A rare major upgrade.

In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced a product at an Apple event that revolutionized the mobile phone market: the iPhone.

Unlike the touch-screen ecosystem of other products, the iPhone featured higher-performance hardware and cutting-edge design, making it the premium choice for many consumers from that moment on. Its annual sales growth has solidified its position in the high-end smartphone market.

Especially regarding performance, there's a long-standing saying in the mobile phone industry: 'Apple's in-house chips are two years ahead of Android flagship chips.' Both hardware and software experiences are outstanding, making iPhones the benchmark in the mobile market for years.

Now, 17 years later, the iPhone 16 series is finally available for purchase.

(Image source: Apple)

Despite expectations, the standard version of the iPhone 16 can still be described as unimpressive, lacking features like high refresh rate and Always-On Display. The rumored 256GB starting storage and 40W charging were also absent. The only notable upgrade is the A18 chip.

As Apple's first iPhone chip designed specifically for AI, the A18 chip differs significantly from its predecessors in architecture. However, given the current domestic market's limited use of Apple Intelligence, many readers may wonder how much of an improvement the A18 chip offers over its predecessor and how it compares to small-screen Android flagships with similar positioning.

Taking advantage of the iPhone 16's launch, let's discuss the performance of this Apple-backed iPhone 'chip' that carries high expectations!

Scoring 1.54 million points, the A18's stunning performance

Seeing this subheading, I'm sure Apple fans will be filled with emotion.

Before the iPhone 16 series, Apple had consecutively used different generations of chips in the standard and Pro versions for two generations.

In the iPhone 14 series two years ago, Apple innovatively equipped the standard and Pro versions with the A15 and A16 chips, respectively, causing a stir. The iPhone 15 series further advanced this strategy, with the standard version using the A16 chip and the Pro version adopting the A17 Pro chip.

(Image source: Apple)

However, to enable Apple Intelligence across the iPhone 16 series, Apple again reformed its chip strategy.

After two years, the iPhone has once again adopted the same-generation chips for both the standard and Pro versions – the A18 and A18 Pro, respectively. The primary difference lies in their GPUs: the A18 has a 5-core GPU, while the A18 Pro boasts a 6-core GPU.

Impressively, the standard version finally receives a new chip.

(Image source: Leitech)

In terms of specific specifications, the iPhone 16 we have on hand is equipped with the new A18 chip, featuring a hexa-core CPU with two performance cores and four energy-efficient cores. Compared to the A16 chip in the iPhone 15, the A18 offers a 30% performance boost and a 30% reduction in power consumption. When compared to the A15 chip in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, CPU performance improves by up to 50%.

Let's dive straight into the benchmarks.

Starting with Geekbench 6, the A18 chip scored 3,252 points in the single-core test and 7,947 points in the multi-core test. Compared to the A18 Pro, the A18 lags slightly, with a 4% deficit in both single-core and multi-core scores. This suggests that the A18 Pro's CPU might have a slightly higher clock speed than the A18.

(Image source: Leitech)

With such a significant improvement, it's only natural to compare the A18 with the A17 Pro, Snapdragon 8 Gen3, and Dimensity 9300+.

Compared to its predecessor, the A18 boasts a 16% improvement in single-core performance and a 6% boost in multi-core performance. Versus the Snapdragon 8 Gen3, the A18 excels with a 42% advantage in single-core and a 7% lead in multi-core. Against the Dimensity 9300+, the gap narrows to a 37% edge in single-core and a mere 1% advantage in multi-core.

(Image source: Leitech)

What about the A16?

Comparing the A18 to the A16 is hardly fair; the A18 blows it out of the water.

Moving on to 3DMark, the iPhone 16 scored 4,019 points in the Wild Life Extreme test. For comparison, the A17 Pro scored 4,266 points, the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 achieved 4,870 points, the actively cooled Snapdragon 8 Gen3 Leading Edition reached 5,514 points, and the Dimensity 9300+ managed 5,215 points.

(Image source: Leitech)

In the Solar Bay benchmark, a general-purpose platform test, the iPhone 16 scored 6,808 points. In comparison, the A17 Pro scored 6,570 points, the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 reached 8,979 points, the actively cooled Snapdragon 8 Gen3 Leading Edition scored 9,276 points, and the Dimensity 9300+ managed 8,288 points.

It seems that the A18 chip, with one fewer core, slightly trails last year's A17 Pro in graphics performance. Meanwhile, the full-strength A18 Pro performs similarly to the A17 Pro in graphics tasks.

Finally, let's turn to AnTuTu, where the iPhone 16 scored an impressive 1.54 million points overall, with 420,000 points for the CPU and 570,000 points for the GPU. For comparison, the iPhone 15 scored 1.33 million points, while the iPhone 15 Pro hovered around 1.5 million points.

(Image source: Leitech)

While benchmarking scores are primarily for entertainment, they do reflect noticeable performance gains.

Gaming on the iPhone 16: a truly enjoyable experience

The benchmark improvements are tangible, but how does the A18 chip fare in actual gameplay?

To find out, I tested three demanding games: 'Genshin Impact,' 'Asphalt 9: Legends,' and 'Honkai: Star Rail.' Lighter games like 'League of Legends: Wild Rift' and 'PUBG Mobile' didn't require testing as their smooth performance is assured.

First up, 'Genshin Impact,' widely regarded as a performance hog in the gaming community.

In our tests, the iPhone 16 maintained an average frame rate of 58FPS at high graphics settings and 60FPS, with frame rates dipping to 30FPS only during cutscenes. The experience was smooth, whether exploring the city, using grappling hooks for high-speed movement, or battling in outdoor environments.

(Image source: Leitech)

Next, we tested 'Asphalt 9: Legends,' a racing game benchmark.

At max graphics settings and 60FPS, the iPhone 16 averaged 59FPS during 3-4 ranking matches, delivering a buttery smooth experience.

(Image source: Leitech)

Lastly, we tested 'Honkai: Star Rail,' Mihoyo's latest resource-intensive game.

At high graphics settings and 60FPS, the iPhone 16 maintained an average frame rate of 57FPS during a 15-minute gameplay session. Frame rates gradually declined due to heat, but the experience remained smooth for an RPG game.

(Image source: Leitech)

In our tests, even demanding mobile games ran effortlessly on the iPhone 16, outperforming typical Android flagship phones in sandbox games like 'Genshin Impact,' to the point where one might wonder if there were exclusive optimizations involved.

Regarding thermal performance, our iPhone 16 reached a maximum screen temperature of 33.7°C, back temperature of 37.4°C, and frame temperature of 32.6°C during normal use. After gaming, these temperatures rose to 42.2°C, 44.8°C, and 39.7°C, respectively, indicating satisfactory thermal management.

If there's one drawback, it's the 60Hz refresh rate screen, denying standard version users the high refresh rate gaming experience.

Conclusion: Significant chip upgrade makes the iPhone 16 worth considering

After a long hiatus, the iPhone 16 returns to using the main chip line, delivering a satisfying performance.

Thanks to its updated manufacturing process and architecture, the A18 chip's CPU performance is exceptional, nearly identical to the A18 Pro aside from clock speed differences, making it a top contender among mobile devices. While the GPU lacks a core, its benchmark scores are still impressive, and with the new thermal design, 3A mobile gaming experiences are outstanding.

(Image source: Leitech)

Most importantly, Apple's pursuit of Apple Intelligence has finally led to the standard version receiving 8GB of RAM, replacing the outdated 6GB. Even domestic users who can't utilize Apple Intelligence yet can enjoy the benefits of increased multitasking capabilities, faster operation speeds, more stable gaming performance, and enhanced multimedia processing power.

In my opinion, with the A18 chip and 8GB of RAM, the iPhone 16 has the potential to become a 'stubborn' choice for the next 3-4 years.

Source: Leitech