How to read this page. Each section starts Simple, then goes to a Deep dive: stop wherever you have what you need. The small numbers are sources: click one to open the original document. Where the maker has not published a figure -- a price, a die size, a factory address -- this page says so rather than estimate it.
1.At a glance
SimpleStart here
A15 Bionic shipped with two different GPU configurations under the same chip name — a 4-core GPU in the standard iPhone 13, a 5-core GPU in the Pro models. Announced 14 September 2021 1.
Deep diveThe technical detail
Apple’s own words for the Pro version: “5-core GPU in the Pro lineup that brings the fastest graphics performance in any smartphone,” a full extra GPU core over the standard iPhone 13’s 4-core configuration 2 — a documented, Apple-confirmed binning split, not an assumption.
2.Launch and history
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This was the first time in the A-series that Apple named a real hardware difference — an extra GPU core — between the “standard” and “Pro” iPhone using the same chip name that year.
Deep diveThe technical detail
The precedent this set carried forward: every A-series generation from A18 onward gave the base and Pro iPhone genuinely different chips (A18 vs. A18 Pro, A19 vs. A19 Pro), rather than one chip binned two ways under a single name. A15’s 4-core/5-core split was the last generation to use this single-name, dual-bin approach.
3.What’s inside it
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A six-core CPU (2 performance + 4 efficiency), a GPU that varies by device (4 or 5 cores), and a 16-core Neural Engine 1.
Deep diveThe technical detail
Apple states, verbatim: “has nearly 15 billion transistors” 1, and “uses 5-nanometer technology” — the same node as A14, no jump claimed for this generation 1. The base iPhone 13’s GPU is described as “up to 30 percent faster than the competition,” while the Pro’s 5-core GPU is described as “up to 50 percent faster than the leading competition” 12 — different percentages for different core counts within the same chip family and year.
4.Full spec table
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Six CPU cores, 4 or 5 GPU cores depending on device, a 16-core Neural Engine at 15.8 trillion operations per second, nearly 15 billion transistors, 5-nanometer process 1.
Deep diveThe technical detail
| Spec | Apple A15 Bionic |
|---|
| CPU | 6-core: 2 performance + 4 efficiency |
|---|
| GPU | 4-core (iPhone 13, 13 mini) or 5-core (13 Pro, 13 Pro Max) |
|---|
| Neural Engine | 16-core, up to 15.8 trillion operations/sec |
|---|
| Transistor count | Nearly 15 billion |
|---|
| Process node | 5 nanometer |
|---|
| Memory | Not disclosed by Apple |
|---|
Figures per Apple’s iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro launch material 12. The iPhone SE (2022) release independently confirms the identical 15.8 trillion-operations-per-second Neural Engine figure 3; the iPad mini (6th generation) release confirms only the 16-core count, without restating the TOPS figure 4.
5.Where it’s made
SimpleStart here
Apple states A15 Bionic uses 5-nanometer technology, the same node as A14 — no manufacturer is named.
Deep diveThe technical detail
Apple’s own words: “It uses 5-nanometer technology” 1 — notably, Apple does not claim a node improvement over A14 here, unlike the explicit “first” claims made for A12, A14, A17 Pro, and A20 Pro. No foundry is named.
6.Which systems use it
SimpleStart here
A15 Bionic shipped in iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max (2021); iPad mini, 6th generation (2021); and iPhone SE, 3rd generation (2022) 143.
Deep diveThe technical detail
The iPad mini release confirms the same 16-core Neural Engine 4, and the iPhone SE (2022) release independently confirms the full 15.8 trillion-operations-per-second figure stated for iPhone 13 3 — this generation’s Neural Engine spec did not vary by device, unlike its GPU.
7.Official pricing
SimpleStart here
Not applicable. A15 Bionic was never sold as a separate, priced component.
Deep diveThe technical detail
No official Apple source lists a standalone chip price for A15 Bionic.
9.What came before, what came next
SimpleStart here
Came before: A14 Bionic. Came after: A16 Bionic, announced September 2022.
Deep diveThe technical detail
A15 Bionic is the last A-series chip to hold at 5-nanometer; A16 Bionic’s generation is widely reported at a smaller node, though (as covered on that chip’s own page) Apple’s own material does not state an exact nanometer figure for A16 either.
10.Hidden in plain sight
SimpleStart here
Two iPhones launched the same day with the same chip name, but a genuinely different number of GPU cores inside.
Deep diveThe technical detail
Apple’s own releases confirm this precisely: 4-core GPU in iPhone 13 and 13 mini, 5-core GPU in iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max 12 — the same “A15 Bionic” badge covering two physically different chip configurations, a distinction Apple disclosed but did not put front and center in its own marketing.