The iPhone 16 Pro models should feature Apple's upcoming A18 Pro system-on-chip when those phones arrive later this fall. But leaked Geekbench scores supposedly showing the A18's performance suggests you may not be getting the performance boost you'd hope for.
This information comes to us from two separate posts on Weibo, one of which has since been deleted. In that post, the A18 Pro reportedly posted a single-core result of 3,570 and a multicore result of 9,310. If these numbers were correct it would mean A18 Pro would far exceed the numbers we recorded or the A17 Pro chipset when we reviewed the iPhone 15 Pro. That phone posted single- and multicore results of 2,890 and 7,914 respectively.
However, the other test results posted at Weibo weren't nearly as encouraging. Single- and multicore results in that listing were 2,822 and 8,571, respectively. Not only is that just ahead of what the A17 Pro produced, it's well behind leaked Geekbench results supposedly showing off the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
That chip, which we're expecting to see in October, reportedly posted a singl-core result of 3,500 — well ahead of some of the leaked A18 Pro results. (A multicore result wasn't included.) You'd expect to find the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in next year's Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Ultra, among other Android devices.
One of the leaked reports also indicates that the A18 Pro should see improved graphic performance — good news since recent Apple chips have lagged behind Snapdragon silicon in our graphics testing. Reportedly, in GFXBench's Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen benchmark (1440p), the A18 Pro posted a result of 83 frames per second. That's a 37% improvement over what the A17 Pro recorded on that same test.
While benchmark tests for unreleased silicon provide an interesting glimpse at potential performance improvements, don't assume they're the last word on how phones will perform in the real world. The leaked tests could have been run on chips that are yet to be optimized for final release, and a lot can change between now and next fall.
In the meantime, expect plenty of rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max to surface as we get closer to Apple's fall release.
