Apple’s A20 Pro chip dominates first benchmarks over Android rivals

Apple's ↘ 0.52% A20 Pro chip, the first 2-nanometer processor in an iPhone, has appeared in benchmark databases with results that widen the performance gap over its Android rivals. The chip, unveiled on September 9 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the company's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, scored 4,725 points in single-core and 12,575 points in multi-core on Geekbench 6.7, according to listings first reported by Notebookcheck and MacRumors.notebookcheck+1

Those numbers represent roughly a 38% single-core lead and a 35% multi-core advantage over Qualcomm's ↗ 5.52% Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, which scored 3,434 and 9,334 points respectively despite reaching a higher peak clock speed of 5.01 GHz. MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro trails by a similar margin in single-core, averaging around 3,400 points, though its multi-core score of approximately 12,000 keeps the gap narrower in threaded workloads.newsbytesapp+1

GPU Gains and Cooling Redesign

The A20 Pro's graphics processor posted 64,069 points in Geekbench Metal, roughly 40% faster than the A19 Pro's 45,683 points in the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple attributed the gains to an additional GPU core and the move to TSMC's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited ↗ 6.33% GAAFET-based N2 manufacturing node.notebookcheck+1

To sustain those performance levels, Apple redesigned the thermal system. For the first time in an iPhone, the chip die directly contacts the vapor chamber using a packaging structure previously reserved for iPad Pro and Mac M-series chips. The vapor chamber's heat-dissipating surface area is up to three times larger than in the iPhone 17 Pro, a change aimed at reducing throttling during sustained workloads.biz.chosun

2nm Costs and an Approaching Qualcomm Rival

The shift to 2-nanometer manufacturing comes at a price. TSMC's N2 wafers cost approximately $30,000 each, about 62% more than 3-nanometer wafers, according to Taiwanese media reports cited by Chosun Business. Rising memory prices compound the issue — TrendForce data showed commodity DRAM contract prices jumped 58% to 63% in the second quarter, while NAND flash rose 55% to 60%.biz.chosun

Qualcomm is expected to announce its own 2-nanometer Snapdragon chip later this month, which would narrow the process gap that Apple opened with this launch. Xiaomi's custom Xring O3, a 10-core design, already beats the A20 Pro in multi-core tests by about 14%, though Apple retains a 28% single-core advantage.newsbytesapp+2

The iPhone 18 Pro Max also surfaced on AnTuTu, confirming 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage running iOS 27.gizmochina