Apple’s phasing out Intel processors in Macs in favor of Apple silicon. To understand what that means for Mac performance, AppleInsider has looked back at past and current A-series chips and compared them to Intel CPUs.
Mike Peterson for AppleInsider:
The A10X Fusion is in the same ballpark as a 13-inch MacBook Pro model from 2017. The specific variant we’re comparing is the mid-range configuration with an Intel Core i5 processor, which retailed for $1,499. The aforementioned 13-inch MacBook Pro clocks in with a single-core Geekbench 5 score of 850 and a multi-core score of 1972, meaning it’s actually slightly slower in multi-core performance despite being more expensive than the iPad Pro…
The A11 Bionic came in with a 917 single-core and 2350 multi-core score in Geekbench 5 benchmark testing. While that device retailed for $999, the A11 Bionic could be found for cheaper in the iPhone 8 series. The entry-level 2020 MacBook Air, equipped with an Intel Core i3-1000NG4, benchmarks similarly…
The A12 Bionic [is] on roughly the same footing at the 2017 21.5-inch iMac equipped with a 3GHz Intel Core i5-7400 processor. That device started at $1,099.
The A13 Bionic averages a single-core score of 1325 and a multi-core score of 3382… If you want similar performance in a Mac, you’ll probably want to take a look at the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an 8th-generation Intel Core i5-8257U processor… On Geekbench 5, it comes in lower than the iPhone in single-core scores but slightly higher in multi-core with 1012 and 3676, respectively.
The A12X and A12Z Bionic both benchmark around 1115 in single-core testing, but they clock in as the fastest iOS-based devices in multi-core benchmarks with a high score of 4626. On an Apple Developer Transition Kit running Geekbench 5 natively, the scores are roughly similar with single-core scores around 1005 and multi-core scores around 4555… If you want similar single- and multi-core performance in an Intel-based chip, the way to get it is the mid-range 16-inch MacBook Pro with a 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor. It retails for $2,399.
MacDailyNews Take: There is much more in the full article. Please read it here.
We haven’t seen anything yet! Apple’s 5nm A14 is going to shame Intel to its, uh, core.
Buh-bye, Intel slug! Intel served its purpose, but has been a boat anchor for years. Hello, Apple-designed ARM-based Macs! — MacDailyNews, April 23, 2020