Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

The Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT GPU is an integrated graphics card in the Apple A9X SoC which can be found in the 2015 Apple iPad Pro. At the End of 2015 it is one of the fastest GPU in ARM based tablets (next to the Nvidia Tegra X1).

According to Chipworks, the GPU offers 12 shader clusters (384 ALUs) and therefore twice as many as the A9 (6 clusters, 192 ALUs) in the iPhone 6S. Currently there is no marketing name for the 12 shader version and it seems to be a custom variant for Apple. It is manufactured in 14/16 nm (3D transistors) at TSMC and Samsung (according to rumors).

The performance of the GPU is very good and in GFXBench the results are even better than a current GeForce 940M laptop graphics card. However, the direct comparisons of different platforms should only give a rough indication on the speed. Thanks to the Metal API, the iPad is able to use the graphics hardware very efficiently.

Benchmarks

3DMark - Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score 1280x720 offscreen

min: 50084     avg: 50604     median: 50604 (10%)     max: 51124 Points

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			50084
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			51124

PowerVR SGX531 -99%

...

Intel HD Graphics 510 -14%

Intel HD Graphics (Haswell) -14%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 -14%

Intel HD Graphics 4000 -12%

AMD Radeon R5 M320 -10%

AMD Radeon HD 8350G -8%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 -6%

AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge) -3%

AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge) -2%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo) 3%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 6%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 9%

AMD Radeon HD 8450G 9%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 10%

Intel HD Graphics 5300 10%

NVIDIA Tegra X1 Maxwell GPU 11%

Intel UHD Graphics 615 13%

AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge) 15%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) 817%

0%

100%

3DMark - Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited 2560x1440

4544 Points (34%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			4544

ARM Mali-400 MP2

...

PowerVR GXA6850 -42%

Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 -40%

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 -29%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 -26%

NVIDIA Tegra K1 Kepler GPU -26%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 -22%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -18%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 -11%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 -10%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Qualcomm Adreno 540 3%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 28%

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR 39%

Apple A12 Bionic GPU 62%

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 196%

...

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 196%

0%

100%

3DMark - Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Graphics 2560x1440

9110 Points (32%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			9110

ARM Mali-400 MP2

...

NVIDIA Tegra K1 Kepler GPU -54%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 -54%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 -53%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 -51%

Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 -48%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 -47%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 -36%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -33%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 -15%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR 33%

Apple A12 Bionic GPU 44%

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 216%

...

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 216%

0%

100%

3DMark - Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited 2560x1440

3822 Points (74%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			3822

ARM Mali-400 MP2

...

ARM Mali-T880 MP12 -44%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 -32%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -30%

NVIDIA Tegra K1 Kepler GPU -28%

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 -25%

Apple A11 Bionic GPU -24%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 -20%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 -11%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 -1%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 3%

Apple A12 Bionic GPU 13%

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR 19%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 22%

...

Apple A12 Bionic GPU 13%

0%

100%

3DMark - Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics 2560x1440

5895 Points (72%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			5895

Qualcomm Adreno 304

...

NVIDIA Tegra K1 Kepler GPU -46%

Apple A11 Bionic GPU -45%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 -44%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -40%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 -36%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 -29%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 -28%

Apple A12 Bionic GPU -15%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 -7%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR 6%

...

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT 0%

0%

100%

GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 1920x1080 +

GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 - T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 1920x1080

min: 117.1     avg: 140.2     median: 140.2 (1%)     max: 163.2 fps

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			117.1
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			163.2

PowerVR SGX531 -100%

...

NVIDIA GeForce 930MX -11%

AMD Radeon R7 M270 -11%

NVIDIA GeForce 940M -9%

AMD Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) -9%

AMD Radeon R7 M260X -8%

NVIDIA Quadro M500M -8%

NVIDIA GeForce MX110 -7%

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 -2%

Intel HD Graphics 630 0%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 1%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 2%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 3%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 4%

Apple A11 Bionic GPU 20%

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 22%

NVIDIA Quadro M520 27%

NVIDIA GeForce MX130 30%

Intel Iris Graphics 540 31%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q 874%

0%

100%

T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16 +

GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 - T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16

min: 59.3     avg: 59.4     median: 59.4 (2%)     max: 59.4 fps

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			59.3
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			59.4

PowerVR SGX531 -98%

...

AMD Radeon R7 M275DX -1%

AMD Radeon R6 M340DX -1%

Intel HD Graphics 4400 -1%

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR -1%

AMD Radeon HD 7660D -1%

AMD Radeon HD 8650G -1%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 -1%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 -1%

Intel UHD Graphics 620 0%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

AMD Radeon Pro 560 0%

AMD Radeon R9 M370X 0%

AMD Radeon R7 M360 1%

AMD Radeon R9 Fury 1%

AMD Radeon Pro 455 1%

NVIDIA GeForce 945M 1%

AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo) 1%

AMD Radeon R8 M365DX 1%

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 1%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Laptop) 671%

0%

100%

GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Offscreen OGL off screen

min: 51     avg: 65.6     median: 65.6 (1%)     max: 80.1 fps

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			51
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			80.1

NVIDIA GeForce Tegra 4

...

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 -17%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 -16%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -8%

NVIDIA Quadro K620M -8%

NVIDIA GeForce 930M -8%

Intel HD Graphics 530 -8%

AMD Radeon R9 M370X -5%

NVIDIA GeForce 920MX -4%

Intel HD Graphics 510 -1%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

NVIDIA GeForce 940M 0%

NVIDIA GeForce 930MX 2%

NVIDIA Quadro M500M 4%

AMD Radeon Pro 560 7%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 9%

NVIDIA GeForce MX110 10%

NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 12%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 12%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 13%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 SLI (Laptop) 731%

0%

100%

GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Onscreen OGL on screen

min: 33.3     avg: 34.2     median: 34.2 (1%)     max: 35.1 fps

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			33.3
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			35.1

NVIDIA GeForce Tegra 4

...

Intel HD Graphics 5000 -12%

Intel HD Graphics 5500 -11%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 -9%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 -9%

AMD Radeon R9 M370X -9%

Intel UHD Graphics 615 -5%

AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge) -5%

Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell) -4%

AMD Radeon R9 Fury -1%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

AMD Radeon R9 M375 1%

AMD Radeon R6 M255DX 3%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 5%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 8%

AMD Radeon R7 M260X 8%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 14%

NVIDIA GeForce 910M 22%

AMD Radeon Pro 560 23%

NVIDIA GeForce 940M 23%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 967%

0%

100%

GFXBench - High Tier Onscreen

8 fps (13%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB		Metal	8

Qualcomm Adreno 308

...

Qualcomm Adreno 508 -61%

ARM Mali-T880 MP4 -60%

PowerVR GE8320 -56%

Qualcomm Adreno 509 -54%

Qualcomm Adreno 512 -40%

ARM Mali-G51 MP4 -37%

ARM Mali-G72 MP3 -34%

Intel UHD Graphics 600 -24%

PowerVR GXA6850 -24%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

ARM Mali-G71 MP8 17%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 19%

Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell) 38%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR 54%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 54%

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 73%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 131%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 146%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 150%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q 650%

0%

100%

GFXBench - High Tier Offscreen 2560x1440

12.2 fps (24%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB		Metal	12.2

Qualcomm Adreno 308

...

Intel UHD Graphics 600 -70%

Qualcomm Adreno 512 -69%

PowerVR GXA6850 -57%

ARM Mali-G71 MP8 -52%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 -52%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 -41%

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 -30%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 -21%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -11%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Apple A11 Bionic GPU 1%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 7%

NVIDIA GeForce MX110 22%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 29%

Apple A12 Bionic GPU 59%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q 306%

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 306%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q 306%

0%

100%

GFXBench - Normal Tier Onscreen

13.9 fps (23%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB		Metal	13.9

Qualcomm Adreno 308

...

Qualcomm Adreno 508 -62%

ARM Mali-G51 MP4 -61%

PowerVR GE8320 -60%

Qualcomm Adreno 509 -59%

ARM Mali-G72 MP3 -45%

Qualcomm Adreno 512 -39%

Intel UHD Graphics 600 -37%

PowerVR GXA6850 -32%

ARM Mali-G71 MP8 -3%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Qualcomm Adreno 530 12%

Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell) 22%

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 41%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR 44%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 44%

Apple A11 Bionic GPU 66%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 89%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 96%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 116%

...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q 332%

0%

100%

GFXBench - Normal Tier Offscreen 1920x1080

34.7 fps (26%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB		Metal	34.7

Qualcomm Adreno 308

...

ARM Mali-G71 MP8 -67%

PowerVR GXA6850 -59%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 -55%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 -45%

ARM Mali-G72 MP12 -41%

Qualcomm Adreno 540 -27%

Apple A11 Bionic GPU -20%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -11%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 -7%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Qualcomm Adreno 630 2%

NVIDIA GeForce MX110 14%

Apple A12 Bionic GPU 42%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q 243%

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 277%

...

Apple A12X Bionic GPU 277%

0%

100%

GFXBench - Car Chase Offscreen off screen

32.4 fps (1%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			32.4

ARM Mali-T720 MP2

...

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR -17%

NVIDIA Tegra X1 Maxwell GPU -17%

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 -14%

NVIDIA GeForce 920M -11%

NVIDIA Quadro M500M -11%

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 -8%

Intel UHD Graphics 620 -2%

Intel HD Graphics 630 -2%

Apple A11 Bionic GPU -2%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

NVIDIA GeForce 920MX 1%

Qualcomm Adreno 630 5%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 9%

Intel HD Graphics 510 11%

NVIDIA GeForce 930MX 12%

NVIDIA GeForce MX110 13%

NVIDIA GeForce 940M 17%

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 26%

NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 29%

...

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 9908%

0%

100%

GFXBench - Car Chase Onscreen on screen

13.3 fps (0%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications- 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			13.3

ARM Mali-400 MP2

...

ARM Mali-T880 MP12 -41%

Intel UHD Graphics 600 -41%

Qualcomm Adreno 430 -40%

Qualcomm Adreno 512 -34%

NVIDIA Quadro M520 -13%

ARM Mali-G71 MP8 -10%

Intel HD Graphics 515 -7%

NVIDIA Quadro M500M -7%

ARM Mali-G71 MP20 -2%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

ARM Mali-G72 MP18 8%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 9%

AMD Radeon R2 (Stoney Ridge) 12%

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 17%

Intel UHD Graphics 615 22%

Intel HD Graphics 505 25%

Apple A10 Fusion GPU / PowerVR 35%

Intel UHD Graphics 605 36%

Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell) 41%

...

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 20132%

0%

100%

PassMark PerformanceTest Mobile V1 - 2D Graphics Tests

min: 4072     avg: 4263     median: 4263 (23%)     max: 4454 Points

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			4072
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			4454

PowerVR SGX543MP4 -94%

...

ARM Mali-T624 -13%

ARM Mali-T830 MP2 -13%

PowerVR G6400 -12%

ARM Mali-T760 MP2 -9%

ARM Mali-T880 MP2 -7%

Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail) -5%

PowerVR G6200 -5%

ARM Mali-T628 MP6 -4%

NVIDIA GeForce Tegra 4 -2%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

Qualcomm Adreno 418 11%

Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 13%

Qualcomm Adreno 430 16%

ARM Mali-T760 MP8 18%

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR 21%

NVIDIA Tegra X1 Maxwell GPU 22%

NVIDIA Tegra K1 Kepler GPU 28%

Qualcomm Adreno 530 29%

Qualcomm Adreno 509 30%

...

Intel HD Graphics 615 335%

0%

100%

PassMark PerformanceTest Mobile V1 - 3D Graphics Tests

min: 1174     avg: 1175     median: 1175 (21%)     max: 1176 Points

+ 2 benchmarks and specifications- 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart - Hide comparison chart

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Apple iPad Pro 12.9	A9X	4096 MB			1174
Apple iPad Pro 9.7	A9X	2048 MB			1176

Qualcomm Adreno 200 -70%

...

PowerVR G6200 -15%

Apple A12X Bionic GPU -13%

Qualcomm Adreno 505 -12%

ARM Mali-T624 -9%

ARM Mali-450 MP4 -9%

ARM Mali-T880 MP2 -8%

PowerVR G6400 -7%

PowerVR SGX544MP2 -4%

PowerVR GXA6850 -1%

Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT

ARM Mali-T830 MP2 1%

Apple A10X Fusion GPU / PowerVR 1%

ARM Mali-T628 MP4 3%

ARM Mali-G71 MP2 4%

Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail) 6%

ARM Mali-T760 MP2 8%

Qualcomm Adreno 330 13%

PowerVR G6430 16%

NVIDIA GeForce Tegra 4 17%

...

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 376%

0%

100%

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Notebook reviews with Apple A9X / PowerVR Series 7XT graphics card

Apple iPad Pro 12.9: Apple A9X, 12.9", 0.7 kg
  Review » Apple iPad Pro Tablet Review

Apple iPad Pro 9.7: Apple A9X, 9.7", 0.4 kg
  Review » Apple iPad Pro 9.7 Tablet Review

Apple iPad Pro 12.9: Apple A9X, 12.9", 0.7 kg
  External Review » Apple iPad Pro

Apple iPad Pro 9.7: Apple A9X, 9.7", 0.4 kg
  External Review » Apple iPad Pro 9.7