Apple A17 Bionic vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 860

Comparisons 09-03-2023

Comprehensive comparison data of Apple A17 Bionic vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 860, examination of graphics chips (GPU). A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is made by the table. From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests like Geekbench, PassMark, PCMark, 3DMark, GFXBench, Neocore, Vellamo, AnTuTu, Quadrant, even the gaming performance of CPUs in Madout2, Minecraft, PUBG, Call of Duty, GTA, Asphalt 9, Fortnite etc.
After looking at the data these tests and videos, you already be able to know which SoCs is better to buy A17 Bionic or Snapdragon 860.

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

A17 Bionic

91%

Snapdragon 860

31%

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

A17 Bionic

87%

Snapdragon 860

73%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

A17 Bionic

88%

Snapdragon 860

28%

Antutu v10, 9

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

	A17 Bionic	Snapdragon 860
Total score	1272718	441828
CPU	356360	123709
GPU	483633	167894
MEM	203638	70701
UX	229097	79520

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	A17 Bionic	Snapdragon 860
Single-Core	2435	768
Multi-Core	7152	2765

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	A17 Bionic	Snapdragon 860
Frequency	3640 MHz	2960 MHz
Cores	6	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	3 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	22000 millions
Core configuration	2x3.64 GHz ARM 4x2.42 GHz ARM	1x2.96 GHz Kryo 485 Prime 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 Gold 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 485 Silver
Power consumption (TDP)	4 W	10 W
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4x (Quad Channel)
Max. Memory	32 Gb	16 Gb
Memory Frequency	4266	2133
Memory bandwidth	128	34.1
Neural Processor (NPU)	Yes	Yes
L1 cache	3 MB	512 KB
L2 cache	12 MB	1 MB
L3 cache	96 MB	2 MB
Instruction set architecture (ISA)	ARMv9	ARMv8.1-A

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here A17 Bionic is 18% better than Snapdragon 860 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that A17 Bionic has 2 more core than Snapdragon 860. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Apple A17 Bionic	Adreno 640
GPU Frequency	3640 MHz	750 MHz
GFloPS	3425	986
# of Cores	6
# of Shader Units		384
Display	2796 x 1290 pixels	2840 x 2160 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	48.5	27.1
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	151.2	55.2
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	90.2	57.5
Call of Duty: Mobile	83.2	42.1
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	128.7	49.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	185.7	74.7
Real Racing 3	181.6	72.5
Sniper 3D	199.6	126.3
Need for Speed No Limits	125.9	80.6
Mortal Kombat X	130.6	83.1
CSR Racing 2	108.1	63.4

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	64 MP	192 MP
Dual Camera resolution	32 MP	22 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)	Apple ISP	Qualcomm Spectra 380
Video Encoding FPS	120	60
Video Encoding resolution	8K, 4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD
Codec support	Dolby Vision, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, HDR10+, HLG, HDR10	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, HDR10+, HLG, HDR10

Networks and Navigation

Modem	5G Modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE modem
Download speed	12000 MBit/s.	2048 MBit/s.
Upload speed	9000 MBit/s.	316 MBit/s.
Navigation	GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, Dual frequency GNSS, GNSS, SBAS, GPS, NavIC, Beidou, NavIC enabled	Beidou, SBAS, GLONASS, Galileo, GNSS, NavIC enabled, Dual frequency GNSS, GPS, QZSS
NFC support	No	Yes
5G support	Yes	Yes

Result:
The number of parameters for which Apple A17 Bionic is better: 36
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 is better: 7
You need to understand that you should not sightlessly trust the software comparison on the table. It is better to just watch the full video of parallel testing and hear what people think who really appreciated the capabilities of both chipsets, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

A17 Bionic SoC - all data

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

• A17 Bionic specs and review.

Snapdragon 860 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 860 specs and review.