Macworld
At the heart of every Apple device is an Apple processor. Apple has been using its own chips in its iPhones and iPads for more than a decade, while Apple silicon in the Mac is already in its fourth generation.
What’s remarkable about Apple silicon is its performance and power efficiency. But all chips aren’t created equally. Understanding the performance differences between each chip will help with your buying decisions, especially when you’re deciding between iPhone 16 or MacBook models. Knowing how each chip performs gives you a better idea of what products to buy and whether or not it’s worth your money to step up to a higher model.
Let’s take a look at how the new processors compare with the rest of the processors in the iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineup and see how each performs and what that means to you. For the sake of consistency, we’ve used Geekbench 6 benchmarks. Here’s every chip and how the benchmarks compare with each other.
Update March 23, 2025: Added benchmarks for the M3 Ultra chip; added the new iPhone 16e, iPad, iPad Air, Mac Studio, and MacBook Air.
Every current processor compared
Results are scores. Higher scores/longer bars are faster. Chips in this chart are currently available in Apple devices.
Before we get into the individual processors, let’s let the chips fall where they may. In the above chart, we’ve only included chips that are in Apple’s current product lineups for the sake of keeping the chart manageable. The Mac section below includes all of the chips, from the M1 to the current chip. If you’re looking for scores of chips that are no longer being used in Apple’s active iPhone or iPad lineups (such as the A12 Bionic), check out the Geekbench Browser.
It’s a somewhat predictable chart, with the fastest Mac chips at the top, followed by a mix of iPads and iPhones. But there are still some fascinating results: owners of the iPad Pro can say their tablet is about as fast as a MacBook Air and that wouldn’t be much of a reach. And the difference between the $599 iPhone 16e and the $999 iPhone 16 Pro isn’t as huge as their price difference indicates.
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Read about how Apple’s M series processors compare to Intel in our Mac processor guide.
iPhone processors
Results are scores. Higher scores/longer bars are faster. Chips in this chart are currently available in Apple devices.
Let’s look at the specifications of the iPhones currently in Apple’s lineup so we can understand the differences between them.
| Processor | Performance cores | Efficiency cores | Graphics cores | Neural Engine | Memory | Thermal Design Power | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A18 Pro | 2 at 4.04GHz | 4 at 2.2GHz | 6 | 16-core | 8GB | 10W | iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max |
| A18 | 2 at 4.04GHz | 4 at 2.2GHz | 5 | 16-core | 8GB | 9W | iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus |
| A18 | 2 at 4.04GHz | 4 at 2.2GHz | 4 | 16-core | 8GB | 9W | iPhone 16e |
| A16 Bionic | 2 at 3.46GHz | 4 at 2.02GHz | 5 | 16-core | 8GB | 6W | iPhone 15 |
Not surprisingly, the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro is the fastest. The difference between the A18 Pro and the A18 in the iPhone 16 is that the A18 has one fewer GPU core. The iPhone 163 has two fewer GPU cores than the iPhone 16 Pro.
iPad processors
Results are scores. Higher scores/longer bars are faster. Chart includes chips in discontinued Apple devices.
The staggered release of Apple’s iPad lineup creates an odd-looking performance order of CPU and its device.
| Processor | Performance cores | Efficiency cores | Graphics cores | Neural Engine | Memory | Transistors | Thermal Design Power | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M4 | 4 at 4.4GHz | 6 at 2.85 | 10 | 16-core | 16GB | 28 billion | 20W | 13″ & 11″ iPad Pro |
| M4 | 3 at 4.4GHz | 6 at 2.85 | 10 | 16-core | 8GB | 28 billion | 20W | 13″ & 11″ iPad Pro |
| M3 | 4 at 3.49GHz | 4 at 2.06GHz | 9 | 16-core | 8GB | 20 billion | 15W | 13″ & 11″ iPad Air |
| A17 Pro | 2 at 3.78GHz | 4 at 2.11GHz | 5 | 16-core | 8GB | 19 billion | 8W | iPad mini |
| A16 | 2 at 3.46GHz | 3 at 2.02GHz | 4 | 16-core | 6GB | 11.8 billion | 6W | iPad (11th gen) |
The M4-equipped iPad Pros are the fastest models, and the gap between them and the iPad and iPad mini is significant. Furthermore, the M4 is 1.5 times faster than the M2 that it replaced in the previous iPad Pros.
The 11th-gen iPad that was released in the spring of 2025 has an A16, an upgrade from the A14 Bionic in the previous model.
Mac processors
Results are scores. Higher scores/longer bars are faster. Chart includes chips in discontinued Apple devices.
With Apple’s M-series of chips for the Mac, the company’s release schedule involves the base version in the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. Apple then modifies it to create higher-end versions.
The latest M-Series chip is the M4, which was released with the new iMac, Mac mini, and the MacBook Pro in the fall of 2024. The M4 Pro and Max were also released in the MacBook Pro, replacing the M3 Pro and Max in those laptops. The M3 Ultra is now in the Mac Studio but Mac Pro still uses the M2 Ultra. The MacBook Air uses the M4 chip.
| Processor | Performance cores | Efficiency cores | Graphics cores | Neural Engine | Base memory | Transistors | Thermal Design Power | Device |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 Ultra | 24 at 4.52GHz | 8 at 2.59GHz | 80 | 32-core | 96GB | 184 billion | 140W | Mac Studio |
| M3 Ultra | 20 at 4.52GHz | 8 at 2.59GHz | 60 | 32-core | 96GB | 184 billion | 140W | Mac Studio |
| M4 Max | 12 at 4.52GHz | 4 at 2.59GHz | 40 | 16-core | 48GB | 70W | 14″ & 16″ MacBook Pro | |
| M4 Max | 10 at 4.52GHz | 4 at 2.59GHz | 32 | 16-core | 36GB | 62W | 14″ & 16″ MacBook Pro | |
| M4 Pro | 10 at 4.52GHz | 4 at 2.59GHz | 20 | 16-core | 24GB | 46W | 14″ & 16″ MacBook Pro. Mac mini | |
| M4 Pro | 8 at 4.52GHz | 4 at 2.59GHz | 16 | 16-core | 24GB | 38W | 14″ MacBook Pro, Mac mini | |
| M2 Ultra | 16 at 3.49GHz | 8 at 2.4GHz | 76 | 32-core | 64GB | 134 billon | 80W | |
| M2 Ultra | 16 at 3.49GHz | 8 at 2.4GHz | 60 | 32-core | 64GB | 134 billon | 80W | |
| M4 | 4 at 4.41GHz | 6 at 2.59GHz | 10 | 16-core | 16GB | 28 billion | 22W | iMac, 14″ MacBook Pro |
| M4 | 4 at 4.41GHz | 4 at 2.59GHz | 8 | 16-core | 16GB | 28 billion | 20W | iMac |
The M4 Max is a beast of a chip, blazing in both CPU and GPU performance but it’s not the fastest. The M2 Ultra is in the Mac Pro, which has PCIe expansion slots. If you don’t need such slots, you can opt for an M3 Ultra Mac Studio. The M3 Ultra is Apple’s fastest Mac.
The chip that started it all, the good ol’ M1, may seem slow compared to Apple’s more current chips—but that’s not to undermine Apple’s original Mac processor. Remember, the M1 blows past the Intel processors it replaced, resulting in a significant price/performance value.
Source : Macworld
