Early Apple iPad mini (2021) benchmarks reveal downclocked CPU and GPU

17 September 2021
The new iPad mini uses an Apple A15 chipset with 5 GPU cores like the iPhone 13 Pro duo, but it seems to run at a lower clock speed.

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That's fine, it's fast enough and it might save some battery too.
But my problem with this thing is the low refresh rate LCD, I won't buy it just because of that.

    Marorun, 17 Sep 2021Not everything is benchmark. Apple A14 throttle a lots ... more1 hour? that's a stretch...
    Go check genshin impact test on A14, it throttles under 7 minutes, it drops to 30-40fps and stay there.

      • W
      • Whatever
      • im3
      • 18 Sep 2021

      MagicMonkeyBoy, 17 Sep 2021Considering Gary actually has replied to my comments. And m... morePeople like you are such a joke. I prefer to debate with what we have now, not "what's coming around the corner". Let's see what droids can come up with later this year and next but for now, it's really quite irrelevant.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • xZI
        • 18 Sep 2021

        Marorun, 17 Sep 2021Not everything is benchmark. Apple A14 throttle a lots ... morePro Max version only loses 9% performance what are you even talking about with 20-30% nonsense

        20-30% is for Snapdragon. Overhyped chipset even gets trampled by Mediatek Dimensity 1200 and Kirin 9000. Both chipsets can compete with Apple but not SD. SD898 with ARMv9 may repeat history again as I checked a Notebookcheck article saying peak performance is lower than A15 or Exynos 2200 (with AMD)

          Marorun, 17 Sep 2021Not everything is benchmark. Apple A14 throttle a lots ... moreVery true actually.

            probably wont make much of a difference in real world use

              Another thing to note... The A15 uses the same cores as the A14. Therefore Arm v8 as rightly mentioned earlier.

              Androids SoC's, some of them will be using an X2 single core. Which is 16% up compared to the X1.

              The X1 used Arm v8 instruction. And the X2 will be Arm v9. And that is reportedly a 30% difference.

              Therfore. It is possible to achieve a 30% + 16% increase totalling 46% true increase from last years single core performance...

              So yes... It is Android that is moving at the right pace. And making huge strides... Also the backbone has a 5x increase in sustained cluster bandwidth.

              And... How about this...... Qualcomm... Have actually advertised the ability to actually produce 8x Cortex - X2 cores. - That is pretty insane.

              For reference you can refer to Qualcomms presentation.

              I really doubt that Apple really has the edge anymore at all... Like I say... Your far better off waiting for the new range of Droid SoC's. Such as Exynos 2200, SD 898/895, and Dimensity 2000 range.

                Kangal, 17 Sep 2021Alright, calm down. Apple's devices are more superior... moreNot everything is benchmark.

                Apple A14 throttle a lots more than a SD 865.

                First pass of a benchmark its beat it easily then play 1 hours of a heavy games and after that the SD lost 10% max and Apple 20-30% of performance and end up having a worst benchmark scoore.

                As efficient and powerful they have they throttle a lots.
                Hopefully Apple fixed it this year with the A15.

                  Anonymous, 17 Sep 2021I have noticed this guy actually commenting on some Gary Ex... moreConsidering Gary actually has replied to my comments. And my friend is a lawyer and level 3 techie for Apple when he first joined several years ago... I do know what I am saying. I happen to have far more insight into Apple than most people. I even knew about there EV before the main stream media even got a scent of it... Gary Explains the flaws with Anand tech. And so I have also mention flaws in regards to Anandtechs analysis. Most people think it's good. But it's often flawed from an engineering point of view with some principles. Don't forget that apples dies are about 30% bigger than Android SoC's. Therefore. Android SoC's are actually by far superior to Apple for the die surface size to power ratio. And this is something I discovered with Anandtechs failed analysis. Also no one ever seems to mention or notice that principle in the comments. Why does no one ever understand the die size? And yes. Finally Android SoC's will be making there biggest leap forward finaly. No one seems to mention that they will be true 64 bit too. There is so much in terms of upgrades. Yet most people probably have never designed PCBs or programed SoC's before. I used to do that at a science park in the UK. Where we had satellites and labs for all kinds of things. Including medicines... They currently have a diamond light source project underway there too. And the AEA.

                    Kangal, 17 Sep 2021Alright, calm down. Apple's devices are more superior... moreAndroid uses java with c and c++ not javascript. As far as I know c&c++ is also part of ios along with swift. Actually C & C++ is an essential part of all the operating system. And you mention vulkan. Vulkan is also supported by all the major OS i.e it is cross platform. So both ios and android support vulkan api. I don't see how vulkan gives advantages only to android.

                      • j
                      • john
                      • sxr
                      • 17 Sep 2021

                      still choosing used ipad mini 5 for 300usd rather than to pay 600usd .. no difference ipad mini 5 can last atlest 2 more years smooth playing games

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                        • Anonymous
                        • x7t
                        • 17 Sep 2021

                        MagicMonkeyBoy, 17 Sep 2021Gary explains was right... This is bad from Apple. They hav... moreProblem isn't the downclocking as we know that with every update the processor will be further slowed down in a stealth like attempt to get users to upgrade.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • x7t
                          • 17 Sep 2021

                          GAGE, 17 Sep 2021You missed the point. A14 9500 vs A15 14300 GPU = + 50% PER... moreThose are on paper numbers.
                          50% more score doesn't translate into real world on iPhones as proven in multiple tests.
                          They are called paper champ for a reason.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 4Dy
                            • 17 Sep 2021

                            Kangal, 17 Sep 2021Alright, calm down. Apple's devices are more superior... moreThe head of anandtech is apple employee, you know? I'd much rather trust concrete speed tests and day to day usability difference compared to just Numbers. He manipulates numbers to apple's advantage. In real world there ain't really that big of a difference as that 50% yells you

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • xZI
                              • 17 Sep 2021

                              Kangal, 17 Sep 2021Alright, calm down. Apple's devices are more superior... moreI think the Core X2 already uses ARMv9 instruction (A15 still with ARMv8). If so, SD898 may be on par or be slightly better than the A15 as ARM claims a 30% performance boost than ARMv8 with better efficiency. If not, then A15 will lead again as usual.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • xZI
                                • 17 Sep 2021

                                Kangal, 17 Sep 2021Alright, calm down. Apple's devices are more superior... moreI have noticed this guy actually commenting on some Gary Explains comment thread and intentionally spreads misinformation about the Apple chip.

                                  Idk why y'all complaining when y'all aren't even getting it anyway. Phones and tablets hardware can't be fully utilised by the limited software that is Android and iOS / iPadOS. It'd be more accurate to say that the Apple A15 in iPad mini and iPhone 13 are lower binned rather than downclocked while still being powerful and eeking some battery efficiency.

                                    Anonymous, 17 Sep 2021This practice of underclocking and disabling cores by Apple... moreJust like they did with GPU cores in M1 powered Macbook Air and Pro.
                                    Even the M1 iPad pro has more gpu core than the Mb Air.

                                      • G
                                      • GAVR
                                      • LBM
                                      • 17 Sep 2021

                                      Still, at that price range for a 8" or so tablet, it is still the best choice right now.

                                        • v
                                        • vakzine macht frei
                                        • nDS
                                        • 17 Sep 2021

                                        New iPhone will require vaccine for unlocking

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