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Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600

Imagination A9 / PowerVR GT7600

The PowerVR GT7600 from Imagination Technologies is a high-end smartphone GPU as part of the Apple A9 SoC for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. At the time of announcement on September 2015, it is the fastest GPU for smartphones and even bests current tablet GPUs.

Architecture

The GT7600 is part of the Series 7XT line-up and is based on a unified shader architecture with 6 clusters that integrate 384 (FP16) and 192 (FP32) ALU cores. Compared to the Series 6XT GPU in the Apple A8 and A8x, ImgTec states that the performance and efficiency of the cores have been improved. Furthermore, the GPU features support for virtualization, hardware-based security, geometry shaders, tessellation, native 10-bit YUV and ASTC LDR/HDR. DirectX 11 and OpenCL FP64 are optional features that are likely not implemented on Apple smartphones and tablets.

Performance

The PowerVR GT7600 is clearly the fastest smartphone GPU on the market as of September 2015. In all of our benchmarks, the GPU is able to beat even the fastest tablet and smartphone GPUs like the PowerVR GXA6850 in the A8x (iPad Air 2), Tegra K1 (Nvidia Shield Tablet) and Adreno 430 (various flagship smartphones). The ARM Mali-T760 MP8 (7420 Octa) in the Galaxy S6 line-up is also no match for the PowerVR GPU. 

The Tegra X1 in the Shield TV console is able to beat the GT7600 in 3DMark 2013 Unlimited GPU (135%), but falls behind in GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan with 79% of the performance. Thanks to the efficient use of the GPU (e.g., IOS apps using Metal), we are expecting a graphical step up in 3D games.

Power Consumption

The PowerVR GT7600 in the Apple A9 should be very energy efficient due in part to the use of 3D transistors and an improved 14/16 nm fabrication process.

Note: The PowerVR GT7600 in the Apple A9 is not officially confirmed by Apple!

PowerVR Series 7XT Series

A9X / PowerVR GT7xxx compare 384
A9 / PowerVR GT7600 192
CodenameRogue
ArchitecturePowerVR Rogue
Pipelines192 - unified
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 11_2, OpenGL 4.3, ES 3.x
technology14 nm
FeaturesOpenGL® ES 1.x/2.0/3.x*, AEP, OpenGL 3.3*, DirectX 10_0, OpenCL™ 1.2 EP*, (DirectX 11_2, OpenGL 4.3*, OpenCL 1.2 FP*)
Date of Announcement09.09.2015
Link to Manufacturer Pageimgtec.com
CPU in A9 / PowerVR GT7600GPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Apple A92 x 1800 MHz? MHz? MHz

Benchmarks

3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics
min: 41615     avg: 43251     median: 43372.5 (5%)     max: 44645 Points
GFXBench 3.1 - GFXBench Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen
min: 28     avg: 28.2     median: 28.1 (1%)     max: 28.5 fps
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 +
PassMark PerformanceTest Mobile V1 - PerformanceTest Mobile V1 3D Graphics Tests
min: 1161     avg: 1766     median: 1957.5 (3%)     max: 1987 Points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

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Notebook reviews with Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 graphics card

Apple iPad (2017) Tablet Review

Apple iPad (2017) Tablet Review

Just recycling? Apple did not even hold a keynote for its latest tablet model. All we got was a press release. We think: That is enough for the Apple iPad (2017...
Apple A9 | Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 | 9.70" | 478 g
Apple iPhone SE Smartphone Review

Apple iPhone SE Smartphone Review

Power dwarf. The less expensive versions of the iPhone have not been a real success so far. This could change with the iPhone SE, because it is very fast, endur...
Apple A9 | Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 | 4.00" | 113 g
Apple iPhone 6S Plus Smartphone Review

Apple iPhone 6S Plus Smartphone Review

Bigger and better. Sounds disrespectful, but it is just a pun. The latest Apple iPhone 6S Plus is all about the touch as part of the new handling concept called...
Apple A9 | Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 | 5.50" | 192 g
Apple iPhone 6S Smartphone Review

Apple iPhone 6S Smartphone Review

The 3D Midas touch. No disrespect intended for the Apple iPhone 6S, but rather to point out the new control concept 3D Touch, which is one of the most importan...
Apple A9 | Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 | 4.70" | 143 g
Apple iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus First Impressions

Apple iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus First Impressions

Touch me harder! This is what the new iPhones are about – the touch. At least in terms of the handling with 3D Touch. The new Apple smartphones are obviously fa...
Apple A9 | Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 | 4.70" | 143 g

Apple iPad (2017): Apple A9, 9.70", 0.5 kg
  External Review » Apple iPad (2017)

Apple iPhone SE: Apple A9, 4.00", 0.1 kg
  External Review » Apple iPhone SE

Apple iPhone 6S Plus: Apple A9, 5.50", 0.2 kg
  External Review » Apple iPhone 6S Plus

Apple iPhone 6S: Apple A9, 4.70", 0.1 kg
  External Review » Apple iPhone 6S

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Class 3

UHD Graphics 32EUs
UHD Graphics 750

Class 4

Class 5

Class 6

* Approximate position of the graphics adapter

> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Comparison of Laptop Graphics Cards > Imagination PowerVR GT7600 in the Apple A9 - Benchmarks and Specs
Klaus Hinum (Update: 2016-01-26)