Apple M2
vs
Apple M3
vs
CPU Comparison Result
Below are the results of a comparison of
Apple M2
and
Apple M3
processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.
Basic
Apple
Label Name
Apple
June 2022
Launch Date
October 2023
Laptop
Platform
Laptop
Apple Avalanche + Apple Blizzard
CPU Architecture
Apple M3 performance cores + efficiency cores
Apple M2
CPU Name
Apple M3
Apple M2
Model Name
Apple M3
TSMC
Foundry
TSMC
Apple M2 series
Generation
Apple M3 series
CPU Specifications
8
Total Cores
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
8
8
Total Threads
8
4
Performance-cores
4
4
Efficient-cores
4
2.42 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
2.75 GHz
NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
NEON
3.48 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
4.06 GHz
ARMv8.6-A, NEON
Extended Instruction Set
ARMv8.6-A, NEON
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
L1 Cache
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
P-core cluster: 16 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
L2 Cache
P-core cluster: 16 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
8 MB system level cache
L3 Cache
-
5 nm
Technology
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
3 nm
ARMv8.6-A
Instruction Set
An instruction set architecture (ISA) defines the instructions a processor can execute. Common architectures include x86-64, ARM and RISC-V. The ISA determines software compatibility, while optional instruction extensions add specialized capabilities.
ARMv8.6-A
20 billion
Transistor Count
25 billion
Memory Specifications
128-bit
Memory Bus Width
128-bit
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Memory Type
Unified LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
LPDDR5-6400
24 GB
Max Memory Size
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
24 GB
100 GB/s
Max Memory Bandwidth
Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).
100 GB/s
6400 MT/s
Maximum Memory Speed
6400 MT/s
GPU Specifications
Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 with DisplayPort
External Display Standard
Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 with DisplayPort, HDMI
Apple M2 GPU
GPU Name
Apple M3 GPU
Up to 6K 60Hz external display
Max External Display Resolution
Up to 6K 60Hz external display; up to 5K 60Hz second external display with lid closed; HDMI up to 4K 120Hz
-
Video Concurrency
Hardware-accelerated video encode/decode; AV1 decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; up to 8K H.264 and HEVC decode; multiple 4K and 8K ProRes streams
Video Decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 decode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; up to 8K H.264 and HEVC decode
Video Encode
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration
Video Processing Unit
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration and AV1 decode
1398 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
1400 MHz
10
Graphics Core Count
8/9/10
One external display up to 6K 60Hz
Number of Displays Supported
Up to 2 external displays with lid closed
Metal, OpenCL
GPU APIs
Metal, OpenCL
Up to 3.6 TFLOPS FP32
Graphics Performance
Up to 3.55 TFLOPS FP32
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Media Engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, and AV1 decode
1
Video Decode Engines
1
1
Video Encode Engines
1
1
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
1
Yes
OpenCL Support
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
Yes
AI Specifications
16-core Apple Neural Engine
AI Engine
16-core Apple Neural Engine
16
Neural Engine Core Count
16
Apple Neural Engine
NPU Name
Apple Neural Engine
15.8 TOPS
NPU Performance
18 TOPS
Connectivity
Yes
Bluetooth Support
Yes
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth Version
-
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi Standard
-
Interfaces and Ports
Yes, Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb/s
Thunderbolt Support
Yes, Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb/s
USB4
USB Version
USB4
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
USB4 Support
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
Miscellaneous
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Apple image signal processor
Image Signal Processor
-
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Benchmarks
Cinebench R23 Single Core
Apple M2
1595
Apple M3
1965
+23%
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M2
8654
Apple M3
10437
+21%
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M2
2597
Apple M3
3075
+18%
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M2
9707
Apple M3
11525
+19%
Geekbench 5 Single Core
Apple M2
1914
Apple M3
2150
+12%
Geekbench 5 Multi Core
Apple M2
8812
Apple M3
10450
+19%
Geekbench 7 Single Core
Apple M2
2385
Apple M3
2729
+14%
Geekbench 7 Multi Core
Apple M2
10701
Apple M3
11704
+9%
Passmark CPU Single Core
Apple M2
3885
Apple M3
4712
+21%
Passmark CPU Multi Core
Apple M2
15654
Apple M3
19087
+22%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M2
120
Apple M3
137
+14%
Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
Apple M2
555
Apple M3
659
+19%
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Apple M2
3340
Apple M3
3340
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