The A20 Pro matches a GTX 1650 in GTA V

For Apple, the conversation about phone chips that can run big games started with the A17 Pro. In 2026 the A20 Pro moved further: a 7-core GPU, new packaging and a larger vapor chamber in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. In a fresh GTA V run the chip reached GeForce GTX 1650 territory at similar graphics settings. The game is running through emulation, which is what makes a phone-versus-desktop comparison notable in the first place.

A poster named Vapor recorded the built-in benchmark on an iPhone 18 Pro Max. A drive through the city averaged about 66 frames per second, and other scenes reached about 80. The resolution was 1080p under DirectX 11. Textures were high, with FXAA, 16x anisotropic filtering, population density at 75%, distance scaling at 50%, sharp shadows on and MSAA off. The person who posted the clip says the work is not finished and small problems remain.

More GPU cores alone would not have been enough under a long load. A phone's passive cooling still hits a ceiling. Wccftech ties the steadier frame rate to Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module packaging on the 2 nm chip, with DRAM set apart, and to the larger vapor chamber in the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Against the A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the new chip was up to 50% faster in big games, and the 1% lows improved by 77%.

The previous pass at the same GTA V on an iPhone 17 Pro Max, through an Xbox 360 emulator, barely stayed above 20 frames. The talk now is 66 to 80 on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Wccftech estimates the A20 Pro leads the GTX 1650 by about 1,180% in performance per watt.