enabling WebKit?
+38 Reply