【【Preface: Do you have any doubts about the performance of the iPhone 14 series? Let's test it] ]
As we all know, in the iPhone 14 series launched this year on Apple , the "Pro" and "non-Pro" product lines are equipped with two different generations of chips for the first time in history.
Among them, the "basic" iPhone 14 and the long-lost "large-screen version" iPhone 14 Plus are equipped with the same "full-blooded version" A15 bionic chip as the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max.
is more professional in positioning and has more advanced features, and has also made additional optimizations for image productivity and other needs. This time, the new A16 bionic chip is used.
Of course, from the perspective of product positioning and functional attributes, such differentiated performance configuration is naturally understandable. But from the perspective of consumers, the appearance of two generations of chip solutions in the same generation of products will cause some doubts about the performance differences between the two and the experience of competitors in the same period.
Because of this, we decided to conduct a centralized performance special test on the two chips used in the iPhone 14 series model.
【【Technical Analysis: Two generations of self-developed bionic chips, A15 full-blood, A16 innovation】】
In order to better test controllable variables, the two test models we chose this time are iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Because both belong to the "large-size" models of this generation, they will theoretically have similar cooling capabilities. At the same time, considering that the iPhone 14 Plus is equipped with the "full blood version" A15 equivalent to the previous generation product "Pro" sequence, we also found a iPhone 13 mini with a battery and storage status of almost brand new, and used it as a reference object for the "non-full blood version A15".
First of all, based on the currently known public information, we summarize the parameters of these three chips.
You can see that compared with the A15 bionic chip used by the iPhone 13 mini, the biggest difference between the "full blood version" of the iPhone 14 Plus is actually the extra GPU core. So much so that in terms of 3D performance, it will be about 25% stronger than the "non-Pro" version of the iPhone 13 series, but this is only the theoretical value. Since Apple has not introduced large-sized models in the "non-Pro" series in the iPhone 13 series, it is also necessary to consider the potential cooling advantages of the iPhone 14 Plus. Therefore, its measured 3D performance and comprehensive performance are completely possible to be greater than the value of 25%.
In comparison, the A16 bionic chip equipped with the iPhone 14 Pro Max has much more changes. It not only uses a new semiconductor process, but also uses a new CPU architecture with higher main frequency, but also redesigns cache, memory, GPU, and NPU subsystems. Especially the much larger memory bandwidth and core specifications directly double the GPU, which almost clearly shows that it is likely to have a considerable improvement in 3D performance, general computing power, etc.
So, what does this mean? First of all, compared with the models with the same market positioning in the previous generation, even the "non-Pro versions" of this generation of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will still have a certain improvement in actual performance, especially in game scenarios, the gap may be even greater. Secondly, considering that the large-size models of this generation of "non-Pro versions" also appear, this may be the main reason why Apple no longer relies solely on memory size, but needs to further create performance differences through chip generation.
【【【Running score analysis: The actual test results are higher than expected, the new system and large capacity are the main reasons】】】
After technical analysis, we will use the running score to conduct a more intuitive investigation of the performance level of these models.
iPhone 13 mini Antutu evaluation system information
iPhone 14 Plus Antutu evaluation system information
iPhone 14 Pro Max Antutu evaluation system information
First of all, we verified the basic information of these three models through the built-in system information of Antutu evaluation. It is worth noting that we intend to upgrade all three models to the latest iOS 16.2 version before testing. The reason for doing this is to unify the test conditions (because the iPhone 13 mini has been in this version before), and on the other hand, it is to further understand whether the iPhone 14 series models will have better performance adjustments than when they were just released.
iPhone 13 mini Antutu evaluation score
iPhone 14 Plus Antutu evaluation score
can be seen, as mentioned in the technical analysis above. Although both are A15 bionic chips, the iPhone 13 mini with different GPU specifications and iPhone 14 Plus are obviously comparable in the test scores of the CPU part, but there are big differences in GPU, memory, and storage performance. However, judging from the GPU performance, the difference is not as much as the previous estimate of 25%, but about 10%.
iPhone 14 Pro Max Antutu review score
In comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is obviously different from the two models equipped with A15 bionic chips in terms of total scores and in terms of detailed scores. If you observe the scores of each project carefully, you will find that the iPhone 14 Pro Max is not very good in relatively low-load test projects, but once it reaches the heavy load test, it will be suddenly pulled apart. Why is this happening to
? On the one hand, we believe that it may be because the new semiconductor process (4nm) gives the A16 Bionic chip a higher limit energy efficiency ratio, which allows it to better "full core open" in scenarios such as CPU multi-core testing, thus bringing more than 20% of CPU multi-core performance ahead of the "full-blood version of A15".
On the other hand, after looking at the technical specifications table above, you may have found that the GPU core specifications of A16 this time have actually "doubled" compared to A15, but Apple has not claimed that its 3D performance has increased by 100%. We speculate that this may be because the A16 adopts a rather conservative strategy in the calibration of GPU frequency, namely, through a "multi-core, low-frequency" approach, in exchange for higher energy efficiency performance.
In this way, when the 3D load is heavy, the A15 bionic chip with high GPU running frequency will naturally be more likely to have "throttling" problems. Although the GPU of the A16 is not very frequent and the theoretical computing power may not double, it will achieve more amazing performance because it is not easy to reduce frequency at this time. Specifically, it is more than 60% faster than the "full-blooded version" A15, which is undoubtedly a very amazing improvement.
iPhone 13 mini Running score comparison database
iPhone 14 Plus Running score comparison database
iPhone 14 Pro Max Running score comparison database
iPhone 14 Pro Max Running score comparison database
If you often follow our Weibo or use Antutu review to run the score, you will know that we have a set of running score database. What's very interesting this time is that the results of the three models tested this time far exceed the reference value in the database. What's going on?
Comparing the actual test score with the scores in the database is not difficult to find that the actual test scores are about 10% higher than the scores in the database in terms of CPU and GPU, while the storage part is significantly higher. This can actually illustrate some problems. On the one hand, because the three models we tested this time are all top-end versions of their respective models, and large-capacity flash memory itself has higher read and write and random performance, so it is normal for the test score to exceed the average score submitted by everyone in the database.On the other hand, we really cannot rule out that iOS 16.2 has optimized the performance of A15 and A16 bionic chips to better realize their CPU and GPU potential. After all, the closed-source system and highly optimized ecosystem are originally Apple's biggest advantages.
【【【Game test and summary: High-quality mobile games are all full, and the ecological advantages are almost invincible】】
Finally, let us use the game performance test that everyone likes to end.
This time we chose three games, namely the national mobile game " Honor of Kings ", the popular game " Diablo - Immortal ", and the essential project " Genshin Impact ", which is known for its "burning machine" and is currently a must-have project in the review.
iPhone 13 mini "Honor of Kings" average frame rate 58.9, average GPU occupies 41.3%
iPhone 14 Plus "Honor of Kings" average frame rate 59.5, average GPU occupies 29.0%
First, let's take a look at the results of "Honor of Kings". Obviously, even the A15, which has only 4 GPU cores, will not be under any pressure when facing this game, let alone the iPhone 14 Plus, which is equipped with the "full blood version" A15 and has a much stronger performance. However, in-depth exploration of the monitoring data will reveal that under the same image quality settings, the GPU occupancy rate of the iPhone 13 mini is significantly higher than that of the iPhone 14 Plus.
What does this mean? Simply put, this means that the 4-core GPU may need to be maintained at higher frequencies to ensure the same fluency as the 5-core GPU. A higher operating frequency is destined to mean an increase in occupancy rate and a decrease in energy efficiency ratio.
iPhone 13 mini "Diablo" average frame rate is 59.2, average GPU occupies 83.3%
iPhone 14 Plus "Diablo" average frame rate is 59.7. average GPU occupies 78.5%
iPhone 14 Pro Max "Diablo" average frame rate is 57.3, average GPU occupancy is 64.9%
Same situation is also reproduced in "Diablo" and "Genshin Impact". On the one hand, we have reason to marvel at the advanced nature of Apple's chip design. While Android flagship models are still struggling with "Can Genshin Impact run full frames", even the iPhone 13 mini launched last year and equipped with the "non-full-blooded version" A15 bionic chip can run smoothly in these games that are recognized as high-quality, which obviously reflects the power of the comprehensive performance of iPhone .
iPhone 13 mini "Genshin Impact" average frame rate is 59.3, average GPU occupies 77.5%
iPhone 14 Plus "Genshin Impact" average frame rate is 59.4, average GPU occupies 77.3%
iPhone 14 Pro Max "Genshin Impact" has an average frame rate of 58.0, and an average GPU occupies 67.2%
. But in addition, it should be noted that on the one hand, the GPU occupancy rate is significantly lower among more advanced chips, even for games with high picture quality and high load. This means that using iPhone 14 Plus or iPhone 14 Pro Max to play the same game will be "born" more power-saving than using iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini.
iPhone 14 Pro Max in Diablo will automatically set the upper frame rate limit to 60 frames. Other models are currently mostly automatic 30 frames
On the other hand, we have also noticed that whether in Diablo or Genshin Impact, these high-quality mobile games seem to have better software adaptation for newer models of iPhones and even some iPads. To be honest, this is not actually surprising. But from this detail, we can also see Apple's current market dominance and the degree of recognition of Apple's hardware devices.
It has to be said that in addition to the architectural advantages of self-developed chips and the system optimization advantages that deeply cooperate with hardware, this ecological advantage from third-party software manufacturers is indeed the confidence that Apple's iPhone and iPad families can continue to lead in the industry, and it can even be said to be difficult for other competitors to see it. What's even more "terrible" is that during the ongoing "Double 11" promotion, the official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store and the Apple product JD self-operated flagship store both launched large discounts. For example, at the official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus can receive a surprise coupon of 550 yuan, with a price starting from only 5,449 yuan; and iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max can also receive a surprise coupon of 350 yuan, with a minimum of only 7,649 yuan to buy. At the same time, all models participating in the event also have 12 interest-free installments. You should know that in the current environment where the mobile phone industry generally attaches importance to "high-end market competition", many Android flagships have also reached the price range of 6, 7,000 yuan or even higher. In contrast, the iPhone 14 series after the "Double 11" discount is undoubtedly more "cost-performance".
and this time, there are completely different discount strategies in different channels. If the activities of the official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store are more suitable for new users who purchase iPhones for the first time and value one-time and lower investment, then the activity of Apple product JD self-operated flagship store to exchange for old models for new models is obviously aimed at old users and consumers who have more frequent mobile phone replacement needs. It has to be said that in terms of market strategy, Apple is obviously becoming more and more "down-to-earth".
