Apple A9 vs Apple A11 Bionic

Comparative analysis of Apple A9 and Apple A11 Bionic processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Compatibility. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark.

Apple A9

Apple A11 Bionic

Differences

Reasons to consider the Apple A11 Bionic

CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 0 month(s) later
4 more cores, run more applications at once: 6 vs 2
4 more threads: 6 vs 2
Around 29% higher clock speed: 2.39 GHz vs 1.85 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 10 nm vs 16 nm
3x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
2.7x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 50% higher maximum memory size: 3 GB vs 2 GB
Around 12% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1325 vs 1187
2.1x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 4420 vs 2067

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	22 Sep 2017 vs 9 Sep 2015
Number of cores	6 vs 2
Number of threads	6 vs 2
Maximum frequency	2.39 GHz vs 1.85 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	10 nm vs 16 nm
L1 cache	64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core) vs 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)
L2 cache	8 MB (shared) vs 3 MB (shared)
Maximum memory size	3 GB vs 2 GB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1325 vs 1187
PassMark - CPU mark	4420 vs 2067

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Apple A9
CPU 2: Apple A11 Bionic

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1187

1325

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2067

4420

Name	Apple A9	Apple A11 Bionic
PassMark - Single thread mark	1187	1325
PassMark - CPU mark	2067	4420

Compare specifications (specs)

	Apple A9	Apple A11 Bionic
Essentials
Architecture codename	Twister	Monsoon/Mistral
Launch date	9 Sep 2015	22 Sep 2017
OS Support	iOS 9.0, iOS 15.7.5, iPadOS 16.4.1, tvOS 16.2	iOS 11.0, iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, tvOS 16.2
Place in performance rating	2056	1819
Processor Number	APL1021	APL1W72
Vertical segment		Mobile
Performance
Base frequency	1.85 GHz	1.19 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)	64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)
L2 cache	3 MB (shared)	8 MB (shared)
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	10 nm
Maximum frequency	1.85 GHz	2.39 GHz
Number of cores	2	6
Number of threads	2	6
Transistor count	2 billion	4.3 billion
Memory
Max memory channels	1	1
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
Maximum memory size	2 GB	3 GB
Supported memory types	LPDDR4-3200	LPDDR4X-4266
Graphics
Execution Units	24	12
Graphics base frequency	650 MHz	1066 MHz
iGPU core count	6	3
Processor graphics	Custom PowerVR Series 7XT @ 650MHz
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		1
Thermal Design Power (TDP)		8 Watt