M1 (iPad) vs Apple A18
We compared the 8-core Apple M1 (iPad) (custom) with the newer 6-core Apple A18 (Apple A18 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
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
Pros of Apple M1 (iPad)
- Performs 37% better in floating-point computations
- Has 2 more cores
- Supports 14% higher memory bandwidth (68.25 against 60 GB/s)
Pros of Apple A18
- Has a smaller size transistor (3 versus 5 nm)
- 27% higher CPU clock speed (4050 vs 3200 MHz)
- Higher GPU frequency (~17%)
- Better instruction set architecture
Benchmarks
Performance tests in popular benchmarksAnTuTu 11
| CPU | 629472 | 611649 |
| GPU | 687856 | 589953 |
| Memory | 214672 | 181123 |
| UX | 495700 | 589751 |
| Total score | 2027700 | 1972476 |
| Samples | [9 tests] | [29 tests] |
GeekBench 6
Single-Core Score
Multi-Core Score
| Asset compression | 331.8 MB/sec | 286.8 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 174.3 pages/sec | 184.2 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 223.3 Mpixels/sec | 201.2 Mpixels/sec |
| Image detection | 192.9 images/sec | 297.2 images/sec |
| HDR | 290 Mpixels/sec | 279.1 Mpixels/sec |
| Background blur | 34.7 images/sec | 36.2 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 72.7 images/sec | 90 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 9.72 Mpixels/sec | 8.68 Mpixels/sec |
| Samples | 5 tests | 6 tests |
Compute Score (GPU)
| Background blur | 59.4 images/sec | 49.2 images/sec |
| Face detection | 71.1 images/sec | 71.8 images/sec |
| Horizon detection | 1.09 Gpixels/sec | 0.86 Gpixels/sec |
| Edge detection | 1.52 Gpixels/sec | 1.14 Gpixels/sec |
| Gaussian blur | 1.6 Gpixels/sec | 1.44 Gpixels/sec |
| Feature matching | 0.42 Gpixels/sec | 0.39 Gpixels/sec |
| Stereo matching | 107 Gpixels/sec | 77.7 Gpixels/sec |
| Particle physics | 3208.4 FPS | 2811.1 FPS |
| API | Metal | Metal |
| Samples | Less than 3 | 4 tests |
3DMark
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Score | 1965 | 1579 |
| Stability | 77% | 75% |
| Graphics test | 15 FPS | 12 FPS |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Score | 6406 | 6750 |
| Stability | 83% | - |
| Graphics test | 24 FPS | 26 FPS |
| Section 1 | 30 FPS | 31 FPS |
| Section 2 | 24 FPS | 26 FPS |
| Section 3 | 19 FPS | 20 FPS |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Score | 5045 | - |
| Stability | 76% | - |
| Graphics test | 30 FPS | - |
Recent User Tests
Apple M1 (iPad)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-08-24 -> op1 | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2420 / 8793 |
| π 2026-07-04 (γ―γ©η΅Ά) | AnTuTu 11 | 2074840 |
| π 2026-04-18 (Avacada) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2385 / 8775 |
| π 2026-04-08 (AL10) | AnTuTu 11 | 2123766 |
| π 2026-03-29 (Blizz) | AnTuTu 11 | 2011970 |
Apple A18
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-07-30 (Dddd) | AnTuTu 11 | 1905485 |
| π 2026-07-18 (Aj) | AnTuTu 11 | 1949745 |
| π 2026-07-15 (vovachips) | AnTuTu 11 | 1842572 |
| π 2026-07-03 (iTzRageeh) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3531 / 9122 |
| π 2026-07-03 (iTzRageeh) | AnTuTu 11 | 2045650 |
Specifications
Full list of technical specifications of M1 (iPad) and Apple A18CPU
| Architecture | 4x 3.2 GHz β Firestorm 4x 2.1 GHz β Icestorm |
2x 4.05 GHz β Everest 4x 2.42 GHz β Sawtooth |
| Cores | 8 | 6 |
| Frequency | 3200 MHz | 4050 MHz |
| Instruction set | ARMv8.5-A | ARMv9.2-A |
| L1 cache | 192 KB | - |
| L2 cache | 12 MB | 8 MB |
| Process | 5 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Transistor count | 16 billion | - |
| TDP (Sustained Power Limit) | 14 W | 9 W |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
Graphics
| GPU name | - | Apple A18 GPU |
| Architecture | - | Apple Bionic GPU |
| GPU frequency | 1278 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| Pipelines | - | 5 |
| Shading units | - | 128 |
| Total shaders | - | 640 |
| FLOPS | 2617 Gigaflops | 1907 Gigaflops |
AI Accelerator
| Neural processor (NPU) | Apple Neural Engine | Neural Engine |
| NPU theoretical performance | 11 TOPS | 35 TOPS |
Memory
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory frequency | 2133 MHz | 3750 MHz |
| Bus | 8x 16 Bit | 4x 16 Bit |
| Max bandwidth | 68.25 Gb/s | 60 Gb/s |
| Max size | 16 GB | 8 GB |
Multimedia (ISP)
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Max display resolution | 2732 x 2048 | - |
| Max camera resolution | - | 1x 48MP |
| Video capture | 4K at 60FPS | 4K at 120FPS |
| Video playback | 4K at 60FPS | 4K at 120FPS |
| 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 X71 5G |
| 4G support | LTE Cat. 18 | LTE Cat. 24 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
| Download speed | Up to 7500 Mbps | Up to 10000 Mbps |
| Upload speed | Up to 2500 Mbps | Up to 3500 Mbps |
| Wi-Fi | 6 | 7 |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.3 |
| Navigation | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
Info
| Announced | November 2020 | September 2024 |
| Class | Flagship | Flagship |
| Model number | APL1102 | APL1V08 |
| Successor | - Apple M4 (iPad) | - Apple A19 |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 345
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