Apple A14 Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

Let's find out which one of Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Apple A12 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  Apple A series Apple A series
• Generation
  12 14
• CPU group
  Apple A12/A12X/A12Z Apple A14
• Predecessor
  Apple A11 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
• Successor
  Apple A13 Bionic Apple A15 Bionic

In this block we are going to compare Apple A12 Bionic vs Apple A14 Bionic by main technical specifications: number of cores and threads, base and maximum frequencies, process technology and cache size. The higher these specifications are, the more powerful your CPU will be.

• Frequency
  1.59 GHz 3.00 GHz
• CPU Cores
  6 6
• Turbo (1 Core)
  2.49 GHz No turbo
• CPU Threads
  6 6
• Turbo (6 Cores)
  2.49 GHz No turbo
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A core
  2x Vortex 2x Firestorm
• B core
  4x Tempest 4x Icestorm

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  Apple A12 Apple A14
• GPU frequency
  1.59 GHz 1.80 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  2.49 GHz 3.01 GHz
• Execution units
  4 4
• Max. GPU Memory
  4 GB 8 GB
• Max. displays
  1 3
• Generation
  9 11
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Release date
  Q3/2018 Q3/2020

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h264
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP9
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP8
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• AV1
  No Decode
• AVC
  Decode Decode
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

To choose the best model between Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic you need to pay special attention to memory type, clock frequency, multi-channel features, and PCIe version. The higher these numbers are, the better your CPU will be. Keep in mind that the maximum memory and frequency may also depend on the model of the motherboard.

• Memory type
  LPDDR4X-4266 LPDDR4X-4266
• Max. Memory
  16 GB 6 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  1 2

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic.

• AES-NI
  No No

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple A12 Bionic or Apple A14 Bionic? The Thermal Design Power (TDP) indicates the maximum amount of heat that should be dissipated by the chip cooling system. However, the value of TDP gives only a rough indication of the real power consumption of the CPU.

• TDP (PL1)
  6 W 7 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  None None
• L2-Cache
  8.00 MB 4.00 MB
• Architecture
  A12 A14 (Firestorm/Icestorm)
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q3/2018 Q3/2020

List of devices based on Apple A12 Bionic and Apple A14 Bionic.

• Used in
  Apple iPhone XRApple iPhone XSApple iPhone XS MaxApple iPad mini (5. Gen)Apple iPad Air (3. Gen) Apple iPhone 12 miniApple iPhone 12Apple iPhone 12 ProApple iPhone 12 Pro MaxApple iPad Air (4. Gen)