At the heart of each Apple device is an Apple processor. Apple has used its own chips in its iPhones and iPads for more than a decade, while Apple Silicon in the Mac is already in its fourth generation.
What is remarkable with Apple Silicon is its performance and energy efficiency. But not all fleas are created. Understanding the differences in performance between each chip will help your purchasing decisions, especially when you decide between iPhone 16 or MacBook models. Knowing how each chip works gives you a better idea of the products to buy and whether or not it is your money to switch to a higher model.
Let's see how new processors compare to the rest of the processors in the iPhone, iPad and Mac range and see how everyone works and what it means for you. For the sake of consistency, we used geekbench 6 marks. Here is each chip and how the benchmarks compare to each other.
Update of March 23, 2025: Adding benchmarks for the M3 Ultra chip; Adding the new iPhone 16th, iPad, iPad Air, Mac Studio and MacBook Air.
Each current processor compared
The results are scores. Higher scores / longer bars are faster. The chips of this graph are currently available in Apple devices.
Before entering the individual processors, let the fleas fall where they can. In the graph above, we only included chips that are in Apple's current products of current products in order to keep the graphic management. The MAC section below includes all the chips, from the M1 to the current chip. If you are looking for dozens of chips that are no longer used in Apple iPhone or iPad Active ipad (such as the A12 Bionic), see the Geekbench browser.
It is a somewhat predictable graphic, with the fastest mac fleas at the top, followed by a mixture of iPads and iPhones. But there are still fascinating results: owners of the iPad Pro can say that their tablet is about as fast as a MacBook Air and that it would not be a large range. And the difference between the iPhone 16th of $ 599 and the iphone 16 pro of $ 999 is not as huge as their price difference.
If you do not see all the labels of the bar graph, it can be because your browser font is defined greater than the default value, or your browser is zoom.
Find out how Apple's M series processors compare to Intel in our Mac processor guide.
iPhone processors
The results are scores. Higher scores / longer bars are faster. The chips of this graph are currently available in Apple devices.
Let us examine the specifications of iPhones currently in the Apple range so that we can understand the differences between them.
| Processor | Performance cores | Efficiency cores | Graphics | Neural engine | Memory | Thermal design power | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A18 for | 2 to 4.04 GHz | 4 to 2.2 GHz | 6 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 10W | iPhone 16 pro iPhone 16 pro max |
| A18 | 2 to 4.04 GHz | 4 to 2.2 GHz | 5 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 9W | iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus |
| A18 | 2 to 4.04 GHz | 4 to 2.2 GHz | 4 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 9W | iPhone 16th |
| A16 Bionic | 2 to 3.46 GHz | 4 to 2.02 GHz | 5 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 6W | iPhone 15 |
Unsurprisingly, the A18 PRO in the iPhone 16 Pro is the fastest. The difference between the A18 PRO and the A18 of the iPhone 16 is that the A18 has one more GPU nucleus. The iPhone 163 has two GPU cores less than the iPhone 16 Pro.
Ipad processors
The results are scores. Higher scores / longer bars are faster. The graph includes fleas in abandoned Apple devices.
The amazing version of Apple's iPad range creates a strange -looking performance order of CPU and its device.
| Processor | Performance cores | Efficiency cores | Graphics | Neural engine | Memory | Transistors | Thermal design power | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M4 | 4 to 4.4 GHz | 6 to 2.85 | 10 | 16 hearts | 16 GB | 28 billion | 20W | Ipad Pro 13 ″ and 11 ″ |
| M4 | 3 to 4.4 GHz | 6 to 2.85 | 10 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 28 billion | 20W | Ipad Pro 13 ″ and 11 ″ |
| M3 | 4 to 3.49 GHz | 4 to 2.06 GHz | 9 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 20 billion | 15W | IPad Air 13 “and 11” |
| A17 for | 2 to 3.78 GHz | 4 to 2.11 GHz | 5 | 16 hearts | 8 GB | 19 billion | 8W | iPad mini |
| A16 | 2 to 3.46 GHz | 3 to 2.02 GHz | 4 | 16 hearts | 6 GB | 11.8 billion | 6W | iPad (11th generation) |
The pros iPad equipped with M4 are the fastest models, and the difference between them and the iPad and the iPad Mini is significant. In addition, the M4 is 1.5 times faster than the M2 it has replaced in the previous pros iPad.
The 11th generation iPad which was published in the spring of 2025 has an A16, an upgrade of the A14 Bionic in the previous model.
Mac processors
The results are scores. Higher scores / longer bars are faster. The graph includes fleas in abandoned Apple devices.
With Apple's M series for chips for the Mac, the company's output calendar involves the basic version in the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro, the Mac Mac and 13 -inch iMac. Apple then modifies it to create high -end versions.
The latest chip in the M series is the M4, which was published with the new iMac, Mac Mini and the MacBook Pro in the fall of 2024. The M4 Pro and Max were also published in the MacBook Pro, replacing the M3 Pro and Max in these laptops. The M3 Ultra is now in the Mac studio but Mac Pro still uses the M2 Ultra. The MacBook Air uses the M4 chip.
| Processor | Performance cores | Efficiency cores | Graphics | Neural engine | Basic memory | Transistors | Thermal design power | Device |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 Ultra | 24 to 4.52 GHz | 8 to 2.59 GHz | 80 | 32 cores | 96 GB | 184 billion | 140W | Mac Studio |
| M3 Ultra | 20 to 4.52 GHz | 8 to 2.59 GHz | 60 | 32 cores | 96 GB | 184 billion | 140W | Mac Studio |
| M4 Max | 12 to 4.52 GHz | 4 to 2.59 GHz | 40 | 16 hearts | 48 GB | 70W | MacBook Pro 14 “and 16” | |
| M4 Max | 10 to 4.52 GHz | 4 to 2.59 GHz | 32 | 16 hearts | 36 GB | 62W | MacBook Pro 14 “and 16” | |
| M4 for | 10 to 4.52 GHz | 4 to 2.59 GHz | 20 | 16 hearts | 24 GB | 46W | MacBook Pro 14 “and 16”. Mac Mini | |
| M4 for | 8 to 4.52 GHz | 4 to 2.59 GHz | 16 | 16 hearts | 24 GB | 38W | 14 ″ MacBook Pro, Mac Mini | |
| M2 Ultra | 16 to 3.49 GHz | 8 to 2.4 GHz | 76 | 32 cores | 64 GB | 134 Billon | 80W | |
| M2 Ultra | 16 to 3.49 GHz | 8 to 2.4 GHz | 60 | 32 cores | 64 GB | 134 Billon | 80W | |
| M4 | 4 to 4.41 GHz | 6 to 2.59 GHz | 10 | 16 hearts | 16 GB | 28 billion | 22W | Imac, 14 ″ MacBook Pro |
| M4 | 4 to 4.41 GHz | 4 to 2.59 GHz | 8 | 16 hearts | 16 GB | 28 billion | 20W | iMac |
The M4 Max is a chip beast, flamboyant in both CPU and GPU performance, but it is not the fastest. The M2 Ultra is in the Mac Pro, which has PCIE extension locations. If you don't need such slots, you can opt for an Ultra Mac M3 studio. The M3 Ultra is Apple's fastest mac.
The chip that started everything, the good Ol 'M1, may seem slow compared to Apple's more current chips, but that does not undermine the original Mac processor. Remember that the M1 blows in front of the Intel processors it has replaced, which caused a significant price / performance value.
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