Apple M1
Apple A15 Bionic
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Comparing Apple A15 Bionic vs Apple M1

Comparison of video cards Apple A15 Bionic vs Apple M1 in benchmarks and specifications.

Differences

Apple M1

Top features of Apple M1

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  • More number of cores
    8 left arrow 6
    2 times more threads
Apple A15 Bionic

Top features of Apple A15 Bionic

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  • Higher clock speed
    3.23 GHz left arrow 3.20 GHz
    Around 1% better clock speed
  • Performance per watt
    8.5 W left arrow 15 W
    About 0.57 times less performance per watt

Specifications

Complete list of technical specifications

CPU generation and family

Let's find out which one of Apple M1 and Apple A15 Bionic is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

Specification Value
Name Apple M1 left arrow Apple A15 Bionic
Segment Mobile left arrow Mobile
Family Apple M series left arrow Apple A series
Generation 1 left arrow 15
CPU group Apple M1 left arrow Apple A15
Predecessor -- left arrow Apple A14 Bionic

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

In this block we are going to compare Apple M1 vs Apple A15 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.

Specification Value
Frequency 3.20 GHz left arrow 3.23 GHz
CPU Cores 8 left arrow 6
Turbo (1 Core) No turbo left arrow No turbo
CPU Threads 8 left arrow 6
Hyperthreading No left arrow No
Overclocking No left arrow No
Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE) left arrow hybrid (big.LITTLE)
A core 4x Firestorm left arrow 2x Avalanche
B core 4x Icestorm left arrow 4x Blizzard

Internal Graphics

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple M1 and Apple A15 Bionic along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

Specification Value
GPU name Apple M1 (8 Core) left arrow Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores)
GPU frequency 3.20 GHz left arrow 1.80 GHz
GPU (Turbo) No turbo left arrow 3.20 GHz
Execution units 128 left arrow 5
Max. GPU Memory 8 GB left arrow 8 GB
Max. displays 2 left arrow 3
Generation 1 left arrow 12
Technology 5 nm left arrow 5 nm
Release date Q4/2020 left arrow Q3/2021

Hardware codec support

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple M1 and Apple A15 Bionic. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

Specification Value
h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
h264 Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
VP9 Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
VP8 Decode left arrow Decode / Encode
AV1 Decode left arrow Decode
AVC Decode left arrow Decode
VC-1 Decode left arrow Decode
JPEG Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

To choose the best model between Apple M1 and Apple A15 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.

Specification Value
Memory type LPDDR4X-4266 left arrow LPDDR4X-4266
Max. Memory 16 GB left arrow 8 GB
ECC No left arrow No
Memory channels 2 left arrow 2
PCIe version 4.0 left arrow

Encryption

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple M1 and Apple A15 Bionic.

Specification Value
AES-NI Yes left arrow No

Thermal Management

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple M1 or Apple A15 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.

Specification Value
TDP (PL1) 15 W left arrow 8.5 W
TDP up 20 W left arrow --
TDP down 10 W left arrow --

Technical details

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple M1 and Apple A15 Bionic CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

Specification Value
Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) left arrow x86-64 (64 bit)
Virtualization None left arrow None
ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation left arrow
L2-Cache 16.00 MB left arrow 4.00 MB
Architecture M1 left arrow A15
Technology 5 nm left arrow 5 nm
Socket N/A left arrow N/A
Release date Q4/2020 left arrow Q3/2021

Devices using this processor

List of devices based on Apple M1 and Apple A15 Bionic.

Specification Value
Used in Apple iMac 24 (2021)Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020)Apple MacBook Air (2020)Apple Mac mini (2020)Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021)Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) left arrow Apple iPad mini (6. Gen)Apple iPhone 13 miniApple iPhone 13Apple iPhone 13 ProApple iPhone 13 Pro Max

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