Possible Benchmark for A12 Processor From 2018 iPhone Surfaces Featuring 10% Faster Speeds, 4GB RAM

[MacRumors]

Apple's 2018 iPhones are expected to include a new 6-core A12 processor, and the A12, like all of Apple's processor iterations, is expected to bring speed and efficiency improvements. A new benchmark taken from a 2018 iPhone may give us some insight into just how much faster the new A12 is than the A11 in the iPhone X, provided the benchmark is legitimate.

Uploaded to Geekbench 4 on June 27 (via French site iGeneration), the benchmark for the 2018 iPhone suggests a single-core score of 4673 and a multi-core score of 10912.

Comparatively, the iPhone X with an A11 processor features a single-core score of 4206 and a multi-core score of 10128, indicating the new A12 chip will be approximately 10 percent faster than the A11 chip when it comes to both multi-core and single-core performance.

Compute scores for the 2018 iPhone were also included, and it features a Metal score of 21691. Compared to the iPhone X's Metal score of 15234, the result suggests GPU improvements.

We don't know which of the three iPhones was benchmarked using Geekbench 4, but so far, rumors suggest that all three will use the same A12 chip. The iPhone is labeled "11,2," and it is running a version of iOS 12.

Notably, the benchmarked device appears to include 4GB RAM, up from 3GB RAM in the iPhone X. Well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested the two OLED iPhones coming in 2018 will feature 4GB RAM while the lower-priced LCD model will continue to feature 3GB RAM, suggesting the benchmark may pertain to one of the OLED models.

We can't confirm the veracity of the benchmark because it's not impossible to fake these results, but early benchmarks do sometimes pop up in the months ahead of a new device's release because there are prototype iPhones being tested by Apple employees who may have opted to run the Geekbench 4 app.

We asked Geekbench founder John Poole about the results, and he said there was nothing "obviously wrong" that stood out, but he did warn that he had not yet had time to dig into the scores.

Apple in 2018 is rumored to be introducing three new iPhones, all of which will feature upgraded processors, faster LTE speeds, a TrueDepth camera system, slimmer bezels, and no Home button, as Apple is transitioning to an all Face ID lineup. We're expecting a 5.8-inch OLED that's identical in design to the current iPhone X (but perhaps with a new gold color), a larger 6.5-inch OLED device that can be thought of as an "iPhone X Plus," and a 6.1-inch LCD device that will be available at a lower price point.

The two OLED devices are expected to include better camera technology, with Apple sticking to dual-cameras for those iPhones. The LCD device, meanwhile, may only feature a single-lens camera.

Article Link: Possible Benchmark for A12 Processor From 2018 iPhone Surfaces Featuring 10% Faster Speeds, 4GB RAM

 

[cmaier]

I bet that's an a11 derivative for the entry-level LCD phone

 

[dannyyankou]

A 10% speed bump is a bit disappointing honestly.

But I’m here for 4gb of ram

 

[macduke]

Could be the A-series finally starting to run up against Moore's Law. They spent years catching up to Intel and here we are. This especially makes sense given the larger jump in GPU performance, which typically seems to outperform CPU gains in recent years. Alternatively Apple could be focusing more on battery life improvements since we are moving to a smaller 7nm process.

Either way I hope this means 6-8GB of RAM in the new iPad Pro.

 

[Superhappytree]

4GB of RAM is the most interesting take and will be the most beneficial. Improved processors by 10%? Meh, I don’t get excited about that anymore. There’s barely any difference between a 6S and an 8 in terms of speed. The RAM though makes the real difference, can never have enough of that. The more of it the better!

 

[Krayzkat]

Remember when they said the 6 Plus had enough memory at 1Gb?

 

[Rogifan]

A 10% speed bump is a bit disappointing honestly.

But I’m here for 4gb of ram

Why? Because it’s 10%? I have an X and not once have I ever thought the phone was slow.
[doublepost=1530553140][/doublepost]

4GB of RAM is the most interesting take and the most beneficial. Improved processors by 10%? Meh, I don’t get excited about that anymore. There’s barely any difference between a 6S and an 8 in terms of speed. The RAM though makes the real difference, can never have enough of that! The more the better.

Does more RAM cause a drain on the battery? If not I don’t get why Apple stayed with 1 and 2 GB for so long. More RAM makes a huge difference.

 

[Dainin]

Better efficiency and more RAM are more important than a large speed bump to me.

 

[frou]

Could be the A-series finally starting to run up against Moore's Law. They spent years catching up to Intel and here we are.

Alright, let's commence Stage 2: Put the A12 in the MacBook non-Pro!

 

[cmaier]

Why? Because it’s 10%? I have an X and not once have I ever thought the phone was slow.
[doublepost=1530553140][/doublepost]
Does more RAM cause a drain on the battery? If not I don’t get why Apple stayed with 1 and 2 GB for so long. More RAM makes a huge difference.

Yes, more RAM causes more battery drain.

 

[shpankey]

efficiency is by far the most important thing... these are for phones not server workstations

 

[Superhappytree]

Why? Because it’s 10%? I have an X and not once have I ever thought the phone was slow.
[doublepost=1530553140][/doublepost]
Does more RAM cause a drain on the battery? If not I don’t get why Apple stayed with 1 and 2 GB for so long. More RAM makes a huge difference.

I’m not sure, although it’s probably one of the reasons why. The old argument used to be (and still is but I don’t know why anymore) that iOS is so good at RAM management that the extra RAM is unnecessary. Well that is no longer the case, just look how badly the iPhone 6 aged. Also iOS 11 has been trash at RAM management, I get app refreshes all the time.

More RAM = less annoying refreshes + device longevity.

 

[DonRivella]

Wow, 10%! This is almost noticeable!

Honestly, I have not really felt the need for additional speed on an iPhone in the last few years, for what I use it for anyway. More memory is always welcome.

 

[TimmeyCook]

Hey! I just edited a screenshot from my iPhone X GeekBench. Increase my Twitter presence by reposting this everywhere.

Seriously, why would Apple make a new CPU for 10% gain? Plain ridiculous.

MacRumors must think we are all fools...

 

[bluecoast]

And presumably the speed increases that we are seeing in the iOS 12 beta are going to translate to insanely fast 2018 models when you factor that in plus the speed jump.

As other posters have said, it’s probably more about bedding down the 7 nm process and seeing battery life gains.

2018 is going to be a good year in iOS and iPhone land.

 

[itsmilo]

i just hope the X Plus won’t suffer the same underclocked fate like „the new iPad“ or the 6 Plus

 

[redheeler]

A 10% speed bump is a bit disappointing honestly.

A mobile CPU can only get so fast while size, heat, and battery life must be taken into consideration. The fact that the A12 outperforms the Core i7 CPU in my 2012 15" Retina MacBook Pro while using a fraction of the power is very impressive.

 

[Falhófnir]

If they’ve managed to eke out a little more performance but dramatically reduced power consumption this is really good news...

 

[macduke]

Alright, let's commence Stage 2: Put the A12 in the MacBook non-Pro!

This could partially be a reason for slower gains on the iPhone side—the team was preoccupied with designing a crazy new chip for the Mac and they want to make sure the performance difference is noticeable. The iPhone is to a point where it doesn't need a significantly faster chip every year. Perhaps it would be useful for machine learning, but I think GPUs are usually better optimized for handling ML tasks, which could explain some of the gains there maybe? Apple also seems to be supporting older iOS devices longer now, which to me is also a sign that performance is maturing.

I think they won't use A-series in the Mac. Unfortunately they already used M to describe the motion-coprocessor chip in the iPhone. It will probably use a new letter, like the Watch uses S, the AirPods/Beats use W, etc. It will probably be something similar to A-series but architected differently for desktop thermal requirements and bigger workloads. If I had to guess I would say X-series, but they already use the X as a modifier on the A-series, so IDK if they would use that. But it would denote that these chips are performance beasts. And I also feel like the Mac Pro might be the first device to get this, which explains why it has taken so long.

 

[44267547]

A 10% Percent increase in speed likely wouldn’t be noticed by many depending how they’re using their phone and for what purposes, as iPhones are progressively faster every year with the A-series processor upgrades. However, the 4 GB of RAM would be considerable and I’m hoping that has validity behind it.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Cant wait to trade in my X for an X Plus screen!! The X is fine, but I am so envious of the S9/S8 folks with their big screens.

 

[dannyyankou]

Why? Because it’s 10%? I have an X and not once have I ever thought the phone was slow.

Yeah it’s just I don’t think there’s ever been a upgrade with such a low incremental speed bump.

 

[acorntoy]

Perhaps it’s like the A8, maybe they’re focusing this year on efficiency and getting the performance to be more linear (less throttling). Haven’t seen any graphs like with the A7 but I assume the A11 throttles quite quickly when it is using all it cores.

i just hope the X Plus won’t suffer the same underclocked fate like „the new iPad“ or the 6 Plus

The GPU in that processor is significantly better than the original iPad Pro. With 4GB (or even 3) of ram It should handle any phone resolution Apple wants to use better than perfect.

 

[Gorms]

Could be the A-series finally starting to run up against Moore's Law. They spent years catching up to Intel and here we are. This especially makes sense given the larger jump in GPU performance, which typically seems to outperform CPU gains in recent years. Alternatively Apple could be focusing more on battery life improvements since we are moving to a smaller 7nm process.

I’m backing this horse.

 

[Falhófnir]

Alright, let's commence Stage 2: Put the A12 in the MacBook non-Pro!

It’d probably be the A11X if they were to use an “off the shelf” part... more likely still is a custom Mac part!