Friday, February 28th 2025
Apple's A18 4-core iGPU Benched Against Older A16 Bionic, 3DMark Results Reveal 10% Performance Deficit
Apple's new budget-friendly iPhone 16e model was introduced earlier this month; potential buyers were eyeing a device (starting at $599) that houses a selectively "binned" A18 mobile chipset. The more expensive iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models were launched last September, with A18 chips on-board; featuring six CPU cores, and five GPU cores. Apple's brand-new 16E smartphone seems to utilize an A18 sub-variant—tech boffins have highlighted this package's reduced GPU core count: of four. The so-called "binned A18" reportedly posted inferior performance figures—15% slower—when lined up against its standard 6-core sibling (in Geekbench 6 Metal tests). The iPhone 16E was released at retail today (February 28), with review embargoes lifted earlier in the week.
A popular portable tech YouTuber—Dave2D (aka Dave Lee)—decided to pit his iPhone 16E sample unit against older technology; contained within the iPhone 15 (2023). The binned A18's 4-core iGPU competed with the A16 Bionic's 5-core integrated graphics solution in a 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited head-to-head. Respective tallies—of 2882 and 3170 points—were recorded for posterity's sake. The more mature chipset (from 2022) managed to surpass its younger sibling by ~10%, according to the scores presented on Dave2D's comparison chart. The video reviewer reckoned that the iPhone 16E's SoC offers "killer performance," despite reservations expressed about the device not offering great value for money. Other outlets have questioned the prowess of Apple's latest step down model. Referencing current-gen 3DMark benchmark results, Wccftech observed: "for those wanting to know the difference between the binned A18 and non-binned variant; the SoC with a 5-core GPU running in the iPhone 16 finishes the benchmark run with an impressive 4007 points, making it a massive 28.04 percent variation between the two (pieces of) silicon. It is an eye-opener to witness such a mammoth performance drop, which also explains why Apple resorted to chip-binning on the iPhone 16e as it would help bring the price down substantially."
Dave2D's video description states: "iPhone 16e Review—E is for Expensive; my review of the Apple iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15."
Sources:
Dave2D YouTube Channel, Wccftech
A popular portable tech YouTuber—Dave2D (aka Dave Lee)—decided to pit his iPhone 16E sample unit against older technology; contained within the iPhone 15 (2023). The binned A18's 4-core iGPU competed with the A16 Bionic's 5-core integrated graphics solution in a 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited head-to-head. Respective tallies—of 2882 and 3170 points—were recorded for posterity's sake. The more mature chipset (from 2022) managed to surpass its younger sibling by ~10%, according to the scores presented on Dave2D's comparison chart. The video reviewer reckoned that the iPhone 16E's SoC offers "killer performance," despite reservations expressed about the device not offering great value for money. Other outlets have questioned the prowess of Apple's latest step down model. Referencing current-gen 3DMark benchmark results, Wccftech observed: "for those wanting to know the difference between the binned A18 and non-binned variant; the SoC with a 5-core GPU running in the iPhone 16 finishes the benchmark run with an impressive 4007 points, making it a massive 28.04 percent variation between the two (pieces of) silicon. It is an eye-opener to witness such a mammoth performance drop, which also explains why Apple resorted to chip-binning on the iPhone 16e as it would help bring the price down substantially."
13 Comments on Apple's A18 4-core iGPU Benched Against Older A16 Bionic, 3DMark Results Reveal 10% Performance Deficit
Just Apple things.
Agree 16e is overpriced but still a strong SoC. If it had the 120Hz OLED it would be a no brainer but sadly it doesn't, leave off all the junk in the more expensive models like 2 extra pointless cameras.
Here is the help that's needed:
duckduckgo.com/?q=posterity+definition&t=newext&atb=v337-1&ia=web
But nobody expect from cheap brand as Apple to give you something valuable when they are focused on brainless consumers who can't see any difference. You can throw whatever insult you want and they will fight in front of your shop to get the new (old) toy for premium