Apple A12 Bionic vs Apple M1 (7-GPU)

Let's find out which one of Apple A12 Bionic and Apple M1 (7-GPU) is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Apple A12 Bionic Apple M1 (7-GPU)
• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  Apple A series Apple M series
• Generation
  12 1
• CPU group
  Apple A12/A12X/A12Z Apple M1
• Predecessor
  Apple A11 Bionic --
• Successor
  Apple A13 Bionic --

In this block we are going to compare Apple A12 Bionic vs Apple M1 (7-GPU) 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.

• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple A12 Bionic and Apple M1 (7-GPU) along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  Apple A12 Apple M1 (7 Core)
• GPU frequency
  1.59 GHz 1.30 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  2.49 GHz No turbo
• Execution units
  4 112
• Shader
  0 896
• Max. GPU Memory
  4 GB 8 GB
• Max. displays
  1 2
• Generation
  9 1
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Release date
  Q3/2018 Q4/2020

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple A12 Bionic and Apple M1 (7-GPU). 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
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  Decode Decode
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

To choose the best model between Apple A12 Bionic and Apple M1 (7-GPU) 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 16 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  1 2 (Dual Channel)

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple A12 Bionic or Apple M1 (7-GPU)? 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 up
  -- 20 W
• TDP down
  -- 10 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple A12 Bionic and Apple M1 (7-GPU) CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  None Apple Virtualization Framework
• ISA extensions
  Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
• L2-Cache
  8.00 MB 16.00 MB
• Architecture
  A12 M1
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q3/2018 Q4/2020
• Part Number
  -- APL 1102