Apple A9 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821

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Which processor is better? We compared Apple A9 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 821. Compare, analyze the specifications. Find out their scores in popular benchmarks (AnTuTu 10, GeekBench 6 Single-Core, GeekBench 6 Multi-Core) and who is the winner?

AnTuTu 10

Total Score

A9

Snapdragon 821

232375

GeekBench 6 Single-Core

Score

A9

624

Snapdragon 821

353

GeekBench 6 Multi-Core

Score

A9

961

Snapdragon 821

857

CPU cores and architecture

Architecture	2x 1.85 GHz – Apple Twister	4x 2.4 GHz – Kryo 4x 1.6 GHz – Kryo
Number of cores	2	8
Instruction Set	ARMv8-A	ARMv8-A
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Number of transistors	2000 million	2000 million
TDP	5 Watt	11 Watt
Neural Processing	Apple M9	Qualcomm Hexagon 680

Memory (RAM)

Max amount	up to 4 GB	up to 8 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4	LPDDR4
Memory frequency	1333 MHz	1866 MHz
Memory-bus	2x16 bit	2x16 bit

Storage

Storage specification

UFS 2.0

Graphics

GPU name	Imagination PowerVR GT7600	Adreno 530
GPU Architecture	PowerVR Rogue	Qualcomm Adreno 500
GPU frequency	650 MHz	650 MHz
Execution units	6	2
Shaders	192	256
DirectX		11.2
OpenCL API	1.2	2.0
OpenGL API		ES 3.1
Vulkan API	1.1	1.0

Camera, Video, Display

Max screen resolution	2048x1536	3840x2160
Max camera resolution	1x 32MP, 2x 12MP	1x 28MP, 2x
Max Video Capture	4K@30fps	4K@30fps
Video codec support	H.264 (AVC) H.265 (HEVC)	H.264 (AVC) H.265 (HEVC)

Wireless

4G network	Yes	Yes
5G network	Yes	Yes
Peak Download Speed	0.45 Gbps	0.6 Gbps
Peak Upload Speed	0.15 Gbps	0.15 Gbps
Wi-Fi	5 (802.11ac)	5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth	4.2	4.1
Satellite navigation	BeiDou GPS Galileo GLONASS	BeiDou GPS Galileo GLONASS