Apple M1 VS HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G — differences in specs

Comparison of video cards Apple M1 vs HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G in benchmarks and specifications.

Differences Specifications Benchmarks

Differences

Top features of HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G

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Performance per watt

6 W 15 W

About 2.5 0.97 times less performance per watt

Top features of Apple M1

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Higher clock speed

3.20 GHz 1.95 GHz

Around 39% better clock speed

Specifications

Complete list of technical specifications

HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G Apple M1

CPU generation and family

Let's find out which one of HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1 is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

Specification	Value
Name	HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G Apple M1
Segment	Mobile Mobile
Family	HiSilicon Kirin Apple M series
Generation	8 1
CPU group	HiSilicon Kirin 990 Apple M1

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

In this block we are going to compare HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G vs Apple M1 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	1.95 GHz 3.20 GHz
CPU Cores	8 8
Turbo (1 Core)	2.36 GHz No turbo
CPU Threads	8 8
Turbo (8 Cores)	2.86 GHz No turbo
Hyperthreading	No No
Overclocking	No No
Core architecture	hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)
A core	2x Cortex-A76 4x Firestorm
B core	2x Cortex-A76 4x Icestorm
C core	4x Cortex-A55 --

Internal Graphics

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1 along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

Specification	Value
GPU name	ARM Mali-G76 MP16 Apple M1 (8 Core)
GPU frequency	0.60 GHz 3.20 GHz
GPU (Turbo)	No turbo No turbo
Execution units	16 128
Shader	256 0
Max. GPU Memory	4 GB 8 GB
Max. displays	2 2
Generation	Bifrost 3 1
DirectX Version	12
Technology	7 nm 5 nm
Release date	Q3/2018 Q4/2020

Hardware codec support

Let's compare the support of video codecs between HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1. 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 Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)	Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
h264	Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
VP9	Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
VP8	Decode / Encode Decode
AV1	No Decode
AVC	Decode / Encode Decode
VC-1	Decode / Encode Decode
JPEG	Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

To choose the best model between HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1 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 LPDDR4X-4266
Max. Memory	8 GB 16 GB
ECC	No No
Memory channels	4 2
PCIe version	4.0

Encryption

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1.

Specification	Value
AES-NI	No Yes

Thermal Management

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G or Apple M1? 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)	6 W 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 HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1 CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

Specification	Value
Instruction set (ISA)	ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
Virtualization	None None
ISA extensions	Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
L2-Cache	-- 16.00 MB
L3-Cache	2.00 MB --
Architecture	Cortex-A76 / Cortex-A55 M1
Technology	7 nm 5 nm
Socket	N/A N/A
Release date	Q3/2019 Q4/2020

Devices using this processor

List of devices based on HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple M1.

Specification	Value
Used in	Unknown 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)