Apple has unleashed its latest and greatest processor, the A18 Pro, nestled within the high-end iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. And the early whispers from benchmark tests are buzzing: this chip might just be the fastest mobile processor on the planet.
Crafted on TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm process node (N3B), the A18 Pro faces off against some of the mobile world’s titans, including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen3, MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300, and even Apple’s own powerful M2 and M4 chips found in their MacBook line.
In CPU tests, the A18 Pro outpaces its predecessor, the A17 Pro, and confidently surpasses both the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 and Dimensity 9300. While it still trails behind the M2 in the iPad Pro and the M4 (3+6) and M4 (4+6) in MacBook laptops, it’s remarkable to see the A18 Pro closing the gap with these higher-end processors.
The Geekbench 6 benchmark reveals a dominance story: the A18 Pro and the standard A18 chip trounce the competition. The A18 Pro easily outperforms the A17 Pro, and enjoys a significant lead over Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen3 and the Dimensity 9300+ processors. The A18 Pro even edges out the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 in Geekbench 6, though the Dimensity 9300+ manages to narrowly hold onto the lead. Notably, the A18 (non-Pro) isn’t far behind its Pro counterpart, also surpassing the A17 Pro in Geekbench 5.
In the gaming arena, Apple’s A18 Pro maintains its prowess. Benchmarks show that the A18 Pro inside the flagship iPhone 16 Pro Max achieves a smooth 56FPS in demanding games while using just 5.4W of power. This efficiency puts it ahead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 (8.4W) and the Dimensity 9300+ (7.3W). Every bit of power saved while maintaining peak performance is crucial for a flagship smartphone, and the A18 Pro demonstrates Apple’s commitment to efficiency.
With these benchmark results, the A18 Pro stakes a strong claim to the title of fastest mobile processor. It remains to be seen how real-world performance will play out, but these early numbers certainly paint a promising picture for Apple’s latest silicon.
