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iPhone 13's A15 Bionic GPU gains the most impressive in 5 years

By Anam Hamid

Updated: Sep 23, 2021, 1:02 PM

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iOS Apple

iPhone 13's A15 Bionic GPU gains the most impressive in 5 years

The year-on-year increase in CPU performance of Apple's in-house smartphone chips peaked in 2015, which is when the A9 Bionic-powered iPhone 6s was released. This year's Apple A15 Bionic, which fuels the new iPhone 13 series, appears to be a small upgrade over the A14 processor that underpinned the 2020 range, at least as far as the single-core performance is concerned. GPU performance, on the other hand, seems to be quite impressive, reports Creative Strategies.

The A15 Bionic is based on the 5nm technology, which was also employed for the A14. It has 15 billion transistors (the A14 has 11.8 billion), and a 6-core CPU with two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, which Apple claims is up to 50 percent faster than rival offerings. The iPhone 13 and 13 mini get a 4-core GPU, and the Pros have a 5-core GPU. The new phones also seem to boast LPDDR5 RAM, as opposed to the predecessor's LPDDR4X tech.

A15 Bionic performance has increased but pace has slowed

The single-core performance has reportedly increased around 7.7 percent to 10 percent when compared to the iPhone 12, and average multi-core scores have gone up by 21 percent. Most flagship smartphones are plenty fast already, and Apple's Bionic processors still have a lead over chips that fuel Android handsets.

Creative Strategies has rightfully pointed out that most people don't upgrade their phones every year and thus, it makes more sense to compare performance against three to four years old iPhones.

Since the iPhone 5s, Apple has delivered a performance increase of 133 percent every four years on average. iPhone X and Xs owners who may upgrade to the iPhone 13 can expect to experience a 91 percent performance increase.

Apple now prioritizing GPU over CPU

The most important point made in the report is about the A15's GPU, which delivers the highest YoY gains since the A9. For the past five years, Apple's smartphone GPUs have offered YoY gains of 19 percent on average, but this year, the performance has increased by 52 percent.

It looks like Apple has prioritized GPU performance over CPU this year, likely because of iPhone 13's graphic-centric upgrades like the smoother 120Hz display, macro mode, and Cinematic Mode.

The improved GPU performance will also help the company boost AR and VR app experiences.

The iPhone 13 hits the shelves this week and despite the incremental changes, it will likely be amongst the best phones of 2021.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.