Apple A18 vs A15 Bionic
We compared two 6-core processors: Apple A18 (with Apple A18 GPU graphics) and A15 Bionic (Apple A15 GPU). 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
DeviceFacts Score
Overall chip score
Key Differences
Pros of Apple A18
- Supports 76% higher memory bandwidth (60 against 34.1 GB/s)
- Has a smaller size transistor (3 versus 5 nm)
- Shows better (up to 40%) AnTuTu 11 score β 1972K vs 1413K
- 25% higher CPU clock speed (4050 vs 3230 MHz)
- Better instruction set architecture
- Higher GPU frequency (~11%)
Benchmarks
Performance tests in popular benchmarksAnTuTu 11
| CPU | 611649 | 410975 |
| GPU | 589953 | 370837 |
| Memory | 181123 | 164151 |
| UX | 589751 | 467312 |
| Total score | 1972476 | 1413275 |
| Samples | [29 tests] | [69 tests] |
GeekBench 6
Single-Core Score
Multi-Core Score
| Asset compression | 286.8 MB/sec | 208.1 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 184.2 pages/sec | 122.9 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 201.2 Mpixels/sec | 139.1 Mpixels/sec |
| Image detection | 297.2 images/sec | 125.1 images/sec |
| HDR | 279.1 Mpixels/sec | 179.4 Mpixels/sec |
| Background blur | 36.2 images/sec | 22.3 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 90 images/sec | 53.2 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 8.68 Mpixels/sec | 6.26 Mpixels/sec |
| Samples | 6 tests | 37 tests |
Compute Score (GPU)
| Background blur | 49.2 images/sec | 35.4 images/sec |
| Face detection | 71.8 images/sec | 44.8 images/sec |
| Horizon detection | 0.86 Gpixels/sec | 0.62 Gpixels/sec |
| Edge detection | 1.14 Gpixels/sec | 0.82 Gpixels/sec |
| Gaussian blur | 1.44 Gpixels/sec | 0.84 Gpixels/sec |
| Feature matching | 0.39 Gpixels/sec | 0.3 Gpixels/sec |
| Stereo matching | 77.7 Gpixels/sec | 71.1 Gpixels/sec |
| Particle physics | 2811.1 FPS | 2198.2 FPS |
| API | Metal | Metal |
| Samples | 4 tests | 19 tests |
3DMark
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Score | 1579 | - |
| Stability | 75% | - |
| Graphics test | 12 FPS | - |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Score | 6750 | 3765 |
| Stability | - | 71% |
| Graphics test | 26 FPS | 14 FPS |
| Section 1 | 31 FPS | 19 FPS |
| Section 2 | 26 FPS | 14 FPS |
| Section 3 | 20 FPS | 9 FPS |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Score | - | 2854 |
| Stability | - | 76% |
| Graphics test | - | 17 FPS |
Recent User Tests
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 |
Apple A15 Bionic
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-10-14 (Makkar) | AnTuTu 11 | 1191717 |
| π 2026-10-12 -> HotPower | Geekbench 7 CPU | 2155 / 5548 |
| π 2026-10-07 (Hoz4ik) | AnTuTu 11 | 1127460 |
| π 2026-09-25 -> op1 | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2168 / 4988 |
| π 2026-09-23 -> HotPower | AnTuTu 11 | 1184759 |
Specifications
Full list of technical specifications of Apple A18 and A15 BionicCPU
| Architecture | 2x 4.05 GHz β Everest 4x 2.42 GHz β Sawtooth |
2x 3.23 GHz β Avalanche 4x 2.02 GHz β Blizzard |
| Cores | 6 | 6 |
| Frequency | 4050 MHz | 3230 MHz |
| Instruction set | ARMv9.2-A | ARMv8.5-A |
| L1 cache | - | 256 KB |
| L2 cache | 8 MB | 12 MB |
| Process | 3 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Transistor count | - | 15 billion |
| TDP (Sustained Power Limit) | 9 W | 6 W |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
Graphics
| GPU name | Apple A18 GPU | Apple A15 GPU |
| Architecture | Apple Bionic GPU | Apple Bionic GPU |
| GPU frequency | 1490 MHz | 1338 MHz |
| Pipelines | 5 | 5 |
| Shading units | 128 | 128 |
| Total shaders | 640 | 640 |
| FLOPS | 1907 Gigaflops | 1712.6 Gigaflops |
AI Accelerator
| Neural processor (NPU) | Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| NPU theoretical performance | 35 TOPS | 15.8 TOPS |
Memory
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory frequency | 3750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Bus | 4x 16 Bit | 4x 16 Bit |
| Max bandwidth | 60 Gb/s | 34.1 Gb/s |
| Max size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
Multimedia (ISP)
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Max display resolution | - | 2732 x 2048 |
| Max camera resolution | 1x 48MP | - |
| Video capture | 4K at 120FPS | 4K at 60FPS |
| Video playback | 4K at 120FPS | 4K at 60FPS |
| Video codecs | - H.264 - H.265 - AV1 - VP8 - VP9 - Motion JPEG |
- H.264 - H.265 - VP8 - VP9 - Motion JPEG |
| Audio codecs | - AAC - AAX - AAX+ - AC-3 - AIFF - CAF - E-AC-3 - 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. 24 | LTE Cat. 24 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
| Download speed | Up to 10000 Mbps | Up to 7500 Mbps |
| Upload speed | Up to 3500 Mbps | Up to 3000 Mbps |
| Wi-Fi | 7 | 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Navigation | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
Info
| Announced | September 2024 | September 2021 |
| Class | Flagship | Flagship |
| Model number | APL1V08 | APL1W07 |
| Successor | - Apple A19 | - Apple A19 Pro |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 299
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