Apple A7 VS Apple M2 — differences in specs

Comparing Apple A7 vs Apple M2

Comparison of video cards Apple A7 vs Apple M2 in benchmarks and specifications.

Differences Specifications Benchmarks

Differences

Top features of Apple A7

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Top features of Apple M2

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Higher clock speed

3.50 GHz 1.30 GHz

Around 63% better clock speed
More number of cores

8 2

4 times more cores

Specifications

Complete list of technical specifications

Apple A7 Apple M2

CPU generation and family

Let's find out which one of Apple A7 and Apple M2 is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

Specification	Value
Name	Apple A7 Apple M2
Segment	Mobile Mobile
Family	Apple A series Apple M series
Generation	7 2
CPU group	Apple A7 Apple M2
Successor	Apple A8 --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

In this block we are going to compare Apple A7 vs Apple M2 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.

Specification	Value
Frequency	1.30 GHz 3.50 GHz
CPU Cores	2 8
Turbo (1 Core)	1.40 GHz No turbo
CPU Threads	2 8
Hyperthreading	No No
Overclocking	No No
Core architecture	normal hybrid (big.LITTLE)
A core	2x Cyclone 4x Avalanche
B core	-- 4x Blizzard

Internal Graphics

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple A7 and Apple M2 along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

Specification	Value
GPU name	PowerVR G6430 Apple M2 (8 Core)
GPU frequency	0.45 GHz 3.50 GHz
GPU (Turbo)	0.45 GHz No turbo
Execution units	4 128
Shader	64 0
Max. GPU Memory	-- 16 GB
Max. displays	1 3
Generation	2
DirectX Version	10
Technology	28 nm 5 nm
Release date	Q3/2013 Q1/2022

Hardware codec support

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple A7 and Apple M2. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

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

Memory & PCIe

To choose the best model between Apple A7 and Apple M2 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.

Specification	Value
Memory type	LPDDR3-1333 LPDDR5-5500
Max. Memory	1 GB 16 GB
ECC	No No
Memory channels	1 2
PCIe version	4.0

Encryption

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple A7 and Apple M2.

Specification	Value
AES-NI	No Yes

Thermal Management

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple A7 or Apple M2? 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.

Specification	Value
TDP (PL1)	15 W
TDP up	-- 20 W
TDP down	-- 10 W

Technical details

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple A7 and Apple M2 CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

Specification	Value
Instruction set (ISA)	x86-64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
Virtualization	None None
ISA extensions	Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
L2-Cache	1.00 MB 16.00 MB
L3-Cache	4.00 MB --
Architecture	A7 M2
Technology	28 nm 5 nm
Socket	N/A N/A
Release date	Q3/2013 Q1/2022
Part Number	S5L8960X --