Apple A16 Bionic vs Apple M2 Max. Specifications, performance, tests

Comprehensive background on the processors being compared, detailing their series, generation, and targeted market segment.

• Family
  Apple A series Apple M series
• CPU group
  Apple A16 Apple M2
• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Generation
  16 2
• Predecessor
  Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

Essential parameters including the number of cores, threads, base and turbo frequencies, and cache size. These metrics provide insight into the processor’s speed—higher values generally indicate better performance.

• CPU Cores / Threads
  6 / 6 12 / 12
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A-Core
  2x Everest 8x Avalanche
• B-Core
  4x Sawtooth 4x Blizzard
• Hyperthreading / SMT
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• A-Core Frequency
  3.46 GHz 3.50 GHz
• B-Core Frequency
  2.02 GHz 2.80 GHz

The integrated graphics (iGPU) do not influence the CPU performance significantly; they serve as a substitute for a dedicated graphics card in the absence of one or are utilized in mobile devices.

• GPU name
  Apple A16 (5 GPU Cores) Apple M2 Max (32 Core)
• GPU frequency
  0.70 GHz 1.40 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo No turbo
• Execution units
  160 512
• Shader
  1280 4096
• Max. GPU Memory
  8 GB 32 GB
• Max. displays
  3 2
• Generation
  13 2
• Technology
  4 nm 5 nm
• Release date
  Q3/2022 Q4/2022

This section details the built-in codecs used for encoding and decoding media content, which significantly enhance processing speed and efficiency.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h264
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP8
  Decode / Encode Decode
• VP9
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  Decode Decode
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

Overview of the types and quantities of RAM supported by Apple M2 Max and Apple A16 Bionic. The supported memory frequencies may vary depending on the motherboard configuration.

• Memory type
  LPDDR5-6400 LPDDR5-6400
• Max. Memory
  6 GB 64 GB
• Memory channels
  1 (Single Channel) 2 (Dual Channel)
• Bandwidth
  51.2 GB/s 409.6 GB/s
• ECC
  No No
• PCIe
  4.0
• AES-NI
  No Yes

Analyze the TDP (Thermal Design Power) requirements of Apple A16 Bionic and Apple M2 Max to make an informed decision on the appropriate cooling system. Remember that TDP refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  8.5 W 45 W
• Tjunction max.
  -- 100 °C

Information on architecture, interfaces, and additional instructions supported by Apple A16 Bionic and Apple M2 Max, including virtual machine technologies and fabrication processes.

• Technology
  4 nm 5 nm
• Chip design
  Chiplet Chiplet
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• L2-Cache
  20.00 MB 36.00 MB
• L3-Cache
  24.00 MB --
• Architecture
  A16 M2
• Operating systems
  iOS macOS, iPadOS
• Virtualization
  None Apple Virtualization Framework
• Instruction set (ISA)
  ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• ISA extensions
  Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
• Release date
  Q3/2022 Q2/2022