M3 (iPad) vs M1 (iPad)
We compared two 8-core processors: Apple M3 (iPad) (with Apple M3 GPU graphics) and M1 (iPad) (). 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 M3 (iPad)
- Has a smaller size transistor (3 versus 5 nm)
- Supports 50% higher memory bandwidth (102.4 against 68.25 GB/s)
- Shows better (up to 37%) AnTuTu 11 score β 2777K vs 2027K
- 27% higher CPU clock speed (4050 vs 3200 MHz)
- Performs 21% better in floating-point computations
- Higher GPU frequency (~8%)
- Better instruction set architecture
Benchmarks
Performance tests in popular benchmarksAnTuTu 11
| CPU | 782907 | 629472 |
| GPU | 1029236 | 687856 |
| Memory | 305749 | 214672 |
| UX | 659395 | 495700 |
| Total score | 2777287 | 2027700 |
| Samples | [8 tests] | [9 tests] |
GeekBench 6
Single-Core Score
Multi-Core Score
| Asset compression | 458.1 MB/sec | 331.8 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 270.6 pages/sec | 174.3 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 299.9 Mpixels/sec | 223.3 Mpixels/sec |
| Image detection | 287.2 images/sec | 192.9 images/sec |
| HDR | 422.1 Mpixels/sec | 290 Mpixels/sec |
| Background blur | 48.2 images/sec | 34.7 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 116.1 images/sec | 72.7 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 13.4 Mpixels/sec | 9.72 Mpixels/sec |
| Samples | 4 tests | 5 tests |
Compute Score (GPU)
| Background blur | 86.1 images/sec | 59.4 images/sec |
| Face detection | 108.3 images/sec | 71.1 images/sec |
| Horizon detection | 1.43 Gpixels/sec | 1.09 Gpixels/sec |
| Edge detection | 1.93 Gpixels/sec | 1.52 Gpixels/sec |
| Gaussian blur | 2.41 Gpixels/sec | 1.6 Gpixels/sec |
| Feature matching | 0.62 Gpixels/sec | 0.42 Gpixels/sec |
| Stereo matching | 128.9 Gpixels/sec | 107 Gpixels/sec |
| Particle physics | 4690 FPS | 3208.4 FPS |
| API | Metal | Metal |
| Samples | 3 tests | Less than 3 |
3DMark
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Score | 2695 | 1965 |
| Stability | 70% | 77% |
| Graphics test | 20 FPS | 15 FPS |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Score | 10356 | 6406 |
| Stability | - | 83% |
| Graphics test | 39 FPS | 24 FPS |
| Section 1 | 52 FPS | 30 FPS |
| Section 2 | 38 FPS | 24 FPS |
| Section 3 | 28 FPS | 19 FPS |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Score | - | 5045 |
| Stability | - | 76% |
| Graphics test | - | 30 FPS |
Recent User Tests
Apple M3 (iPad)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-04-17 (Jacob) | AnTuTu 11 | 2015536 |
| π 2026-04-12 (Kaimen) | AnTuTu 11 | 2811760 |
| π 2026-04-08 (Bearry) | AnTuTu 11 | 2838721 |
| π 2026-03-22 (Noora) | AnTuTu 11 | 2779459 |
| π 2026-03-21 (Noora) | AnTuTu 11 | 2708158 |
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 |
Specifications
Full list of technical specifications of M3 (iPad) and M1 (iPad)CPU
| Architecture | 4x 4.05 GHz β 4x 2.75 GHz β |
4x 3.2 GHz β Firestorm 4x 2.1 GHz β Icestorm |
| Cores | 8 | 8 |
| Frequency | 4050 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Instruction set | ARMv8.6-A | ARMv8.5-A |
| L1 cache | 256 KB | 192 KB |
| L2 cache | 16 MB | 12 MB |
| Process | 3 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Transistor count | 25 billion | 16 billion |
| TDP (Sustained Power Limit) | 20 W | 14 W |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
Graphics
| GPU name | Apple M3 GPU | - |
| Architecture | Apple GPU | - |
| GPU frequency | 1380 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| Pipelines | 9 | - |
| Shading units | 128 | - |
| Total shaders | 1152 | - |
| FLOPS | 3179.5 Gigaflops | 2617 Gigaflops |
AI Accelerator
| Neural processor (NPU) | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| NPU theoretical performance | 18 TOPS | 11 TOPS |
Memory
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory frequency | 3200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Bus | 8x 16 Bit | 8x 16 Bit |
| Max bandwidth | 102.4 Gb/s | 68.25 Gb/s |
| Max size | 24 GB | 16 GB |
Multimedia (ISP)
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Max display resolution | 2732 x 2048 | 2732 x 2048 |
| 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 - AV1 - VP9 |
- H.264 - H.265 - VP9 - Motion JPEG |
| Audio codecs | - AAC - AIFF - CAF - MP3 - MP4 - WAV |
- AAC - AIFF - CAF - MP3 - MP4 - WAV |
Connectivity
| 4G support | - | LTE Cat. 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
| Download speed | Up to 7500 Mbps | Up to 7500 Mbps |
| Upload speed | Up to 3500 Mbps | Up to 2500 Mbps |
| Wi-Fi | 6 | 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Navigation | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
Info
| Announced | October 2023 | November 2020 |
| Class | Flagship | Flagship |
| Model number | - | APL1102 |
| Successor | - | - Apple M4 (iPad) |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 97