IPhone 12 uses a slower version of the A14 Bionic than the iPad Air

IPhone 12 uses a slower version of the A14 Bionic than the iPad Air

Yesterday we published the results of the first benchmark test of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro in the AnTuTu benchmark. Their performance was not as high as one might expect. But today it seems that the reason for this strange phenomenon has been revealed. The new iPad Air helped to clarify the situation, which, like all iPhone 12s, is built on the A14 Bionic processor and has also been tested in AnTuTu.

Ipad Air

The performance of the iPad Air (2020) based on the A14 Bionic reached 660,038 points, while the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro were able to score only 564,899 and 572,133 points, respectively. At the same time, the amount of RAM in the tested iPad Air was 4 GB, which is, the same as the iPhone 12, and 2 GB less than the iPhone 12 Pro. The capacity and type of built-in storage for tablets and smartphones are the same – 256 GB NVMe, just like the operating system iOS 14.1.

The only explanation as to why the iPhone 12 didn’t show similar performance comes down to the manufacturer deliberately slowing down the A14 Bionic processor. This could have been done in order to save battery power and reduce heat generation because for smartphones these parameters are much more important due to the smaller size of the battery and case. However, it is too early to draw final conclusions. We need to wait for other tests that will appear after October 21. On this day, Apple lifts the embargo on the publication of detailed reviews of its new products from professional publications.