A Geekbench score for the iPhone 14 Pro Max with the new A16 Bionic chip has revealed little performance improvement compared to the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max from last year.
A Geekbench test result for iPhone15,3, the identifier for the iPhone 14 Pro Max, shows the new iPhone with a single-core score of 1879 and a multi-core score of 4664. The iPhone 13 Pro scores 1707 in single-core and 4659 in multi-core, only being marginally slower than the latest high-end iPhone.
The most significant new feature of the A16 Bionic chip is that it's the first chip from Apple based on the smaller 4nm process. The A15 Bionic chip, like Apple's M1 and M2 Apple silicon chips for the Mac, is based on the 5nm process.
Despite the smaller jump in performance that some may have hoped, Apple says the A16 Bionic chip is "the fastest chip ever in a smartphone." The A16 Bionic has a more powerful GPU that can provide up to 50% more memory bandwidth for graphics-intensive games. The A16 Bionic also has a new 16-core Neural Engine to power advanced machine learning tasks. In the CPU, the A16 Bionic features the same 6-core count as the A15 Bionic, but Apple says it's a "new 6-core CPU."
Update: This article has been updated to note that the Geekbench result is for an iPhone 14 Pro Max, not an iPhone 14 Pro. Both devices use the same A16 chip, however, so their scores should be similar.
They improved most in power efficiency, which I’d actually prefer at this point. Let’s be honest, even an Iphone XS doesn’t feel sluggish. When’s the last time you used an iPhone that did??
More important than always squeezing more horsepower out of the chip is also the battery life - and that’s again increased. I don’t think any other phone lasts this long and has this much horse power at the same time.
Looks like Moores Law is already catching up with Apple Silicon. But here I am on a plane using an iPhone X with an A11 chip. Who am I to complain really. These phones are so super fast that you get one, it’s gonna last you years. I am still using a 6s at home with a A9 as a backup phone. Apart from the sucky battery life, it’s still super fast.
But I think the SoC has reached a point now for Apple where it’s pretty much a solved problem. The issue is unleashing the existing power of what’s already on the market. So software and efficiency is really where it’s at.
Besides 5nm to 4nm, shouldn’t be that surprised. If A17 Bionic goes to 3 NM, might see some dramatic raw performance. But again, who is Apple competing with here? It’s certainly not Android phones, it’s obviously itself.
That's a 10% jump in single-core performance - the metric that is going to make the most difference in day to day usage of the phone. I'll take a quiet multi-core year if we get major energy consumption and heat-output reductions as a result. Also, we know when it comes to the M3, multi-core performance scales almost linearly by just packing in more cores, so I'm not concerned for Apple Silicon on the Mac.
Friday September 29, 2023 11:29 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
At WWDC 2022 last year, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more. Apple said the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience would be announced in late 2023, but it has still not shared any additional...
If you have an iPhone 15 and drive a BMW, it might be best to avoid charging the device with the vehicle's wireless charging pad for now. Over the past week, some BMW owners have complained that their iPhone 15's NFC chip no longer works after charging the device with their vehicle's wireless charging pad, according to comments shared on the MacRumors Forums and X, formerly known as Twitter. ...
Saturday September 30, 2023 9:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to release an iOS 17 update to address a bug that may contribute to the reported iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, according to a statement the company shared today with MacRumors and Forbes reporter David Phelan. Apple also says some recent updates to third-party apps have overloaded the system and contributed to the overheating issue. The report notes that...
Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by Marko Zivkovic
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
Friday September 29, 2023 12:34 pm PDT by Marko Zivkovic
MacRumors has obtained preliminary information on the weights and dimensions planned for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The information corroborates previous reports suggesting that the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will feature larger displays. iPhone 16 and 16 Plus Current information suggests that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will maintain the same...
Friday September 29, 2023 8:11 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Starting with the iOS 17.1 beta released this week, iPhone users in the U.K. can add debit and credit cards from select banks in the country to the Wallet app and view their available balances and latest transactions for those accounts. Apple calls this feature Connected Cards, and it's currently available in the U.K. only, but there is now evidence to suggest it will expand to the U.S. in...
Saturday September 30, 2023 11:10 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today said it plans to release an iOS 17 software update with a bug fix for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, and the company has since shared additional details about the matter with MacRumors. Importantly, Apple said the issue is not related to the titanium frame. Contrary to a report this week, Apple said the iPhone 15 Pro's design does not contribute to...
Top Rated Comments
But I think the SoC has reached a point now for Apple where it’s pretty much a solved problem. The issue is unleashing the existing power of what’s already on the market. So software and efficiency is really where it’s at.
Besides 5nm to 4nm, shouldn’t be that surprised. If A17 Bionic goes to 3 NM, might see some dramatic raw performance. But again, who is Apple competing with here? It’s certainly not Android phones, it’s obviously itself.
What a time to live?
Also, we know when it comes to the M3, multi-core performance scales almost linearly by just packing in more cores, so I'm not concerned for Apple Silicon on the Mac.