Tensor G5 vs Apple A18

We compared the 8-core Google Tensor G5 (PowerVR DXT-48-1536) with the older 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

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 Google Tensor G5
  • Has 2 more cores
  • Supports 14% higher memory bandwidth (68.2 against 60 GB/s)
Pros of Apple A18
  • Higher GPU frequency (~35%)
  • Shows better (up to 27%) AnTuTu 11 score – 1972K vs 1549K
  • 7% higher CPU clock speed (4050 vs 3780 MHz)

Benchmarks

Performance tests in popular benchmarks

AnTuTu 11

The AnTuTu Benchmark measures CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance in different scenarios
1549798
Apple A18 +27%
1972476
CPU 734567 611649
GPU 183228 589953
Memory 222379 181123
UX 409624 589751
Total score 1549798 1972476
Samples [16 tests] [29 tests]
AnTuTu results from iOS and Android are not directly comparable! They won't affect NanoReview scores.

GeekBench 6

The GeekBench test shows raw single-threaded and multithreaded CPU performance
Single-Core Score
2305
Apple A18 +49%
3431
Multi-Core Score
6054
Apple A18 +43%
8638
Asset compression 281.8 MB/sec 286.8 MB/sec
HTML 5 Browser 162.5 pages/sec 184.2 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 207.4 Mpixels/sec 201.2 Mpixels/sec
Image detection 149.5 images/sec 297.2 images/sec
HDR 151.4 Mpixels/sec 279.1 Mpixels/sec
Background blur 24.4 images/sec 36.2 images/sec
Photo processing 46.5 images/sec 90 images/sec
Ray tracing 6.79 Mpixels/sec 8.68 Mpixels/sec
Samples 8 tests 6 tests
Compute Score (GPU)
4116
Apple A18 +581%
28010
Background blur 4.77 images/sec 49.2 images/sec
Face detection 2.41 images/sec 71.8 images/sec
Horizon detection 0.17 Gpixels/sec 0.86 Gpixels/sec
Edge detection 0.27 Gpixels/sec 1.14 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian blur 0.2 Gpixels/sec 1.44 Gpixels/sec
Feature matching 0.05 Gpixels/sec 0.39 Gpixels/sec
Stereo matching 12.6 Gpixels/sec 77.7 Gpixels/sec
Particle physics 634.9 FPS 2811.1 FPS
API Vulkan Metal
Samples 7 tests 4 tests
Compute results use different APIs (Metal vs Vulkan/OpenCL) and are not directly comparable!

3DMark

A cross-platform benchmark that assesses graphics performance in Vulkan (Metal)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
1012
Apple A18 +56%
1579
Score 1012 1579
Stability 96% 75%
Graphics test 7 FPS 12 FPS
3DMark Solar Bay
n/a
6750
Score - 6750
Graphics test - 26 FPS
Section 1 - 31 FPS
Section 2 - 26 FPS
Section 3 - 20 FPS

PCMark 3.0

Benchmark for evaluating overall system performance in everyday workloads
PCMark 3.0
15332
n/a
Web score 17237 -
Video editing score 7203 -
Data manipulation score 14036 -
Photo editing score 24584 -
Writing score 20213 -
Phones tested 4 models -

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Tensor G5
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-25 (Dolbaeb)AnTuTu 121549159
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-22 -> PixeluserAnTuTu 111536042
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-02 -> bangAnTuTu 111719659
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-02 -> bangCPU Throttle74%
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-31 -> bangGeekbench 6 GPU4116
Apple A18
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-30 (Dddd)AnTuTu 111905485
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-18 (Aj)AnTuTu 111949745
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-15 (vovachips)AnTuTu 111842572
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-03 (iTzRageeh)Geekbench 6 CPU3531 / 9122
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-03 (iTzRageeh)AnTuTu 112045650

Specifications

Full list of technical specifications of Tensor G5 and Apple A18

CPU

Architecture 1x 3.78 GHz – Cortex-X4
5x 3.05 GHz – Cortex-A725
2x 2.25 GHz – Cortex-A520
2x 4.05 GHz – Everest
4x 2.42 GHz – Sawtooth
Cores 8 6
Frequency 3780 MHz 4050 MHz
Instruction set ARMv9.2-A ARMv9.2-A
L2 cache - 8 MB
L3 cache 8 MB -
Process 3 nanometers 3 nanometers
TDP (Sustained Power Limit) - 9 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC

Graphics

GPU name PowerVR DXT-48-1536 Apple A18 GPU
Architecture - Apple Bionic GPU
GPU frequency 1100 MHz 1490 MHz
Pipelines 6 5
Shading units 128 128
Total shaders 768 640
FLOPS 1689.6 Gigaflops 1907 Gigaflops
Vulkan version 1.4 -
OpenCL version 3.0 -

AI Accelerator

Neural processor (NPU) Yes Neural Engine
NPU theoretical performance - 35 TOPS

Memory

Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory frequency 4266 MHz 3750 MHz
Bus 4x 16 Bit 4x 16 Bit
Max bandwidth 68.2 Gb/s 60 Gb/s
Max size 16 GB 8 GB

Multimedia (ISP)

Storage type UFS 3.1, UFS 4.0 NVMe
Max display resolution 3840 x 2400 -
Max camera resolution 1x 200MP 1x 48MP
Video capture 8K at 30FPS, 4K at 120FPS 4K at 120FPS
Video playback 8K at 30FPS, 4K at 120FPS 4K at 120FPS
Video codecs - H.264
- H.265
- AV1
- VP9
- 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 Exynos 5400c Snapdragon X71 5G
4G support - LTE Cat. 24
5G support Yes Yes
Download speed - Up to 10000 Mbps
Upload speed - Up to 3500 Mbps
Wi-Fi 7 7
Bluetooth 6.0 5.3
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC

Info

Announced August 2025 September 2024
Class Flagship Flagship
Model number GS501 APL1V08
Successor - - Apple A19

Cast your vote

So, which SoC would you choose?
72 (31.4%)
157 (68.6%)
Total votes: 229

Comments

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