Apple A9 VS Apple A9X — differences in specs

Comparing Apple A9 vs Apple A9X

Comparison of video cards Apple A9 vs Apple A9X in benchmarks and specifications.

Differences Specifications Benchmarks

Differences

Top features of Apple A9

Report a bug

Performance per watt

5 W 8 W

About 1.6 0.97 times less performance per watt

Top features of Apple A9X

Report a bug

Higher clock speed

2.16 GHz 1.85 GHz

Around 14% better clock speed

Specifications

Complete list of technical specifications

Apple A9 Apple A9X

CPU generation and family

Let's find out which one of Apple A9 and Apple A9X is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

Specification	Value
Name	Apple A9 Apple A9X
Segment	Mobile Mobile
Family	Apple A series Apple A series
Generation	9 9
CPU group	Apple A9/A9X Apple A9/A9X
Predecessor	Apple A8 Apple A8X
Successor	Apple A10 Fusion Apple A10X Fusion

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

In this block we are going to compare Apple A9 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.

Specification	Value
Frequency	1.85 GHz 2.16 GHz
CPU Cores	2 2
Turbo (1 Core)	No turbo 2.26 GHz
CPU Threads	2 2
Turbo (2 Cores)	No turbo 2.26 GHz
Hyperthreading	No No
Overclocking	No No
Core architecture	normal normal
A core	2x Twister 2x Twister

Internal Graphics

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple A9 and Apple A9X along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

Specification	Value
GPU name	Apple A9 Apple A9X
GPU frequency	0.65 GHz 0.65 GHz
GPU (Turbo)	No turbo No turbo
Execution units	6 12
Shader	192 384
Max. GPU Memory	4 GB 4 GB
Max. displays	1 1
Generation	6 6
Technology	16 nm 16 nm
Release date	Q3/2015 Q3/2015

Hardware codec support

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple A9 and Apple A9X. 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 No
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)	No No
h264	Decode Decode / Encode
VP9	No No
VP8	Decode Decode
AV1	No No
AVC	Decode Decode
VC-1	Decode Decode
JPEG	Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

To choose the best model between Apple A9 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.

Specification	Value
Memory type	LPDDR4-3200 LPDDR4-3200
Max. Memory	2 GB 4 GB
ECC	No No
Memory channels	1 2

Encryption

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple A9 and Apple A9X.

Specification	Value
AES-NI	No No

Thermal Management

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple A9 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.

Specification	Value
TDP (PL1)	5 W 8 W

Technical details

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple A9 and Apple A9X CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

Specification	Value
Instruction set (ISA)	x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
Virtualization	None None
L2-Cache	3.00 MB 3.00 MB
L3-Cache	4.00 MB --
Architecture	A9 A9
Technology	16 nm 16 nm
Socket	N/A N/A
Release date	Q3/2015 Q3/2015