Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple M2

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CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Apple A16 Bionic or Apple A16 Bionic – which processor offers superior performance? In this comparison, we examine disparities and assess which of these two CPUs outperforms the other. We delve into technical specifications and benchmark outcomes.
The Apple A16 Bionic features 6 processor cores and has the capability to manage 6 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2022 and belongs to the 16 generation of the Apple A series series.
The Apple M2 features 8 processor cores and has the capability to manage 8 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q2/2022 and belongs to the 2 generation of the Apple M series series.
Apple A16 Group Apple M2
16 Generation 2
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A16 Bionic Name Apple M2
Apple A series Family Apple M series
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A16 Bionic has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 3.46 GHz.
The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.
Processors with hybrid (big.LITTLE) architecture strike a balance between performance and power efficiency, making them ideal for mobile devices.
The Apple M2 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 3.5 GHz.
6 Threads 8
2.02 GHz B-Core Frequency 2.8 GHz
6 CPU Cores 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
2x Everest Cores A 4x Avalanche
No Hyperthreading No
3.46 GHz A-Core Frequency 3.5 GHz
No Overclocking No
4x Sawtooth Cores B 4x Blizzard
 
 

Internal Graphics

The Apple A16 Bionic has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple A16 Bionic uses the Apple A16 (5 GPU Cores), which has 1280 texture shaders
and 160 execution units.
The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
The Apple M2 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Apple M2 uses the Apple M2 (10 Core), which has 1280 texture shaders
1280 Shaders 1280
Q3/2022 Release date Q2/2022
4 nm Technology 5 nm
-- Direct X --
8.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 24.0 GB
-- Max. displays --
160 Execution units 160
0.7 GHz GPU frequency 1.4 GHz
13 Generation 2
-- GPU (Turbo) --
Apple A16 (5 GPU Cores) GPU name Apple M2 (10 Core)
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

16 Neural cores @ 17 TOPS AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
 
 

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.
Decode / Encode VP8 Decode
Decode VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode JPEG Decode / Encode
No AV1 No
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode AVC Decode
Decode / Encode h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
 
 

Memory & PCIe

The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 6.0 GB distributed across 1 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 24.0 GB distributed across 2 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
pci PCIe pci
No AES-NI Yes
LPDDR5-6400 Memory type LPDDR5-6400
No ECC No
6.0 GB Max. Memory 24.0 GB
1 Memory channels 2
51.2 GB/s Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s
 
 

Thermal Management

The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 8.5 W watts.
TDP indicates the cooling solution needed to effectively manage the processor's heat. It generally provides an approximate indication of the actual power consumption of the CPU itself.
The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 22 W watts.
None TDP down 10 W
8.5 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 22 W
-- Tjunction max 100 °C
 
 

Technical details

The Apple A16 Bionic is manufactured using a 4 nm process.
A smaller manufacturing process indicates a more contemporary and energy-efficient CPU.
In total, this processor boasts a generous 24.0 MB cache.
A substantial cache can significantly enhance the processor's performance, particularly in scenarios like gaming.
The Apple M2 is manufactured using a 5 nm process.
Q3/2022 Release date Q2/2022
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
4 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
-- Release price --
A16 Architecture M2
24.0 MB L3-Cache 0 bytes
iOS Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Technical data sheet Documents Technical data sheet
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
-- Part Number --
Socket
20.0 MB L2-Cache 20.0 MB
 
 

Benchmarks

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
947502
947502

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.5 GHz
9691
9691
Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
6299
6299

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.5 GHz
8853
8853
Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
5465
5465

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.5 GHz
2536
2536
Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
2531
2531

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Apple A16 Bionic
6C 6T @ 3.46 GHz
1890
1890
Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.5 GHz
1874
1874

Apple A16 Bionic and Apple M2 in leaderboards