Apple A13 Bionic vs Apple A12 Bionic

Let's find out which one of Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 Bionic is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Apple A13 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  Apple A series Apple A series
• Generation
  13 12
• CPU group
  Apple A13 Apple A12/A12X/A12Z
• Predecessor
  Apple A12 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
• Successor
  Apple A14 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic

In this block we are going to compare Apple A13 Bionic vs Apple A12 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
  1.80 GHz 1.59 GHz
• CPU Cores
  6 6
• Turbo (1 Core)
  2.65 GHz 2.49 GHz
• CPU Threads
  6 6
• Turbo (6 Cores)
  2.65 GHz 2.49 GHz
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A core
  2x Lightning 2x Vortex
• B core
  4x Thunder 4x Tempest

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 Bionic along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  Apple A13 Apple A12
• GPU frequency
  1.80 GHz 1.59 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  2.70 GHz 2.49 GHz
• Execution units
  4 4
• Shader
  384 0
• Max. GPU Memory
  4 GB 4 GB
• Max. displays
  1 1
• Generation
  10 9
• Technology
  7 nm 7 nm
• Release date
  Q3/2019 Q3/2018

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 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 No
• AVC
  Decode Decode
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

To choose the best model between Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 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
  4 GB 16 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  1 1

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 Bionic.

• AES-NI
  No No

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple A13 Bionic or Apple A12 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 6 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 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 8.00 MB
• Architecture
  A13 (Lightning / Thunder) A12
• Technology
  7 nm 7 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q3/2019 Q3/2018

List of devices based on Apple A13 Bionic and Apple A12 Bionic.

• Used in
  Apple iPhone 11Apple iPhone 11 ProApple iPhone 11 Pro MaxiPhone SE Apple iPhone XRApple iPhone XSApple iPhone XS MaxApple iPad mini (5. Gen)Apple iPad Air (3. Gen)