Apple is not making too much noise despite the fact that we are in the middle of HotChip 2020 and that it must have its new Bionic A14X CPU on the brink. However, a curious comparative graph has appeared on the network where the possible performance gain of said SoC is specified based on the filtering and the improvements that this A14X could include. Considering everything we currently know about the chip, here is a comparison against the i9-9980H:
Important: This is the data we have as of now and we are going to update as more is revealed.
There is certainly a lot of expectation and eyes on Apple. The most critical say that leaving Intel at this time has been a terrible mistake, since the blue team is going up again and their lithographic processes are going to take a rhythm that will be difficult for their rivals to counter.
But at the Cupertino headquarters they do not think the same and believe that the symbiosis between their software and their ARM technology can mark the way forward, is Apple right?
Apple is betting everything on a greater number of cores, a lithographic process of TSMC in 5 nm completely in EUV and above all, on its expertise in designing SoCs. YouTuber Luke Miani has developed a very interesting comparative graph, which, how could it be otherwise, is totally speculative.
Based on the data provided by Apple, the leaks and the increase in CPI, frequencies and density in transistors, youtuber lukemiani estimated some really surprising data and that could not be very far from reality if everything finally happens as it should, at least within what is Geekbench 5 suite.
The jump to 5 nm is going to bring with it a significant reduction in consumption, a much higher density than Intel's 14 nm and possibly a small frequency jump and here is the controversy.Apple will always go for the optimization of consumption rather than for pure frequency, so the biggest unknown is undoubtedly going to be the sustained MHz that the cores can support. Luke's estimates reveal a score close to 7400 or 7500 points in Geekbench 5, similar figures in which the i9-9980H moves with 8 cores and 16 threads while having a TDP of 45 watts.
It is true that Geekbench 5 is only a suite that represents a small part of the performance that can be expected from a CPU and that other suites such as SPEC will also have to discern in this, but it would be curious if Apple could get so close to Intel at the cost of greater number of cores and a much improved process, but also with less consumption and in just two years.The question remains in the air and has a lot to do with the general performance of the new 2021 Macbooks outside of benchmarking suites, especially in multitasking or with software necessarily compiled for X86. There the seams may jump in those of the block and therefore their desire to port everything to their new platform in ARM.
It is important to note that similar Geekbench scores does not make an ARM based SoC comparable to an x86 45W Intel processor. The architectural diferences or more plainly, the way an ARM processor instruction set works, is way too different to that of a x86 processor. This means no, the Bionic A14X won't be more powerful than an i9-9980H. Nevertheless this is the first time an ARM processor intended for real world applications achieves such a score.
While still not being really comparable to high-end CPUs, the next Apple generation SoC will probably wipe the floor with competitors that are actually in its space: Qualcomm, Samsung and Huawei.
You don't have to trust this data one hundred percent yet, but it fits. They fit because in the iPad Pro the Cupertino company is already preparing the arrival of Final Cut Pro X and Logic X; and also because this same Apple A14X could be the chipset that the new MacBook incorporates, although with a clock frequency higher than that of an iPad Pro. So the figures, in terms of performance, do make sense in relation to the strategy that is following the Cupertino company and the next steps they have pending.However, it is expected that later this year, in addition to the new iPhone 12, there will be new features in the iPad range. Of course, for the iPad Pro we will most likely have to wait until the first quarter of next year 2020. For now, the iPad Pro 2020 is having an excellent sales performance and maintains current hardware.