Five years on, the chip inside the iPhone 13 and 14 still outscores most new mid-range silicon. Here are the numbers, the quirks, and the used-buy verdict.
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks still make interesting reading in 2026, five years after the chip launched inside the iPhone 13. NanoReview’s crowd-sourced aggregate puts it at 1,413,275 on AnTuTu 11, with a Geekbench 6 single-core score of 2,315 and a multi-core score of 5,753. Strong numbers for a chip that now powers used phones.
The A15 Bionic arrived on September 14, 2021, built on a 5-nanometer TSMC process with 15 billion transistors. It debuted in the iPhone 13 range, then returned in the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, the iPhone SE (2022), the iPad mini 6 and the third-generation Apple TV 4K. Apple followed it with the A16 Bionic in 2022 and the A17 Pro in 2023. That long service life is why it deserves a fresh look.
This article pulls its numbers from NanoReview’s A15 Bionic page, cross-checked against Wikipedia and Apple’s launch claims. Every Apple A15 Bionic benchmark figure below is tagged (CR) for crowd aggregate, because NanoReview pools user-submitted results rather than running controlled lab tests. Treat the scores as directional, not as laboratory gospel.
The Short Version
- Launched September 14, 2021, on a 5nm TSMC process with 15 billion transistors.
- Six cores: two Avalanche cores at 3.23 GHz and four Blizzard cores at 2.02 GHz.
- Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks: AnTuTu 11 total of 1,413,275 (CR), Geekbench 6 single-core 2,315 and multi-core 5,753 (CR).
- GPU in two versions: four cores in the iPhone 13, 13 mini and SE, five cores in the Pro models and iPhone 14.
Inside the Silicon
The A15 pairs two Avalanche performance cores at 3.23 GHz with four Blizzard efficiency cores at 2.02 GHz, on ARMv8.5-A, according to NanoReview. A larger 12 MB L2 cache and a doubled 32 MB system cache let Apple push clocks higher than the A14. Apple claimed at launch that the A15 was 50 percent faster than the competition, a company claim, not an independent measurement.
Graphics are where the A15 gets complicated. Apple shipped it in two GPU versions: a four-core GPU in the iPhone 13, 13 mini and iPhone SE (2022), and a five-core GPU in the iPhone 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14, 14 Plus and iPad mini 6, according to Wikipedia. NanoReview lists one GPU figure, 1,338 MHz with 640 shaders and 1,712.6 GFLOPS, and does not split its scores by GPU version. Read the numbers below as an aggregate across both versions, not as the score of one phone.
The 16-core Neural Engine is rated at 15.8 TOPS, up from 11 TOPS on the A14, according to Wikipedia. Memory is LPDDR4X at 2,133 MHz with up to 34.1 GB/s of bandwidth, and the chip supports up to 6 GB of RAM. The iPad mini 6 runs it underclocked to 2.93 GHz, and the Apple TV 4K uses a binned version with one efficiency core disabled.
Apple A15 Bionic Benchmarks: The Headline Numbers
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks from NanoReview give the chip an AnTuTu 11 total of 1,413,275, with the CPU contributing 410,975, the GPU 370,837, memory 164,151 and user experience 467,312. The A16 Bionic sits about 15 percent ahead at 1,626,008. The A17 Pro aggregate of 1,467,470 looks oddly close to the A15, a reminder that crowd aggregates move with the mix of results.
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks on Geekbench 6 record 2,315 single-core and 5,753 multi-core, from 37 tests. The A16 moves about 14 percent and 15 percent ahead, at 2,631 and 6,602. The A17 Pro moves further still, at 2,969 and 7,599, roughly 28 percent and 32 percent above the A15. Geekbench tells the cleaner generational story.
Apple A15 Bionic Benchmarks in Daily Use
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks in gaming show the chip at its most aged, but not by much. NanoReview’s aggregate gives it a gaming performance rating of 48 out of 100, against 56 for the A16 and 59 for the A17 Pro. In 3DMark, the A15 scores 3,765 on Solar Bay at 14 FPS with 71 percent stability, and 2,854 on Wild Life Extreme at 17 FPS with 76 percent stability. The A17 Pro pulls about 62 percent ahead on Solar Bay, helped by hardware ray tracing. No Steel Nomad Light score is listed for the A15, so none is quoted here.
For everyday work, the single-core score matters most. Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks put it at 2,315, which still counts as strong in 2026. It sits below the A16’s 2,631 and the A17 Pro’s 2,969, but the gap is one you will rarely feel. App launches, photo work and video editing run without hesitation.
Same Chip, Seven Different Scores
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks differ wildly from phone to phone, even though the silicon is identical. NanoReview’s per-phone AnTuTu 11 aggregates put the iPhone 14 Plus at 1,534,654, ahead of the iPhone 13 at 1,413,275 and the iPhone SE (2022) at 1,346,035. Then comes the surprise: the iPhone 13 Pro at 1,222,533 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max at 1,153,673 sit at the bottom of the list.
That order runs against intuition. The Pro models carry the five-core GPU and should score higher, yet the crowd aggregate puts them about 33 percent below the iPhone 14 Plus. Device age, battery health, storage, cooling and iOS version all move the number. Do not quote a single number as the A15 score. The honest range is 1,153,673 to 1,534,654.
Battery, Connectivity and the Rest
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks cover CPU, GPU and memory, not endurance, so the battery picture needs care. NanoReview rates the A15’s battery life at 92 out of 100, but that reflects the phones, not the chip alone. Battery sizes and displays differ across models, so endurance varies. A used phone’s degraded battery matters more than the chip.
Connectivity is solid for most buyers. The chip supports 5G with downloads up to 7,500 Mbps and uploads up to 3,000 Mbps, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. There is no Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 here. In practice, buyers on sub-6 GHz 5G or LTE in Bangladesh, South Asia and much of Europe will see no daily difference. The extra headroom matters mainly for US buyers on mmWave networks.
Battery life is a property of the phone, not the chip, so no battery winner is declared here.
Who Should Buy an A15 Phone in 2026
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks make the used-buy case in one line: flagship speed at the lowest used price.
- Pick an A15 iPhone if: you want the cheapest iPhone that still feels fast, you play demanding games, or you value years of iOS updates.
- Skip it if: you need the newest on-device AI features, you want Wi-Fi 6E or 7, or a new A18 or A19 phone costs nearly the same.
Quick Answers
What do Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks show in 2026?
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks put the chip at 1,413,275 on AnTuTu 11 and 2,315 single-core and 5,753 multi-core on Geekbench 6. They sit within about 15 percent of the A16 Bionic.
Which phones use the Apple A15 Bionic?
The iPhone 13 range, iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, iPhone SE (2022), iPad mini 6 and Apple TV 4K (3rd generation). The Pro models and the iPhone 14 range carry the five-core GPU version; the base iPhone 13 models and the SE carry the four-core version.
Is the A15 Bionic still good for gaming?
Yes, for most titles. It scores 3,765 on 3DMark Solar Bay and 2,854 on Wild Life Extreme, with stability in the low to mid 70s under sustained load. Expect smooth play at high settings, with some throttling in long sessions.
Apple A15 Bionic Benchmarks: The Used-Buy Verdict
Apple A15 Bionic benchmarks confirm a simple point: a 2021 flagship chip can still outrun most 2026 mid-range silicon. The AnTuTu 11 total of 1,413,275 and the Geekbench 6 scores of 2,315 and 5,753 put it about 15 percent behind the A16. Gaming and daily speed hold up, with the GPU version caveat attached.
The limits are generational, not fatal. The Neural Engine is less than half the A17 Pro’s, there is no Wi-Fi 6E, and future AI features are unconfirmed. For a used buy, those are acceptable trade-offs at the right price. It is the cheapest way to get flagship-class speed.
Sources
- NanoReview, Apple A15 Bionic: specs and benchmarks, accessed November 1, 2026 (CR).
- NanoReview, Apple A16 Bionic: specs and benchmarks (CR).
- NanoReview, Apple A17 Pro: specs and benchmarks (CR).
- Wikipedia, Apple A15, accessed November 1, 2026.
Score methodology: Lab-reviewer (LR) scores come from named outlets’ controlled testing. Crowd (CR) scores come from aggregator databases (NanoReview) that pool user-submitted results and are less controlled. Company (MF) numbers are manufacturer claims. We treat LR as strongest, CR as directional, MF as attributed.
