iPhone 12 smokes Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with incendiary A14 Bionic benchmark

The Apple iPhone 12's A14 Bionic processor's benchmark scores just leaked online, and it doesn't look good for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

Apple iPhone 12
(Image credit: Muhsin M. Belaal Auckburaully | DBS Designing)

Mere weeks ago in T3's Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review we were blown away by the phone's extreme performance, with us stating that the handset wields "hyper premium hardware like a barbarian warlord in the midst of battle", bludgeoning off all comers with immense power and a quality end-user experience.

However, if a fresh Apple iPhone 12 leak out of China is to be believed, then the S20 Ultra is soon to be well and truly dethroned. That's because what is reportedly the iPhone 12's A14 Bionic processor's benchmark scores have just broken cover, and they prove very difficult reading for its rivals.

As can be seen in the image below, which was posted by the original reporter Gizchina, the A14 Bionic Geekbench 5 benchmark scores are apparently now in, with the much anticipated system on a chip racking up a Single-Core Score of 1,658 and a Multi-Core Score of 4,612.

Apple iPhone 12 benchmark

(Image credit: Gizchina)

Now, for a little bit of perspective, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, equipped with the current flagship Android processor, the Snapdragon 865, delivered a Single-Core Score of 939 and a Multi-Core Score of 2,815 when T3 ran Geekbench 5 during its review. That is a drop off of 719 points on a single core, and a whopping 1,797 points on multi core compared to these supposed iPhone 12 scores.

Indeed, judging purely on Geekbench 5's benchmarking tech, it looks like the A14 Bionic could be going on twice as fast and powerful as the Snapdragon 865. And, while it is likely we'll see a Snapdragon 865+ by the end of the year, as well as a new SoC from Samsung itself (its Exynos range) and Huawei, it sure looks like Apple could have the mobile CPU crown already firmly on its head once more for 2020.

Which, actually, is par for the course for Apple. The American phone maker has had the mobile and tablet SoC market on lock for a long while now, with its processors repeatedly outperforming its Android rivals year after year.

Naturally, if this benchmark is accurate, and Gizchina has a pretty good reputation for reporting on leaks that go on to be genuine, then this is great news for Apple fans currently eagerly waiting on the iPhone 12 range. Currently, there isn't too much smoke around the iPhone 12 in terms of information, however a picture of the handset is starting to take shape. Only two days ago, for example did information land about the handset's rumoured advanced new camera system.

In addition, it has also been reported that Apple is set to ditch the notch on the iPhone 12, and replace it with a pin hole camera. This isn't the ideal scenario, which was so wonderfully visualised recently by super talented concept designer Muhsin M. Belaal Auckburaully, who presented a bezel-free, full-screen iPhone 12 with an under screen camera (see below video), but a pin hole would no doubt deliver an aesthetic improvement.

It's also been indicated by respected industry analysts that the iPhone 12 is going to come with next-gen 5G connectivity, too, and that it will rock some pretty amazing new software features courtesy of iOS 14.

Which when you factor all together, along with this latest benchmark leak, presents a picture of a serious upgrade for iPhone fans, and a thorn in the side of Android phone makers. Hopefully we will learn more about the Apple iPhone 12 soon, as too what Samsung plans to counter it with, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20.

Robert Jones

Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.