Apple iPhone 12 A14 Bionic CPU Could Boast 40 Percent Performance Lift Versus A13

So, why would there be an iPhone 12 Super Cycle? Well, we’re glad you asked. The iPhone 12 family is supposed to bring 1) an all-new design language, 2) the first 5G support in the iPhone range, and 3) a faster and more efficient A14 Bionic SoC. It’s that last point that is our primary focus today.

Reliable leaker Komiya claims to have the inside track on A14 Bionic performance, and says that the new SoC will blow its A13 Bionic predecessor out of the water. According to Komiya, the A14 Bionic will offers a 40 percent uplift in CPU performance and a stellar 50 percent uplift in GPU performance over the A13 Bionic. Although there are no references to efficiency, we’d expect performance-per-watt to also be much improved with the switch from 7nm to the new 5nm process node.

The performance of the A14 Bionic not only has implications for the iPhone 12, but also the first generation of Macs running Apple Silicon. Current Developer Transition Kits are powered by the two-year-old A12Z Bionic SoC, and is already offering up some strong performance in macOS Big Sur. Macs running A14 Bionic-based Apple Silicon – which are due out before the end of 2020 -- with more cores and more breathing room for higher clocks should mean even greater performance potential.

Apple’s incoming phone family is expected to include a 5.4-inch iPhone 12 and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max SKUs, along with a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. All of the smartphones will feature OLED displays and a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G modem, although the flagship Pro SKUs will reportedly add an extra camera, LiDAR sensor, and a 120Hz display.