A14 vs A13 Bionic
Over the years, Apple has made great strides with the CPU capacity in its handsets, and this tech evolution has been seen through the development and release of both the A13 and A14 Bionic chip. These chips open up a whole host of possibilities for iOS users.
So which handsets do they power, what are the major differences between the two and just how do the two match up?
Compatible Handsets
The A13 Bionic Chip made a grand entrance in the autumn of 2019 by being introduced as the processor for all models in the iPhone 11 range. The chip was also chosen to provide the second generation iPhone SE with a serious punch upon its release in 2020.
We saw the A14 Bionic debut in 2020, being launched as the processor for the fourth generation iPad Air. It then made a major splash with its role across the entire iPhone 12 range upon its release in the autumn.
Chip capacity
Upon its launch, the A13 Bionic Chip was seen to have taken major steps forward from the A12 Chip which featured in iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhoneXS Max.
Like its predecessor, it is based on 7nm, but enjoys greater capacity thanks to its six CPU cores. There are two high-performance cores which run at 2.66 GHz that have been named Lightning. These have been paired with four efficiency cores – Thunder. Combined with an Apple designed processor, a quad-core graphics and an LTE modem, the A13 has 8.5 billion transistors making it 30% more efficient than the A12 Chip. It’s also able to provide an extra five hours of battery life per day in its handsets, compared to those that came before it.
The A14 Bionic chip made a historic entrance when it was announced by Apple, seeing it become the world’s first commercially available 5nm chipset. In addition, it features 11.8 billion transistors, a figure that could make the chipset the most efficient Apple has produced so far.
By building on the success provided by the six core structure of the A13 Bionic, Apple has tweaked its formula with the addition of a 64-bit six Core CPU. This is split in two, with four efficiency focused cores, named Icestorm, added to two high performance cores called Firestorm, and is 40% faster than the A12.
For the creatives and the gamers
The A13’s faster processor, efficiency and capacity to bolster the iPhone 11 range means that it provides creatives and gamers with more options. By being kitted out with an Apple designed quad-core GPU, gamers can enjoy graphics which are 20% faster than those seen on any previous chipset, and consume 40% less power than handsets which use the A12 chip.
Apple built off the success of the GPU-bolstered A13, and added some further developments, making graphics sharper, and offering greater scope for creatives. With the A14’s place in the iPad Air series, more attention has been taken to add greater capacity for creative tasks such as illustrations, video rendering, image processing and 3D rendering, putting the emphasis on sharpening graphics. By implementing this push, Apple has seen improvements of more than 8% in its GPU in comparison to the A13 chip.
AI capabilities
One of the top performance indicators across both of these chips is the developments that they offer in terms of both being able to provide user-friendly, everyday AI performance, and also to offer greater capacity to carry out more operations at once.
With an eight-core neural engine, the A13 Bionic is capable of performing around six trillion operations per second. This specialist neural network hardware consumes 15% less power than the A12, and runs at a rate which is 20% faster.
In comparison, Apple built on this blueprint and added a further eight cores to the A14 chip’s neural engine. This has boosted its speed to 11 trillion operations per second.
If you are looking for an Apple handset featuring either the A13 or A14 chipset, you’ll be able to find the latest deals at mobiles.co.uk.