Apple A12Z Bionic
VS
Apple M1
Apple A12Z Bionic
VS
Apple M1

Which to select

What to choose and what is the difference between Apple A12Z Bionic and Apple M1? Which processor is more powerful and faster to accomplish your task? The processor with the best specifications and a winner in benchmarks is your choice!

CPU generation and family

Processor nomenclature, family, group and segment.

Apple A12Z 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
--

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

What to choose Apple A12Z Bionic or Apple M1? The greater the value of the characteristic (highlighted in green), the better.

1.59 GHz
Frequency
3.20 GHz
8
CPU Cores
8
2.49 GHz
Turbo (1 Core)
No turbo
8
CPU Threads
8
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
--

Internal Graphics

The graphics chip allows the processor to perform complex calculation and display tasks. The more memory and the higher the clock frequency, the better. Determine the winner, who has the better chip? Apple A12Z Bionic or Apple M1. 

Apple A12Z
GPU name
Apple M1 (8 Core)
1.59 GHz
GPU frequency
3.20 GHz
2.49 GHz
GPU (Turbo)
No turbo
9
Generation
1
--
DirectX Version
8
Execution units
128
2
Max. displays
2
7 nm
Technology
5 nm
Q1/2020
Release date
Q4/2020
6 GB
Max. GPU Memory
8 GB

Hardware codec support

Technical information that will be of interest to specialists and does not affect the performance of the processor. It can be skipped in the comparison.

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

The interfaces and standards of RAM that the processor supports. The more modern the standard and the larger the memory capacity, the better.

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

Memory & PCIe

Encryption

Data encryption standards supported by CPUs

No
AES-NI
Yes

Thermal Management

TDP is the maximum amount of heat generated by the processor. It is used when selecting a cooling system. The higher the TDP, the more heat the cooling system will have to dissipate.

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

Technical details

These are key parameters that will help you determine which CPU is better. Pay special attention to the release date, technological aspects of the manufacturing process (measured in nanometers), and the third-level cache (L3).

--
L3-Cache
--
7 nm
Technology
5 nm
A12
Architecture
M1
None
Virtualization
None
N/A
Socket
N/A
Q1/2020
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

Devices that can use this type of processor, desktop or laptop.

Apple iPad Pro 2020
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)

User rating

0.0 Out of 0 CpusData Score Apple A12Z Bionic
5.0 Out of 1 CpusData Score Apple M1