Apple A12Z Bionic vs Apple A9X

Let's find out which one of Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Apple A12Z Bionic Apple A9X
• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  Apple A series Apple A series
• Generation
  12 9
• CPU group
  Apple A12/A12X/A12Z Apple A9/A9X
• Predecessor
  Apple A10X Fusion Apple A8X
• Successor
  -- Apple A10X Fusion

In this block we are going to compare Apple A12Z Bionic vs Apple A9X 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 2.16 GHz
• CPU Cores
  8 2
• Turbo (1 Core)
  2.49 GHz 2.26 GHz
• CPU Threads
  8 2
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) normal
• A core
  4x Vortex 2x Twister
• B core
  4x Tempest --

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  Apple A12Z Apple A9X
• GPU frequency
  1.59 GHz 0.65 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  2.49 GHz No turbo
• Execution units
  8 12
• Shader
  0 384
• Max. GPU Memory
  6 GB 4 GB
• Max. displays
  2 1
• Generation
  9 6
• DirectX Version
  --
• Technology
  7 nm 16 nm
• Release date
  Q1/2020 Q3/2015

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode No
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode / Encode No
• h264
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP9
  Decode / Encode No
• 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 A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X 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 LPDDR4-3200
• Max. Memory
  16 GB 4 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 2

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X.

• AES-NI
  No No

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple A12Z Bionic or Apple A9X? 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)
  15 W 8 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X 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 3.00 MB
• Architecture
  A12 A9
• Technology
  7 nm 16 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q1/2020 Q3/2015

List of devices based on Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple A9X.

• Used in
  Apple iPad Pro 2020 Apple iPad Pro (1. Gen)