An A5 Powered iPhone Will Have Much Faster Graphics Performance (Benchmarks) - MacRumors
Skip to Content

An A5 Powered iPhone Will Have Much Faster Graphics Performance (Benchmarks)

While most of the recent focus has been whether or not the next iPhone will have a dramatic external redesign, one feature that seems to be universally agreed on is that the new iPhone will incorporate the much faster dual-core A5 processor, which also houses a much faster graphics processing unit (GPU).

The A5 was first introduced in the iPad 2 in March. At the time, Apple said the iPad 2 had up to nine times the graphics performance as the original A4-powered iPad.

a5bench
A recent set of GLBenchmark tests by Anandtech (graph above) shows how much faster in this the A5's GPU is as compared to the A4, at least with respect to certain graphics performance. The results may not be exact, as Apple could underclock the new iPhone's CPU as compared to the iPad 2, but the results should be somewhat representative.

Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone on Tuesday, October 4th during a media event.

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Rumored Colors

What's Coming in September: New iPhones, Apple Watches and More

Thursday August 13, 2026 4:20 pm PDT by
Apple will introduce at least five new devices at its iPhone-centric event next month, and it's also possible we'll get devices waiting on Siri AI like the Apple TV. iPhone 18 Pro The iPhone 18 Pro is going to look like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting some internal updates, including a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more control over lighting ...
Everything New Your iPhone Can Do on iOS 27 Feature 1

30 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27

Friday August 14, 2026 6:24 am PDT by
Apple will release iOS 27 in September, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features on the way, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era. This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though, as the following feature list...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: When is the Next Apple Event?

Thursday August 13, 2026 7:11 am PDT by
It is now mid-August, meaning that Apple's annual iPhone event is just around the corner. Below, we take a look at when the event might be held this year. This September, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and an all-new foldable iPhone that will reportedly be named the iPhone Ultra. The regular iPhone 18, a lower-end iPhone 18e, and the iPhone Air 2 are not...

Top Rated Comments

Reach9 Avatar
194 months ago
I'm thinking that the A5 will be even more significant for the iPhone, than the iPad, since it's a smaller device. We're looking at a beast here guys. 1GB of RAM, Dual Core A5 processor, this thing will run like water.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topmounter Avatar
194 months ago
So in short,

The iPad2 processor is faster than the iPhone4 processor and if they put the iPad2 processor in the new iPhone(4S/5), then IT WILL HAVE A FASTER PROCESSOR THAN THE IPHONE4!!1!

Startling.

Is this just to get something new on the front page?
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
194 months ago
Preparing the masses for a total let down.

I believe MacRumors is just preparing us for a letdown on Tuesday. No Legendary iPhone 5. So they are kinda telling us to cheer up because well get an A5 on our iPhone 4S's :(
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
194 months ago
I'm a 3GS owner -- I've been eligible to upgrade for over a year. I passed on the iP4 because of shoddy materials (fragile glass is not durable enough for a tech item I handle over 100 times per day) and signal issues.

I will not buy the iPhone 5 if it uses the same flawed design as the 4.

Plus, as I said earlier, the A5 could be a beast, but you won't see any major app releases that close the door on iP4 and 3GS users anytime soon (would be leaving too much money on the table) -- at minimum until next summer when the iP6 comes out. By then, Apple will have hopefully ditched the terrible design and I'll be more than happy to upgrade.

This is how I'm picturing you:
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
194 months ago
I believe everyone already expected this.........
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
194 months ago
Yup.

And I'd be shocked if any of the apps written in the near future (read: 8-12 months) will take advantage of this so as to not to alienate the legacy hardware in the iP4.

Big speed increase that you won't see any real benefit from for some time.

Eh?

There were a ton of optimized apps for the iPad 2 at launch that still supported the original iPad.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)