With the release of the iPhone 16, Chinese YouTuber Geekerwan has updated his ranking of the most powerful mobile processors. Unsurprisingly, Apple’s A18 Pro and A18 chips take the top two spots in terms of CPU performance. But the competition is not far behind, especially in terms of GPUs.
Apple, the undisputed king of CPUs
Since the A4 of the iPhone 4 in 2010, Apple has been designing its own chips for its smartphones. A choice that has paid off, since the brand’s processors have dominated their category year after year. According to Geekerwan’s ranking, which weights single-core and multi-core scores, the A18 Pro of the iPhone 16 Pro obtains a score of 228.5, ahead of the A18 of the classic iPhone 16 (223.3). Slightly higher performance that can probably be explained by better cooling of the Pro models, since the CPU part is probably identical on both SoCs.
Both chips, engraved in 3nm by TSMC, outclass the competition. The high-performance cores of the A18 Pro are 42% faster than those of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, for only 8% more consumption. Even Apple’s low-power cores are faster than those of Qualcomm, while being 30% more efficient!
Incidentally, we note that the Tensor G3 chip that equips the Google Pixel 9 and 9 Pro is not even at the level of an iPhone 12 while the latest smartphones from Mountain View are sold at high-end prices.
The GPU Race
On the graphics side, however, Apple’s chips are marking time. Despite an additional core (6 versus 5), the A18 Pro’s GPU only ranks 3rd, behind the Immortalis-G720 MP12 of the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 and the Adreno 740 of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The non-Pro A18 is 4th, followed by the A17 Pro of the iPhone 15 Pro.
Apple seems to have chosen to prioritize CPU performance and energy efficiency, to the detriment of raw graphics power. A trade-off that probably suits most users, but could disappoint the most demanding gamers. GPU benchmarks do not predict real-world performance in games in particular, since optimizations can change everything. It will remain to be seen whether the next generations of Apple chips, engraved in 3 nm+ or even 2 nm, will reverse the trend.
Towards a duel at the top in 2026?
According to renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, future A19s should remain in 3nm, but move to a new version of TSMC’s process that is even more efficient. The 2nm engraving would be reserved for the A20 Pro that will equip the iPhone 18 Pro in 2026.
By then, the competition will have also progressed, with Qualcomm and MediaTek also working on advanced 3nm designs. Enough to promise us a duel at the top in two years, hoping that Apple does not abandon the graphics aspect. Because if the CPUs of the iPhone 16 dominate the market, their GPUs still have to prove themselves against increasingly sharper rivals.
