HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G vs Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU). Specifications, performance, tests

Comprehensive background on the processors being compared, detailing their series, generation, and targeted market segment.

• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  HiSilicon Kirin Apple A series
• Generation
  8 15
• CPU group
  HiSilicon Kirin 990 Apple A15
• Predecessor
  -- Apple A14 Bionic

Essential parameters including the number of cores, threads, base and turbo frequencies, and cache size. These metrics provide insight into the processor’s speed—higher values generally indicate better performance.

• Frequency
  1.95 GHz 3.23 GHz
• Turbo (1 Core)
  2.36 GHz No turbo
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)

The integrated graphics (iGPU) do not influence the CPU performance significantly; they serve as a substitute for a dedicated graphics card in the absence of one or are utilized in mobile devices.

• GPU name
  ARM Mali-G76 MP16 Apple A15 (5 GPU Cores)
• GPU frequency
  0.60 GHz 0.60 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo No turbo
• Execution units
  16 160
• Shader
  256 1280
• Max. GPU Memory
  4 GB 8 GB
• Max. displays
  2 3
• Generation
  Bifrost 3 12
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Release date
  Q3/2018 Q3/2021

This section details the built-in codecs used for encoding and decoding media content, which significantly enhance processing speed and efficiency.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h264
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP9
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP8
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  Decode / Encode Decode
• VC-1
  Decode / Encode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

Overview of the types and quantities of RAM supported by Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) and HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G. The supported memory frequencies may vary depending on the motherboard configuration.

• Memory type
  LPDDR4X-4266 LPDDR4X-4266
• Max. Memory
  8 GB 8 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  4 1

Analyze the TDP (Thermal Design Power) requirements of HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU) to make an informed decision on the appropriate cooling system. Remember that TDP refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  6 W 8.5 W

Information on architecture, interfaces, and additional instructions supported by HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G and Apple A15 Bionic (5-GPU), including virtual machine technologies and fabrication processes.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  None None
• L2-Cache
  -- 16.00 MB
• L3-Cache
  2.00 MB --
• Architecture
  Cortex-A76 / Cortex-A55 A15
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q3/2019 Q3/2021