The Apple A15 SoC Performance Review: Faster & More Efficient
by Andrei Frumusanu on October 4, 2021 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Apple
- Smartphones
- Apple A15
Conclusion & End Remarks
Today’s investigation into the new A15 is just scratching the tip of the iceberg of what Apple has to offer in the new generation iPhone 13 series devices. As we’re still working on the full device review, we got a good glimpse of what the new silicon is able to achieve, and what to expect from the new devices in terms of performance.
On the CPU side of things, Apple’s initial vague presentation of the new A15 improvements could either have resulted in disappointment, or simply a more hidden shift towards power efficiency rather than pure performance. In our extensive testing, we’re elated to see that it was actually mostly an efficiency focus this year, with the new performance cores showcasing adequate performance improvements, while at the same time reducing power consumption, as well as significantly improving energy efficiency.
The efficiency cores of the A15 have also seen massive gains, this time around with Apple mostly investing them back into performance, with the new cores showcasing +23-28% absolute performance improvements, something that isn’t easily identified by popular benchmarking. This large performance increase further helps the SoC improve energy efficiency, and our initial battery life figures of the new 13 series showcase that the chip has a very large part into the vastly longer longevity of the new devices.
In the GPU side, Apple’s peak performance improvements are off the charts, with a combination of a new larger GPU, new architecture, and the larger system cache that helps both performance as well as efficiency.
Apple’s iPhone component design seems to be limiting the SoC from achieving even better results, especially the newer Pro models, however even with that being said and done, Apple remains far above the competition in terms of performance and efficiency.
Overall, while the A15 isn’t the brute force iteration we’ve become used to from Apple in recent years, it very much comes with substantial generational gains that allow it to be a notably better SoC than the A14. In the end, it seems like Apple’s SoC team has executed well after all.
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jarumbo13 - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
A real Apple only has one core and more pips than are mentioned in these specs.melgross - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
Will you be able to test any of the other components in the chip? It seems to me that year after year, Apple is subordinating what were CPU functions to their other subsystems, such the neural engine, machine learning modules, ISP, etc.It could be why Apple seems to be looking at bigger advances in these areas when compared to the CPUs.
chief-worminger - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
Excellent article, as objective and comprehensive as ever. Does anyone know what the general estimated % edge the N5P and/or N5 nodes have over Samsung's 5LPE (or any more recent) node? I'm trying to imagine an X1/X2 core might be able to achieve on the various nodes, just to try to imagine what the next couple of year's worth of potential is.What might a Cortex X2 on N5P score on Geekbench5, for example?
Also anyone know when Samsung's 3GAE or TSMC's next (3nm?) node is going to be available on flagship SoCs?
tipoo - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
I used to get excited by silicon improvements, I guess I still do to a lesser extent, but now it's like, all this buildup and what am I going to use it for? I still use the browser, Messages, some social media, and that's pretty well that.Nothing on Apple Arcade really drew me in more than your typical mobile fare. What I'd really like to see them do now is lean into the controller grip setup and fund some AAA tier exclusives for Apple Silicon, including Apple TV, iPads, iPhones, and Macbooks in that definition. Something that really stretches that silicon muscle, maybe A12+ required, the Switch is far weaker than any of these by now but that gets AAA titles still while iPhones usually don't.
Be nice if Tim Apple splashed that dragons hoard of gold around on some bespoke exclusives that really used their modern A/M chips.
michael2k - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
What do you suggest? From my perspective they’re selling you six years of OS updates, while the article already mentions GI. GI already has PS specific content so maybe that would work?tipoo - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
Apple funded exclusives that take fuller advantage of the hardware, which I already suggestedmichael2k - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
Right, but what game do you think will encourage people to buy more iPhones? That’s the kind of question I imagine Apple has to consider. I specifically mentioned Genshin Impact.Fulljack - Wednesday, October 6, 2021 - link
why didn't I think of that? while A15 are currently the fastest smartphone chip, it won't be in the next 6 years, but at least it'll still perform well enough unlike the slug fest my 2 years old SD855 phone are.Alistair - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
100 percent agree with you. I love the silicon performance, but the problem is iOS. I love Fantasian, but I can't even back up my save files, or transfer them at will between devices. iOS sucks. That's the issue. One of the reasons people love Steam. How come 20 years later only Steam has a proper backup and restore function. Epic game store, Windows store, they've had decades, some are new, they still lack basic functionality. That's how I feel about iOS.iOS save files? Nope. iOS external 16:9 display support? Nope. 120hz external display support? Nope. Can I easily downgrade from the iOS beta? Nope. Does Apple sign your files and make them incompatible after using the beta? Yes. It's just a long list of annoyances, iOS.
Get that CLOSED OS into a gaming device, and I'm not as irritated. The Switch is closed off also. Except you can actually export your save files on the Switch, but not with iOS. LOL.
misan - Monday, October 4, 2021 - link
That’s not really iOS problem though. The OS itself supports saving and exchanging files, but there is not much you can do if the developer of the game doesn’t support the file system.