Apple A12X Bionic vs HiSilicon Kirin 980

Comparisons 11-03-2021

So, which processor or chip is better? Comprehensive comparison data of benchmarks Apple A12X Bionic vs HiSilicon Kirin 980, speed examination of GPUs Mali-G76 MP18 and Apple A12X Bionic.

This performance comparison includes two processors: A12X Bionic is octa-core (Vortex) and Kirin 980 is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A76). Both processors went throughpower consumption test and battery life test. A careful analysis of all the specifications of the processors, to make it easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.

From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel benchmarking in software tests such as Mozilla Kraken, Octane V2, PassMark, 3DMark, WebXPRT 3, Quadrant, Vellamo, PCMark, GFXBench, AnTuTu, Neocore, Geekbench, even the gaming performance of processors in Minecraft Bedrock, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Fortnite, Real Racing 3, PUBG, Call of Duty: Mobile, Sniper 3D, Mortal Kombat etc.

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy A12X Bionic or Kirin 980 and which chip is better for gaming: Asphalt 9, CSR Racing 2, Madout2, Need for Speed No Limits.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
CPU Benchmark
Based on Antutu and Geekbench score

A12X Bionic

48%

Kirin 980

25%

Battery life test
Power Consumption efficiency (how quickly the processor reduces the battery charge)

A12X Bionic

76%

Kirin 980

71%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

A12X Bionic

46%

Kirin 980

22%

Antutu v10, 9

Antutu benchmark separately tests the performance of the CPU, GPU, and memory speed

	A12X Bionic	Kirin 980
Total score	673441	354810
CPU	188568	99354
GPU	255916	134833
MEM	107748	56759
UX	121209	63863

GeekBench 6, 5.2

This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	A12X Bionic	Kirin 980
Single-Core	1152	765
Multi-Core	4435	2602

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	A12X Bionic	Kirin 980
Frequency	2490 MHz	2600 MHz
Cores	8	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	10000 millions
Core configuration	4x2.49GHz Vortex 4x1.6 GHz Tempest	2x2.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 2x2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 4x1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A55
Power consumption (TDP)	6 W	6 W
Memory type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4x
Max. Memory	16 Gb	8 Gb
Memory Frequency	2133	1600
Memory bandwidth	42	31.78
Neural Processor (NPU)	Yes	Yes
L1 cache	48 KB	512 KB
L2 cache	4 MB	512 KB
L3 cache	8 MB	4 MB
Instruction set architecture (ISA)	ARMv8.4-A	ARMv8-A

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Kirin 980 is 4% better than A12X Bionic in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Apple A12X Bionic	Mali-G76 MP18
GPU Frequency	2500 MHz	950 MHz
GFloPS	1360	581.14
# of Cores	7	18
# of Shader Units
Display	2732 x 2048 pixels	2560 x 1600 pixels

The frequency of the GPU does not always directly indicate its performance. To fully evaluate all the capabilities of a graphics chip, you should take into account the number of Shader Units and Cores, as well as how many GFlops it has.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite Mobile	26.6	27.3
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	79.8	54.2
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	48.9	58.2
Call of Duty: Mobile	44.1	40.1
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	68.1	46.2
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	99.3	74.3
Real Racing 3	85.6	87.3
Sniper 3D	63.6	93.1
Need for Speed No Limits	78.2	93.1
Mortal Kombat X	56.2	66.9
CSR Racing 2	63.6	69.8

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the gadget and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Antutu v10, 9 and GeekBench 6, 5.2 becnmarks.

Cameras

Camera resolution	12 MP	32 MP
Dual Camera resolution	12 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)	Apple ISP
Video Encoding FPS	960	60
Video Encoding resolution	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD	4K, 2K, FullHD
Codec support	Dolby Vision, H.265 (HEVC), HDR10+, HLG, HDR10, H.264 (AVC), VP8, VP9	H.264, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem	Intel XMM 7560 LTE	21
Download speed	1000 MBit/s.	1400 MBit/s.
Upload speed	350 MBit/s.	900 MBit/s.
Navigation	Galileo, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	Yes	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Apple A12X Bionic is better: 25
The number of parameters for which HiSilicon Kirin 980 is better: 15
You need to understand that you should not sightlessly trust the software comparison on the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of joint testing and listen to what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both chips think, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

A12X Bionic SoC - all data

• Devices lists
• Benchmarks
• PUBG mobile
• Fortnite Mobile
• 3DMark
• Antutu v10
• GeekBench 6, 5 mobile

• A12X Bionic specs and review.

Kirin 980 SoC - all data

• Devices lists
• Benchmarks
• PUBG mobile
• Fortnite Mobile
• 3DMark
• Antutu v10
• GeekBench 6, 5 mobile

• Kirin 980 specs and review.