iOS 18 Improves iPhone’s Neural Engine Performance by 25 Percent, Geekbench Score Suggests

AI features on iPhone will be powered by Apple Intelligence – the company’s privacy-focused AI system.

Written by Shaurya Tomer, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 19 June 2024 17:32 IST

iOS 18 Improves iPhone’s Neural Engine Performance by 25 Percent, Geekbench Score Suggests

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Amanz

An iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18 scored more points in the Geekbench ML Score compared to iOS 17

Highlights

Apple is said to improve the iPhone’s ML performance with iOS 18
An iPhone on iOS 18 scored better in machine learning tests than iOS 17
AI features on iPhone are powered by Apple Intelligence

iOS 18 – Apple's latest operating system for the iPhone – appears to be boosting the Neural Engine performance of the handset by as much as 25 percent, according to claims online. The update, announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 on June 10, is expected to bring several artificial intelligence (AI) features to the iPhone, in addition to other quality-of-life improvements. As part of this AI initiative, it has allegedly given a boost to the handset's Neural Engine.

iOS 18 brings better NPU performance

According to a post by user @lafaiel on X (formerly Twitter), an iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18 scored 7,816 points in the Geekbench ML Score test compared to a score of 6,249 on iOS 17.5.1. This translates into an approximately 25 percent better performance in the handset's machine learning capabilities.

After iOS 18 update,
Geekbench machine learning score has greatly improved
(CoreML / Neural Engine Backend) pic.twitter.com/23cZm4qYCI
— INIYSA (@lafaiel) June 16, 2024

The CoreML Neural Engine Inference was tested in the benchmarks which is responsible for the machine learning tasks on the handset, taking advantage of hardware such as the CPU and the NPU (or in Apple's terms, the Neural Engine). While an NPU works along the same lines as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), instead of accelerating the graphics, it boosts the neural network operations.

iOS 18 is set to bring several notable upgrades to the iPhone, the centre of which are the new AI capabilities that the company calls “Apple Intelligence”. Courtesy of it, the update will bring system-wide text-generation and summarisation capabilities. The iPhone will also support image generation with the help of a new app called Image Playground. Furthermore, Siri – Apple's voice assistant – is also getting smarter with On-Screen Awareness.

Compatibility

Notably, only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max powered by the A17 Pro SoC will receive the new AI features across systems. Although Apple has seeded the iOS 18 Developer Beta 1 update to users around the world, Apple Intelligence features will be rolled out later this year and initially only in English (US).

iOS 18 compatibility list includes iPhone XR and later models, up to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

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Apple iPhone XR

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Best-in-class performance
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Dual SIM is finally an option
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Read detailed Apple iPhone XR review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A12 Bionic

Front Camera 7-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel

RAM 3GB

Storage 64GB

Battery Capacity 2942mAh

OS iOS 12

Resolution 828x1792 pixels

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Choose a variant

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A17 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 17

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Excellent display
USB Type-C
AAA gaming
Excellent all-round performance
Good primary and telephoto camera
Customisable Action Button

Bad
Gets hot quickly when stressed
Slow wired charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Apple A17 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 17

Resolution 1290x2796 pixels

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Further reading: Apple, iOS 18, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple Intelligence, AI, Artificial Intelligence

Shaurya Tomer

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Shaurya Tomer is a Sub Editor at Gadgets 360 with 2 years of experience across a diverse spectrum of topics. With a particular focus on smartphones, gadgets and the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), he often likes to explore the industry's intricacies and innovations – whether dissecting the latest smartphone release or exploring the ethical implications of AI advancements. In his free time, he often embarks on impromptu road trips to unwind, recharge, and ...More