The A17 Pro chip was one of the main protagonists of the September keynote.
After the presentation of the new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in the September keynote we have been analyzing and comparing all Apple smartphone models with the previous generation of devices to discover if it is really worth buying a new generation terminal.
We have compared iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15, iPhone 14 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max. There are many differences at the hardware level, especially in terms of performance. One of them is based on its processors. And now it’s the turn of the comparative between A16 Bionic chip and the A17 Pro chip.
Introduction of the new A17 Pro chip
The A17 Pro chip has been manufactured using a 3 nanometer technique by TSMC
During Apple’s special event the company introduced the new and powerful A17 Pro chip, a processor that will be exclusively intended for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. While, on the other hand, they have improved the A16 Bionic chip to incorporate it into the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
The performance offered by the two processors is, without a doubt, one of the big differences between iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Below we will detail a Comparison between A16 Bionic chip vs A17 Pro chip.
Comparison of A16 Bionic chip vs A17 Pro chip
Presentation of the A17 Pro chip
Apple referred to the A17 Pro chip as “the first 3-nanometer processor in history.” The 3 nanometer manufacturing technique from TSMC considerably improves the efficiency and performance of the chips, allowing to include many more transistors in the micro-architecture of the processor.
Both processors have a 6-core CPU, but the A17 Pro’s CPU is much faster thanks to the design based on the 3-nanometer process. Additionally, Apple introduced many graphic improvements with the GPU, including the ray tracing hardware accelerated.
| A16 Bionic Chip | A17 Pro Chip | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 6 cores | 6 cores |
| GPU | 5 cores | 6 cores |
| Neural Engine | 16 cores | 16 cores |
| Operations | Up to 17 billion operations per second | Up to 35 billion operations per second |
| Memory | 6GB | 8GB |
| Transistors | 16,000 transistors | 19,000 transistors |
| Fabrication process | 4 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
CPU: Performance and efficiency
The A17 Pro chip has a 16-core Neural Engine
The first Geekbench results of the A17 Pro chip showed that the new generation processor has incredible power. According to Apple, A17 Pro chip is 10% faster than A16 Bionic chip. According to the Geekbench results, the difference is even greater.
- A15 Bionic Chip: 2,183 pts in individual tests and 5,144 pts in tests multicore.
- A16 Bionic Chip: 2,519 pts in individual tests and 6,367 pts in tests multicore.
- A17 Pro Chip: 2,914 pts in individual tests and 7,199 pts in tests multicore.
The A17 Pro processors are so powerful that they even had higher individual core performance results than the M1 chip for iPad Pro and Mac.
At the efficiency level, Apple has not shared any details about the differences between the A17 Pro chip and the A16 Bionic chip, so it will be very similar and not much will have changed. But during the presentation of the A17 Pro processor, the signature of the bitten apple logo assured that “it was the most efficient CPU” on the market and offered up to 3 times more performance per watt than the competition.
GPU: Performance and graphics
GPU Graphics Performance
Apple has mainly focused on improving performance, efficiency, complex operations and new rendering features on its A17 Pro chip. The new processor has great graphical innovations compared to the A16 Bionic chip.
According to details shared by Apple, the A17 Pro processor has a 20% faster graphics engine than the A16 Bionic chip.
Apple has introduced for the first time the ray tracing in its graphics engine. The A17 Pro chip’s GPU offers much more dynamic graphics at higher frame rates. This will make it easier for developers to bring much more powerful games to the App Store.
Memory
Apple has increased the RAM memory of its new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max by 2 GB compared to the A16 Bionic chip. This improvement in memory has made it possible to offer a much smoother and faster experience when opening and multitasking applications.
Although the vast majority of latest generation Android smartphones surpass the new iPhone 15 models in RAM, Apple usually always always Outperforms the competition thanks to the harmony between software and hardware existing on your electronic devices.
- RAM memory of the A16 Bionic chip: 6GB
- RAM memory of the A17 Pro chip: 8GB
So far everything you need to know about the differences between the A17 Pro chip and the A16 Bionic chip. A comparison in which great innovations stand out such as ray tracing accelerated, the increase in RAM memory or the performance offered by the new 3 nanometer technique.