Alleged Geekbench result of Apple A18 in iPhone 16 shows underwhelming multi-core score

[Redaktion]

Apple has just announced the iPhone 16 lineup, which brings many upgrades, including two new SoCs. The Apple A18 of the non-Pro models has seemingly been tested on Geekbench, and the multi-core score is a little underwhelming.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Alleged-Geekbench-result-of-Apple-A18-in-iPhone-16-shows-underwhelming-multi-core-score.886482.0.html

[Mohammed El-Tahir]

I can't help but speculate about the A18 chip and its architecture. It appears that the A18 may be built on the same core architecture as last generation's chips. For instance, while the A17 Pro didn't reach the previous generation's maximum clock speed of 4.04 GHz, it did operate at 3.78 GHz. Interestingly, the M3 family has achieved that peak clock speed, which raises some questions about the A18's design.

From what I've observed, the A18 isn't merely a rebranded A17 Pro; it seems to share the same core but operates at the higher clock speed of 4.04 GHz. This speculation is further supported by the performance scores, which suggest a notable difference between the two chips.

Looking ahead, I have a hunch that the A18 Pro might introduce a new core architecture, similar to the M4 chip found in this year's iPad Pro series, which boasts a maximum clock speed of 4.40 GHz. Based on the Geekbench scores, I estimate that the A18 Pro could achieve around 3,600 points in single-core performance and approximately 8,300 points in multi-core performance.

While these thoughts are purely speculative, it's intriguing to consider how Apple might be evolving its chip technology while still drawing from its previous designs. As more information becomes available, it will be exciting to see how these predictions hold up.

[mdongwe]

Not sure why A18 is compared to A17 Pro in the article.
A16 -> A18
A17 Pro -> A18 Pro
It's like saying "eh, M2 has less multi-core performance than M1 Max, so underwhelming, wth Apple".

[Jerem06]

Not sure why A18 is compared to A17 Pro in the article.
A16 -> A18
A17 Pro -> A18 Pro
It's like saying "eh, M2 has less multi-core performance than M1 Max, so underwhelming, wth Apple".

Until now, the non-Pro models have been using the Pro chip from the previous year. Here the SoC is slower than last year's Pro version

[mdongwe]

Until now, the non-Pro models have been using the Pro chip from the previous year.

No one gave any promises on this, so still not clear why the "underwhelming" part.

[Mr Majestyk]

I can't help but speculate about the A18 chip and its architecture. It appears that the A18 may be built on the same core architecture as last generation's chips. For instance, while the A17 Pro didn't reach the previous generation's maximum clock speed of 4.04 GHz, it did operate at 3.78 GHz. Interestingly, the M3 family has achieved that peak clock speed, which raises some questions about the A18's design.

From what I've observed, the A18 isn't merely a rebranded A17 Pro; it seems to share the same core but operates at the higher clock speed of 4.04 GHz. This speculation is further supported by the performance scores, which suggest a notable difference between the two chips.

Looking ahead, I have a hunch that the A18 Pro might introduce a new core architecture, similar to the M4 chip found in this year's iPad Pro series, which boasts a maximum clock speed of 4.40 GHz. Based on the Geekbench scores, I estimate that the A18 Pro could achieve around 3,600 points in single-core performance and approximately 8,300 points in multi-core performance.

While these thoughts are purely speculative, it's intriguing to consider how Apple might be evolving its chip technology while still drawing from its previous designs. As more information becomes available, it will be exciting to see how these predictions hold up.

No no no. The A18 Pro is identical to the A18 other than having one extra GPU core. It's in the press release. Both have 2x faster npu.

A18 30% faster cpu and 40% faster gpu than A16
A18Pro 15% faster cpu and 20% faster gpu than A17Pro

[bruhsfx2]

Edit:
New results have been found and they seem to better represent the actual performance of A18.
https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/7714134
https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/7714502

I can't help but speculate about the A18 chip and its architecture. It appears that the A18 may be built on the same core architecture as last generation's chips.

You can compare the detailed single-core results between this device, the iPhone 15 Pro (A17 Pro), and the iPad Pro (M4).

The A18 shows a similar sub-task score distribution to the M4, especially in object detection, where it significantly differs from the A17 Pro. I believe this is because the architecture is the same as the M4.

However, I'm still puzzled by the large IPC difference between the A18 and M4. As you mentioned, the IPC of the A18 is almost identical to that of the A17 Pro/M3, rather than the M4.

As for multi-core score, its even lower than A17 Pro and should not be this way. Thermal won't be an issue as well on this generation iPhones. It seems there may be a power management issue, low power mode maybe?

[mdongwe]

I believe this is because the architecture is the same as the M4.

That's just because both have AMX replaced with SME.