Yes, the A16 Bionic is supercharged with the benefit of a 4-nanometer process to cram extra transistors onto the die, alongside a faster 6-core CPU, 50% more memory bandwidth for the 5-core GPU and an advanced image signalling processor. But how much faster is the A16 Bionic when put through the scientific rigmarole of a Geekbench test? Let’s find out.
Is the A16 Bionic actually faster than the A15 Bionic?
In Geekbench 5 testing, the iPhone 14 Pro hit a single-core score of 1,879 and a multi-core of 4,664. This absolutely anihilates the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in the OnePlus 10T (opens in new tab), which we all kind of expected given that the A15 Bionic still stands head and shoulders above the fastest that Android has to offer. But when we go back in time and take a look at our own iPhone 13 Pro (opens in new tab) testing, that difference seems to be non-existent. In fact, while the A15 Bionic fell behind with a single-score score of 1,733, it actually managed to hit a higher multi-core score of 4,718. The difference is small, but it is slightly alarming that multi-core performance is virtually indistinguishable and Apple are charging significantly more for the iPhone 14 Pro across the UK and EU (opens in new tab).
Outlook
Of course, Geekbench scores tell one side of the story — putting processors through their paces with a rather rudimentary set of tests that don’t necessarily reflect real world use. We all know that the A15 Bionic is a screamer, and no doubt the A16 Bionic will be too, but the difference is not as drastic as we may have first thought after the numbers touted at the Apple Event.