Apple's new mobile AP, the A20 Pro, set a new record in Geekbench 7 single-core by scoring 4,042 points. This figure surpasses the M5 Max, Ryzen 9 9950X3D, and Intel Core i9-14900KS.
The A20 Pro, the latest mobile SoC in the Apple Silicon series, was confirmed to be listed on Geekbench under the name 'iPhone 19,3'. Its hardware identifier is presumed to be the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
While unreleased device performance leaks via Geekbench have occurred multiple times, the noteworthy aspect this time lies in the actual score. The current single-core top score was recorded at 4,042 points, making it the highest single-core score on Geekbench 7 to date. This figure surpasses the 3,731 single-core score of the M5 Max found in the latest MacBook Pro. It is also roughly 26% ahead of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D desktop CPU and 32% ahead of the Intel Core i9-14900KS.
The gap with competitors has also widened. On Geekbench 7, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Xiaomi's XRing O3 score around 3,000 points, putting them at a level similar to Apple Silicon's A18 Pro from two years ago.
The A20 Pro features a 2nm process with a 6-core CPU, 7-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engines. On top of this, memory bandwidth has increased by 50% compared to its predecessor. Significant attention was also given to thermal design. Similar to the M-series chips used in Macs and iPads, the silicon die and memory are placed side by side to separate the heat transfer path. This architecture allows a vapor chamber to be attached directly.
Up until the A19 Pro, RAM was stacked on top of the processor die to save space and reduce latency, but this had the drawback of RAM blocking the heat dissipation path. Thanks to the new architecture, the A20 Pro achieves higher stability in sustained performance. Apple's claim of a 40% improvement in sustained performance stems from this altered packaging structure and the vapor chamber.
Of course, this score was measured using a new version of Geekbench 7 that changed its calculation methodology. Furthermore, firmware and power limits could differ from the final retail release. When compared to chips with more cores, it lagged behind in multi-threaded configurations.
However, it is hard to deny that Apple has made another major leap forward in single-threaded design. The A20 Pro will be featured in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo.
