The Geekbench benchmark test uses a scoring system to determine the relative performance of different chipsets. The analysis also looks at the multi-core and single-core performance of these chips and comes up with a score for each one. The results of the Geekbench 5 test of the new A14 Bionic chip running on an iPad shows that the chip will provide a nice pop in performance compared to the currently used A13 Bionic.
5nm Apple A14 Bionic chipset scores high on benchmark test
When Apple unveiled the next iPad Air in the middle of last month, it revealed that the tablet would be powered by the A14 Bionic. These are the same chips expected to power the new iPhone 12 series and are manufactured by TSMC using its 5nm process node with 11.8 billion transistors inside. Compare that to the 8.5 billion transistors packed inside the 7nm A13 Bionic. The transistor density of the A14 Bionic should be approximately 173 million transistors per square mm compared to the 96.5 million transistors per square mm for the previous chip and that 79% improvement should generate huge gains in performance and energy-efficiency.
Depending on which device gets released first, the fourth-generation iPad Air or the iPhone 12 series will be the first consumer device available with a 5nm chipset inside. Meanwhile, the chip produced a single-core score of 1583 and a multi-core score of 4198 using Geekbench 5. That compares to scores of 1329 and 3468 for A13 Bionic single and multi-core tests respectively. The Snapdragon 865 had results of 3495 (multi-core) and 930 (single-core).
Besides the upcoming iPhone models, the only other phone series expected to rock a 5nm chipset this year is the Huawei Mate 40. But a U.S. export rule change, which requires that any foundry using U.S. based technology to manufacture chips, has left Huawei with a limited number of these cutting-edge integrated circuits. And Huawei not only plans to use the component to power its top-line phones but expects to use it on some of its 5G networking equipment as well. The first 5nm Snapdragon chip will be the Snapdragon 875 which will be produced by Samsung and found in new handsets beginning next year.
The A14 Bionic features six CPU cores with two high-performance cores for complex tasks. The remaining four CPU cores are general performance cores designed for general housekeeping. The faster neural engine on the A14 is used for Machine Learning and includes 16 cores. That is twice the number found in the A13 Bionic. And the new chip also features Apple’s latest four-core GPU.
