At the heart of every Apple device is a processor. Apple has been using its own processors in its iPhones and iPads for some time, while the Mac line just entered the second year of its two-year transition.
Apple now has many more devices with its own chip than with Intel, and before the end of 2022, probably all the products it manufactures will be equipped with a chip of its own manufacture.
The most remarkable thing about Apple’s processors is their performance: the big chipmakers can’t ignore Apple’s because they’re already overtaken by them.
This is a very positive thing for Apple and its customers, but for users who invest in Apple products, the most important thing is to understand the performance differences between each chip.
Knowing the performance of each of the chips allows you to have a better idea of which products to buy and whether or not it is worth upgrading to a higher model.
Let’s see how the new M2 chip stacks up against the rest of the processors in the iPhone, iPad, and Mac and see how each performs and what it means for you. To make it much more coherent, we used the results of Geekbench 5.
iPhone processors
Before comparing the performance of each of the processors in the iPhone, let’s take a look at their specs to understand the differences between them.
| Processor | performance cores | efficiency cores | graphic hearts | neural engine | RAM | transistors | Thermal design power | devices |
| A15 bionic | 2 to 3.22GHz | 4 to 1.82GHz | 5 | 16 cores | 8 GB | 15 billion | 6W | iPhone 13 Pro |
| A15 bionic | 2 to 3.22GHz | 4 to 1.82GHz | 4 | 16 cores | 8 GB | 15 billion | 6W | iPhone 13 iPhoneSE |
| A14 bionic | 2 to 3.1GHz | 4 to 1.8GHz | 4 | 16 cores | 6 GB | 11.8 billion | 6W | iPhone 12 |
| A13 bionic | 2 to 2.65GHz | 4 to 1.8GHz | 4 | 8 hearts | 4GB | 8.5 billion | 6W | iPhone 11 |
Now let’s take a look at the performance of each processor. Unsurprisingly, the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 Pro is the fastest. The iPhone 13 also uses the A15 Bionic processor, but for the first time it has one less GPU core than the iPhone 13 Pro. This additional GPU core boosts its graphics performance by 35% over the non-Pro model.
Apple is still selling the iPhone 12, which has an A14 Bionic. It’s actually not much slower than the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13: specs between the two processors are roughly the same, with the same performance cores from the A15 Bionic clocked slightly higher and with more RAM.
If price is your top priority, even above the camera and other features, consider buying the iPhone 12 instead of the iPhone 13.
The speed difference is most apparent between the A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11 and the other chips. The days of the A13 Bionic are numbered, as the iPhone 11 will be replaced by the 12 as the low-cost option with the next big iPhone launch this fall.
iPad processors
Apple releases iPads in a staggered fashion, which creates an odd order of devices and processor performance.
| Processor | performance cores | efficiency cores | graphic hearts | neural engine | RAM | transistors | Thermal design power | devices |
| M1 | 4 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 8 | 16 cores | 8 GB | 16 billion | 14W | iPad Pro 12.9″ iPad Pro 11″ ipad air |
| A15 bionic | 2 to 2.93GHz | 4 to 1.82GHz | 5 | 16 cores | 4GB | 15 billion | 6W | ipad mini |
| A13 bionic | 2 to 2.65GHz | 4 to 1.8GHz | 4 | 8 hearts | 4GB | 8.5 billion | 6W | iPad |
The A15 Bionic is newer than the previous iPad Air’s A14 Bionic, but there’s little performance difference between the two, which is likely one of the reasons why Apple opted for the M1 when of the iPad Air update in 2022.
The A15 Bionic of this Tablet it needs to be reduced to maintain a proper operating temperature, so it’s not as fast as the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 Pro.
The 11-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M1 and iPad Air with M1 are the fastest models, and the difference between them and the iPad and iPad mini is significant.
The staggered release makes it difficult to predict what Apple will do with the iPad and iPad mini processors. The iPad will probably get the A15 Bionic in its next update, but what about the iPad mini? The M1 may be too powerful, although it can be offered in a reduced version.
Mac processors
With Apple’s M series of chips for Mac, the company’s release schedule works as follows. It first creates the basic version for MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and other Macs, then modifies it to create high-end versions.
The latest M-series chip is the M2, which launched with the new 13″ MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in June 2022, right after WWDC. The M2 replaces the M1 on these Macs, but Apple may keep models as well. with M1 to offer as low-cost options, like the $1,219 / MXN 25,999 MacBook Air with M1.
| Processor | performance cores | efficiency cores | graphic hearts | neural engine | RAM | transistors | Thermal design power | devices |
| M2 | 4 to 3.49GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | ten | 16 cores | 8 GB | 20 billion | 15W | 13″ MacBook Pro Macbook Air |
| M2 | 4 to 3.49GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 8 | 16 cores | 8 GB | 20 billion | 15W | Macbook Air |
| M1 Ultra | 16 @ 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 64 | 32 hearts | 64 GB | 114 billion | 60W | mac studio |
| M1 Ultra | 16 @ 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 48 | 32 hearts | 64 GB | 114 billion | 60W | mac studio |
| M1 Max | 8 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 32 | 16 cores | 32 GB | 16 billion | 14W | 16″ MacBook Pro mac studio |
| M1 Max | 8 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 24 | 16 cores | 32 GB | 16 billion | 14W | 16″ MacBook Pro mac studio |
| M1 Pro | 8 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 16 | 16 cores | 16 GB | 16 billion | 14W | 14″ MacBook Pro 16″ MacBook Pro |
| M1 Pro | 6 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 14 | 16 cores | 16 GB | 16 billion | 14W | 14″ MacBook Pro |
| M1 | 4 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | 8 | 16 cores | 8 GB | 16 billion | 14W | 13″ MacBook Pro Macbook Air iMac 24″ mac mini |
| M1 | 4 to 3.2GHz | 4 to 2.06GHz | seven | 16 cores | 8 GB | 16 billion | 14W | Macbook Air iMac 24″ |
With the M2, Apple claims it offers an 18% improvement in overall processor performance over the M1. In the multi-core processor test, we can confirm this. The single-core CPU test showed a 13% lower boost for the M2.
The M1 Ultra is a beastly chip, doubling the multi-core CPU performance of the M1 Max, which has half as many CPU cores. It also shines in GPU performance.
As for the M1 Max, it differs from the M1 Pro in its graphics performance: the 32-core GPU gives it a big boost. The only device we haven’t personally tested is the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro with 8 CPU cores and 14 GPU cores, which costs $2,249 / MXN$52,999.
However, comparative analyzes on line show that the CPU performance is 20% slower than the M1 Pro with 10 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores.
There is an interesting comparison between the 8-core M1 Pro and the low-end M1. The 8-core M1 Pro offers around a 30% boost, and the 14-inch MacBook Pro is more expensive than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1.
The chip that started it all, the older M1, may feel slow compared to the M1 Pro and Max, but that’s not to denigrate Apple’s original Mac processor. Remember that the M1 outperforms the Intel processors it replaced, which gives it a significant price-quality ratio.
Comparison of all processors
What do you get by putting all the performance numbers on a graph? A somewhat predictable chart, with the Mac M1 Pro/M1 Max leading the chart, followed by a mix of iPad and iPhone.
iPad Pro owners will be able to say that their Tablet it’s as fast as a MacBook Air (or Air owners might say the laptop runs like an iPad Pro), and that wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
And the difference between the $529 / MXN 11,499 iPhone SE and the $1,259 / MXN 28,999 iPhone 13 Pro Max isn’t as big as their prices suggest. Other than that, the rest of the devices fall where they can.
Original article published on igamesnews.com.
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