Apple A12X Bionic
VS
Apple M1
Apple A12X Bionic
VS
Apple M1

Which to select

It is time to pick the winner. What is the difference between Apple A12X Bionic vs Apple M1? What CPU is more powerful? It is quite easy to determine – look at comparison table. The processor with more cores/ threads and also with higher frequency is the absolute winner!

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Who will win between Apple A12X Bionic vs  Apple M1. The general performance of a CPU can easily be determined based on the number of its cores and the thread count, as well as the base frequency and Turbo frequency. The more GHz and cores a CPU has, the better. Please note that high technical specs require using a powerful cooling system.

1.59 GHz
Frequency
3.20 GHz
8
CPU Cores
8
2.49 GHz
Turbo (1 Core)
No turbo
No
Hyperthreading
No
No
Overclocking
No
2.49 GHz
Turbo (8 Cores)
No turbo
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core architecture
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
4x Vortex
A core
4x Firestorm
4x Tempest
B core
4x Icestorm
--
C core
--

CPU generation and family

Apple A12X Bionic
Name
Apple M1
Mobile
Segment
Mobile
Apple A12/A12X/A12Z
CPU group
Apple M1
Apple A series
Family
Apple M series
12
Generation
1
Apple A10X Fusion
Predecessor
--
--
Successor
--

Internal Graphics

Some manufacturers complement their CPUs with graphic chips, such a solution being especially popular in laptops. The higher the clock frequency of a GPU is and the bigger its memory, the better. Find a winner - Apple A12X Bionic vs Apple M1. 

Apple A12X
GPU name
Apple M1 (8 Core)
1.59 GHz
GPU frequency
3.20 GHz
2.49 GHz
GPU (Turbo)
No turbo
9
Generation
1
7
Execution units
128
2
Max. displays
2
7 nm
Technology
5 nm
Q3/2018
Release date
Q4/2020
6 GB
Max. GPU Memory
8 GB

Hardware codec support

Here we deal with specs that are used by some CPU manufacturers. These numbers are mainly technical and can be neglected for the purpose of the comparison analysis.

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

Memory & PCIe

These are memory standards supported by CPUs. The higher such standards, the better a CPU’s performance is.

LPDDR4X-4266
Memory type
LPDDR4X-4266
16 GB
Max. Memory
16 GB
2
Memory channels
2
No
ECC
No
PCIe version
4.0

Encryption

Data encryption support

No
AES-NI
Yes

Memory & AMP; PCIe

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP), sometimes called thermal design point, is the maximum amount of heat generated by a computer chip or component (often a CPU, GPU or system on a chip) that the cooling system in a computer is designed to dissipate under any workload.

--
Tjunction max.
--
--
TDP up
20 W
--
TDP down
10 W
15 W
TDP (PL1)
15 W
--
TDP (PL2)
--

Technical details

8
CPU Threads
8
--
L3-Cache
--
7 nm
Technology
5 nm
A12
Architecture
M1
None
Virtualization
None
N/A
Socket
N/A
Q3/2018
Release date
Q4/2020
x86-64 (64 bit)
Instruction set (ISA)
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
8.00 MB
L2-Cache
16.00 MB
--
Part Number
--
ISA extensions
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation

Devices using this processor

You probably know already what devices use CPUs. These can be a desktop or a laptop.

Apple iPad Pro 2018
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)

Compatibility

Technologies and extensions

Virtualization technologies

Memory specs

Peripherals