Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) vs A18 Pro GPU
VS
Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
Custom
Apple A18 Pro GPU
Custom
We compared two integrated laptop graphics cards: the Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) with 288 pipelines and 2304 shaders against the 10 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 M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
- Performs significantly better (up to 3.4x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- 2.8x higher maximum theoretical performance (6.4 vs 2.3 TFLOPS)
- Has 3x more shading units (2304 vs 768)
- Achieves 38% more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (43K vs 31K)
Benchmarks
Graphics cards’ performance in recent benchmarking apps3D Mark
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Solar Bay | 22637 | 7365 |
| Wild Life Extreme | 14021 | 3949 |
GeekBench 6 GPU Compute
GB6 Compute Score
| Background Blur | 82.1 img/sec | 57.1 img/sec |
| Face Detection | 53.6 img/sec | 91.4 img/sec |
| Horizon Detection | 1.82 Gpixels/sec | 0.92 Gpixels/sec |
| Edge Detection | 2.59 Gpixels/sec | 1.21 Gpixels/sec |
| Gaussian Blur | 1.84 Gpixels/sec | 1.5 Gpixels/sec |
| Feature Matching | 0.48 Gpixels/sec | 0.45 Gpixels/sec |
| Stereo Matching | 148.6 Gpixels/sec | 84.2 Gpixels/sec |
| Particle Physics | 4893.9 FPS | 3061 FPS |
| API | OpenCL | Metal |
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Recent User Tests
Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core)
No benchmark results yet
Apple A18 Pro GPU
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-03 -> Rennsport | Geekbench 7 OpenCL | 18863 |
| 📘 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) | 5578 | 3264 |
| Image Segmentation (HP) | 9924 | 4550 |
| Image Super Resolution (Q) | 13323 | 6705 |
| Face Detection (HP) | 19900 | 11770 |
| Pose Estimation (Q) | 35730 | 15548 |
| Text Classification (SP) | 2904 | 3678 |
| Machine Translation (HP) | 4985 | 5678 |
| Object Detection (SP) | 5496 | 3360 |
| Depth Estimation (Q) | 23344 | 13468 |
| Style Transfer (SP) | 78342 | 31541 |
| Framework | Core ML | Core ML |
| Backend | GPU | GPU |
Specifications
Technical specifications of Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) and A18 Pro GPUGeneral
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
| Build | Integrated | Integrated |
| Released | October 31, 2023 | September 9, 2024 |
| Case | Laptop | Laptop |
| Purpose | Professional | Generic |
| Segment | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Architecture | Apple M GPU | Apple M GPU |
| GPU Codename | Custom | Custom |
| Rival Equivalent | - GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop | - |
| Successor | - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) | - |
| Recommended CPU | - Apple M3 Pro or above | - Apple A18 Pro (MacBook) or above |
| Used in CPUs | - Apple M3 Pro | - Apple A18 Pro (MacBook) |
Laptop GPU ranking (61st and 83rd place)
Graphics Processing Unit
| Base Clock | 500 MHz | - |
| Boost Clock | 1380 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| Shading Units | 2304 | 768 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) | 144 | 40 |
| Render Output Units (ROPs) | 72 | - |
| Compute Units (Pipelines) | 288 | 128 |
| Instructions Per Cycle | 2 IPC | 2 IPC |
Raw Performance
| Pixel Fill Rate | 99 GPixel/s | - |
| Texture Fill Rate | 199 GTexel/s | 60 GTexel/s |
FLOPS (FP32)
Physical
| Interface | Custom | Custom |
| TGP | 30 W | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Fabrication Process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| Transistor Count | 25.2 billion | - |
| Max. Temperature | 100°C | - |
Memory
| Memory Type | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory Clock | 6400 MHz | 7500 MHz |
| Effective Memory Speed | 12800 Mbps | - |
| Bus | 192-bit | 128-bit |
| ECC | No | No |
Memory Bandwidth
API
| Ray Tracing | Yes | Yes |
| DLSS | No | No |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 1