Notebookcheck Logo

Apple A12Z Bionic GPU vs Qualcomm Adreno 642L vs Apple A12X Bionic GPU

Apple A12Z Bionic GPU

► remove from comparison Apple A12Z Bionic GPU

The Apple A12Z Bionic graphics card is the integrated GPU in the Apple A12Z Bionic SoC in the 2020 iPad Pro models. It was designed by Apple and not licensed by PowerVR and should be based on the same architecture as the A12X and A12 GPUs with more cores. The A12Z offer 8 GPU cores, where the older A12X in the 2018 iPad Pro series offered 7. Interestingly, Apple did not choose to create a new variant of the current Apple A13 chip used in the iPhone 11 models.

The architecture should be similar to the older PowerVR graphics cards like the A10 GPU, but currently Apple is not disclosing any information about the architecture.

The performance should be slightly faster than the old iPad pro models and therefore significantly faster than the iPhone SoCs and Android competitors.

The chip should be still manufactured in 7nm at TSMC and offer a very good efficiency.

Qualcomm Adreno 642L

► remove from comparison Qualcomm Adreno 642L

The Qualcomm Adreno 642L is a smartphone and tablet GPU that is integrated within the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC. The chip will be available from mid 2021 and will be used mainly in upper mid-range Android devices.

According to Qualcomm, the Adreno 642L GPU offers a 40% improved performance over the Adreno 620 (compared to the specified +50% of the 642 in the SD 780G), its predecessor, which is integrated in the Snapdragon 768G SoC. This is also thanks to the fast LPDDR4X-4200 memory support of the SoC.

The Adreno 642L supports OpenCL 2.0 FP, OpenGL ES 3.2 and Vulkan 1.1.

The Snapdragon 778G and therefore also the 642L is manufactured in the modern 6nm UEV process at TSMC that should provide a good power efficiency.

Apple A12X Bionic GPU

► remove from comparison Apple A12X Bionic GPU

The Apple A12X Bionic graphics card is the second generation of integrated GPUs that was designed by Apple and not licensed by PowerVR. It can be found in the iPad 11" and 12.5" 2018 and offers 7 cores (up from the 4 cores in the A12 from the iPhone XS). It supports the Metal 2 API and the raw performance was compared against an Xbox One S by Apple. It definately should be the fastest smartphone / tablet graphics card in 2018 (IOS and Android based).

The architecture should be similar to the older PowerVR graphics cards like the A10 GPU, but currently Apple is not disclosing any information about the architecture.

Apple A12Z Bionic GPUQualcomm Adreno 642LApple A12X Bionic GPU
Apple A12 Series
A12Z Bionic GPU 8
A12X Bionic GPU 7
A12 Bionic GPU 4
Adreno 660
Adreno 650 @ 0.25 - 0.67 GHz
Adreno 690
Adreno 685
Adreno 680
Adreno 644
Adreno 643 @ 0.81 GHz
Adreno 642
Adreno 642L
Adreno 640
Adreno 630
Adreno 620
Adreno 619
Adreno 619L
Adreno 618
Adreno 616
Adreno 613 @ 0.96 GHz
Adreno 612
Adreno 610
A12Z Bionic GPU 8
A12X Bionic GPU 7
A12 Bionic GPU 4
Pipelines8 - unified7 - unified
Shared Memorynoyesno
technology7 nm6 nm7 nm
Date of Announcement18.03.2020 07.05.2021 30.10.2018
APIOpenGL ES 3.2
FeaturesOpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0, DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.1
CPU in A12Z Bionic GPUGPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Apple A12Z Bionic8 x ? MHz? MHz? MHz
CPU in Adreno 642LGPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G8 x 1900 MHz? MHz? MHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G8 x 1800 MHz? MHz? MHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G8 x 1800 MHz? MHz? MHz
min. - max.? MHz? MHz
CPU in A12X Bionic GPUGPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Apple A12X Bionic8 x ? MHz? MHz? MHz

Benchmarks

3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics
min: 220422     avg: 221182     median: 221182 (25%)     max: 221941 Points
min: 88482     avg: 89308     median: 89307.5 (10%)     max: 90133 Points
194856 Points (22%)
13454 Points (58%)
3DMark - 3DMark Sling Shot (ES 3.0) Unlimited Graphics
min: 7199     avg: 7627     median: 7536 (17%)     max: 8605 Points
28751 Points (63%)
min: 48     avg: 49.6     median: 49.6 (9%)     max: 51.1 fps
min: 127     avg: 130.7     median: 130.7 (10%)     max: 134.3 fps
min: 101     avg: 104     median: 104 (12%)     max: 107 fps
min: 169     avg: 171     median: 171 (4%)     max: 173 fps
min: 202     avg: 211.1     median: 211.1 (12%)     max: 220.1 fps
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Qualcomm Adreno 642L
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + Apple A12X Bionic GPU
min: 438.4     avg: 444.7     median: 444.7 (4%)     max: 451 fps
Basemark GPU 1.2 - Basemark GPU 1.2 Vulkan Official Medium Offscreen 1080
min: 45.96     avg: 49.6     median: 46.9 (0%)     max: 54.4 fps
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 GPU Metal
17057 Points (11%)
PassMark PerformanceTest Mobile V1 - PerformanceTest Mobile V1 2D Graphics Tests
min: 23666     avg: 31803     median: 30994 (31%)     max: 38436 Points
min: 13777     avg: 14312     median: 14312 (14%)     max: 14847 Points
PassMark PerformanceTest Mobile V1 - PerformanceTest Mobile V1 3D Graphics Tests
min: 26134     avg: 36660     median: 40236 (70%)     max: 43000 Points
min: 847     avg: 1017     median: 1017 (2%)     max: 1187 Points
9.5 Watt (4%)

Average Benchmarks Apple A12Z Bionic GPU → 100% n=1

Average Benchmarks Qualcomm Adreno 642L → 40% n=1

Average Benchmarks Apple A12X Bionic GPU → 88% n=1

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Diablo Immortal

Diablo Immortal

2022
low Medium
Adreno 642L:
59 59 ~ 59 fps
ultra Ultra
Adreno 642L:
51 60 ~ 56 fps
League of Legends: Wild Rift

League of Legends: Wild Rift

2020
low
A12X Bionic GPU:
60  fps
high
A12X Bionic GPU:
60  fps
ultra
Adreno 642L:
61  fps
A12X Bionic GPU:
60  fps
Armajet

Armajet

2020
high
Adreno 642L:
60 60 60 60 89 99 103 119 120 121 ~ 89 fps
PUBG Mobile

PUBG Mobile

2018
low
Adreno 642L:
40 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 ~ 58 fps
med.
Adreno 642L:
40 40 ~ 40 fps
A12X Bionic GPU:
29  fps
high
100%
A12Z Bionic GPU:
31  fps
123%
Adreno 642L:
30 30 39 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 ~ 38 fps
94%
A12X Bionic GPU:
29  fps
World of Tanks Blitz

World of Tanks Blitz

2018
high
A12X Bionic GPU:
60  fps
Arena of Valor

Arena of Valor

2018
low
A12X Bionic GPU:
60  fps
ultra
A12X Bionic GPU:
59 59 ~ 59 fps
Shadow Fight 3

Shadow Fight 3

2018
low
A12X Bionic GPU:
59  fps
high
A12X Bionic GPU:
59  fps
Battle Bay

Battle Bay

2018
high
A12X Bionic GPU:
60  fps
Dead Trigger 2

Dead Trigger 2

2013
high
Adreno 642L:
60  fps
Asphalt 9: Legends

Asphalt 9: Legends

2013
low
Adreno 642L:
30 30 ~ 30 fps
high
100%
A12Z Bionic GPU:
60  fps
50%
Adreno 642L:
30 30 ~ 30 fps
48%
A12X Bionic GPU:
29 29 ~ 29 fps
Subway Surfers

Subway Surfers

2012
high
Adreno 642L:
90  fps

Average Gaming Apple A12Z Bionic GPU → 100%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%

Average Gaming Qualcomm Adreno 642L → 86%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 123%

Average Gaming Apple A12X Bionic GPU → 71%

Qualcomm Adreno 642Llowmed.highultraQHD4K
Diablo Immortal5956
League of Legends: Wild Rift61
Armajet89
PUBG Mobile584038
Dead Trigger 260
Asphalt 9: Legends3030
Subway Surfers90
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

3


1


2
3

1
1






Apple A12X Bionic GPUlowmed.highultraQHD4K
League of Legends: Wild Rift606060
PUBG Mobile2929
World of Tanks Blitz60
Arena of Valor6059
Shadow Fight 35959
Battle Bay60
Asphalt 9: Legends29
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

1
2
1


2
1
3

1
1






Apple A12Z Bionic GPUlowmed.highultraQHD4K
PUBG Mobile31
Asphalt 9: Legends60
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps







1
1









For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

v1.28
log 04. 19:09:18

#0 checking url part for id 10326 +0s ... 0s

#1 checking url part for id 10945 +0s ... 0s

#2 checking url part for id 9351 +0s ... 0s

#3 redirected to Ajax server, took 1720112958 +0s ... 0s

#4 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Thu, 04 Jul 2024 05:15:44 +0200 +0s ... 0s

#5 composed specs +0.005s ... 0.005s

#6 did output specs +0s ... 0.005s

#7 start showIntegratedCPUs +0s ... 0.005s

#8 getting avg benchmarks for device 10326 +0.018s ... 0.023s

#9 got single benchmarks 10326 +0s ... 0.024s

#10 getting avg benchmarks for device 10945 +0s ... 0.024s

#11 got single benchmarks 10945 +0.017s ... 0.041s

#12 getting avg benchmarks for device 9351 +0s ... 0.042s

#13 got single benchmarks 9351 +0.003s ... 0.045s

#14 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.045s

#15 min, max, avg, median took s +0.015s ... 0.06s

#16 before gaming benchmark output +0s ... 0.06s

#17 Got 64 rows for game benchmarks. +0.01s ... 0.07s

#18 composed SQL query for gamebenchmarks +0s ... 0.07s

#19 got data and put it in $dataArray +0.001s ... 0.07s

#20 benchmarks composed for output. +0.004s ... 0.074s

#21 calculated avg scores. +0s ... 0.074s

#22 return log +0s ... 0.075s

Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Graphics Card Comparison - Head 2 Head
Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)