Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) vs A18 Pro GPU
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We compared two integrated laptop graphics cards: the Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) with 256 pipelines and 2048 shaders against the 2 years and 11 months newer A18 Pro GPU that utilizes 128 pipelines and 768 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.
Review
Gaming
Performance in DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan games
Workstation
Perf. in 3D modeling, video editing and rendering apps
AI/ML
Capabilities for machine learning and AI-related tasks
Energy Efficiency
Power consumption efficiency in different scenarios
DeviceFacts Final Score
Overall video card score
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
- Performs significantly better (up to 2.2x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- 2.3x higher maximum theoretical performance (5.3 vs 2.3 TFLOPS)
- Achieves 35% more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (42K vs 31K)
- Has 2.7x more shading units (2048 vs 768)
Reasons to consider the Apple A18 Pro GPU
- Manufactured using a more efficient 3 nm process technology
Benchmarks
Graphics cardsβ performance in recent benchmarking apps3D Mark
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Solar Bay | 12485 | 7365 |
| Wild Life Extreme | 9873 | 3949 |
GeekBench 6 GPU Compute
GB6 Compute Score
| Background Blur | 74.5 img/sec | 57.1 img/sec |
| Face Detection | 47.3 img/sec | 91.4 img/sec |
| Horizon Detection | 1.73 Gpixels/sec | 0.92 Gpixels/sec |
| Edge Detection | 3.32 Gpixels/sec | 1.21 Gpixels/sec |
| Gaussian Blur | 1.75 Gpixels/sec | 1.5 Gpixels/sec |
| Feature Matching | 0.47 Gpixels/sec | 0.45 Gpixels/sec |
| Stereo Matching | 131.2 Gpixels/sec | 84.2 Gpixels/sec |
| Particle Physics | 5143 FPS | 3061 FPS |
| API | OpenCL | Metal |
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Recent User Tests
Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-03-27 (bbffx) | Geekbench 6 OpenCL | 43467 |
| π 2026-03-27 (bbffx) | Cinebench 2024 | 2423 |
| π 2026-03-27 (bbffx) | Steel Nomad Light | 4048 |
| π 2025-02-21 (serhii) | Geekbench 6 OpenCL | 40932 |
Apple A18 Pro GPU
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-10-03 -> Rennsport | Geekbench 7 OpenCL | 18863 |
| π 2026-04-24 -> Rennsport | Geekbench 6 OpenCL | 19670 |
Artificial Intelligence Tests
Performance in machine learning and artificial intelligence tasksGeekBench 6 ML
GB6 ML Single Precision
GB6 ML Half Precision
GB6 ML Quantized
| Image Classification (SP) | 4112 | 3264 |
| Image Segmentation (HP) | 7488 | 4550 |
| Image Super Resolution (Q) | 9882 | 6705 |
| Face Detection (HP) | 14702 | 11770 |
| Pose Estimation (Q) | 33560 | 15548 |
| Text Classification (SP) | 2289 | 3678 |
| Machine Translation (HP) | 1629 | 5678 |
| Object Detection (SP) | 3633 | 3360 |
| Depth Estimation (Q) | 16986 | 13468 |
| Style Transfer (SP) | 53586 | 31541 |
| Framework | Core ML | Core ML |
| Backend | GPU | GPU |
Specifications
Technical specifications of Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) and A18 Pro GPUGeneral
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
| Build | Integrated | Integrated |
| Released | October 18, 2021 | September 9, 2024 |
| Case | Laptop | Laptop |
| Purpose | Professional | Generic |
| Segment | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Architecture | Apple M GPU | Apple M GPU |
| GPU Codename | - | Custom |
| Rival Equivalent | - GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop | - |
| Successor | - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) | - |
| Recommended CPU | - Apple M1 Pro or above | - Apple A18 Pro (MacBook) or above |
| Used in CPUs | - Apple M1 Pro | - Apple A18 Pro (MacBook) |
Laptop GPU ranking (79th and 83rd place)
Graphics Processing Unit
| Base Clock | 450 MHz | - |
| Boost Clock | 1296 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| Shading Units | 2048 | 768 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) | 128 | 40 |
| Render Output Units (ROPs) | 64 | - |
| Compute Units (Pipelines) | 256 | 128 |
| Ray-tracing Cores | No | - |
| Instructions Per Cycle | 2 IPC | 2 IPC |
Raw Performance
| Pixel Fill Rate | 83 GPixel/s | - |
| Texture Fill Rate | 166 GTexel/s | 60 GTexel/s |
FLOPS (FP32)
Physical
| Interface | Custom | Custom |
| TGP | 30 W | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Fabrication Process | 5 nm | 3 nm |
| Transistor Count | 23.2 billion | - |
| Max. Temperature | 94Β°C | - |
Memory
| Memory Type | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory Clock | 6400 MHz | 7500 MHz |
| Effective Memory Speed | 12800 Mbps | - |
| Bus | 256-bit | 128-bit |
| ECC | No | No |
Memory Bandwidth
API
| Ray Tracing | No | Yes |
| DLSS | No | No |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 1