Apple A10 iPhone 7 speeds past Samsung Galaxy S8, Google Pixel, LG G6 & BBK 3T (with 2x RA...

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Apple's lead in mobile performance--powered by the efficiency of iOS 10 and the computational speed of its custom A10 Fusion Application Processor--beats the newest, leading premium Androids in a wide range of tests from processor and 3D benchmarks to real-world device startup and app launching and multitasking. Not even 6GB of RAM and the extra cores of Qualcomm's fastest Snapdragon 835 can prop up the laggard, inefficient Android OS.


iPhone 7 Plus soundly beat a series of premium Androids in an app launching test

Faster iOS, faster apps

Apple has maintained a lead in both benchmarks and real world performance through a series of factors, including its more efficient iOS and its custom-optimized A-series chips.

In a video test (pictured above, published to YouTube by EverythingApple) that involved cold launching of a series of apps ("Round 1") followed by switching back through each app ("Round 2"), iPhone 7 Plus opened the suite of games, productivity tools and other apps in just 2:44 minutes, roughly twice as fast as a series of leading Android flagships.

iOS was also able to switch back through all of those open apps in just 33 seconds. Each of the Android phones took either nearly twice as long (the BBK OnePlus 3T) or about 4 times as long (LG G6, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S8). The huge discrepancy between those two indicates that Android itself is not very good at managing apps in RAM. The fastest Android phone packs in a whopping 6GB, making it faster than the rest but still just half as quick at launching apps as an iPhone with half the RAM

While the latter three phones have 4GB of RAM (compared to 3GB in Apple's iPhone 7 Plus), the fastest Android phone packs in a whopping 6GB, making it faster than the rest but still just half as quick at launching apps as an iPhone with half the RAM. In addition to launching apps faster, the iPhone also booted up quicker.

Apart from the $440 3T, built by China's BBK (the same firm that builds Vivo and OPPO branded phones), all of these premium Android flagships are priced essentially in the same tier as Apple's newest iPhone 7 Plus: $720 for the S8, $750 for the G6 and $650 for the Pixel.

Google's Pixel is the worst performing Android flagship

The worst performing Android in both Geekbench and in real world app launching and booting is Google's own Pixel, apparently due to its slightly lower-clocked chip, and despite packing 4GB of RAM and all of the optimization and credibility Google can prop it up with.

David Pierce of Wired, Napier Lopez of TheNextWeb, Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica, Andrew Griffin of The Independent UK, Alex Dobie of Android Central, the staff of The Wirecutter, Steve Kovach of Business Insider, and--of course--Dan Seifert of the Verge and Dieter Bohn the Verge and Walt Mossberg of the Verge all declared the Google Pixel to be the very best Android available, in a world of Android-fans where apparently nobody cares about snappy performance, premium phone prices or having a phone that looks just like an iPhone.

Vlad Savov even wrote of the Pixel that "the Google phone is almost as good as the iPhone," again for the Verge----calling the whole point of Google's years of failed Android attempts with Nexus, Motorola and Pixel into question.

Despite all the glowing accolades from the Android press (and tons of web advertising from the world's top web advertiser), Google's Pixel has seen very limited actual sales. Apple Watch sold a similar number of units in the last quarter (estimates for both are around 4-5 million), and Apple Watch is a premium iPhone accessory, not a must-have smartphone that everyone carries.

Geekbench 4 benchmarks

A similar real-world lag in Android performance is revealed in artificial benchmarks. Using Geekbench 4, iPhone 7 Plus turned in single core scores faster than Androids with faster clocks, more CPU cores and all that additional RAM.

In fact, Apple's 2015 A9-powered iPhone 6s--and even its entry level iPhone SE--had no problem beating the 3T, G6 and Pixel (all running Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821) as well as Samsung's newest Galaxy S8 (powered by the newest Snapdragon 835) in single-core performance.




Only the Galaxy S8 was able to produce a multicore benchmark score slightly ahead of Apple's iPhone 7 Plus, but multicore performance is not a reflection of typical performance in real world use. Instead, it shows that the device's processor is tuned to run multiple benchmark threads at once. Few apps can actually make functional use of multiple cores, one of the primary reasons Apple has typically designed its A-series chips to use fewer, more powerful CPU processing cores across several generations of iPhones.

That reality is reflected in the Galaxy S8's inability to launch common apps and then switch between them as rapidly, even with 50 percent more RAM than the iPhone. Samsung's Android Galaxy S8 took 7:40 minutes to follow the iPhone 7 Plus through tasks that took iOS less than 3:20 minutes. Samsung's Android Galaxy S8 took 7:40 minutes to follow the iPhone 7 Plus through tasks that took iOS less than 3:20 minutes

AnTuTu benchmarks

In 3D graphics--which are a heavily-weighted portion of AnTuTu benchmarks--iPhone 7 Plus (as well the standard iPhone 7) also blew past the top Androids.

The tests performed in the YouTube video again show iPhone 7 Plus outpacing all of the newer Androids--including the Galaxy S8. AnTuTu's website shows even higher average scores for iPhone 7 than the video result did, but similarly depicts iPhone 7 leading all other Androids, which collectively (apart from the S8) report scores closer to Apple's previous generation iPhone 6s (which only featured 2GB of RAM, half that of all the Androids in the test).


Source: AnTuTu


AnTuTu added iPhones to its formerly Android-only benchmarks for the first time last year, offering an additional way to look at the performance gap that Apple's iOS and its A-series chips have over Android's best-performing phones.

Antutu's benchmarks are so closely watched by enthusiasts that in previous years, Samsung and other companies have deliberately worked to cheat the company's benchmarks to achieve a phony ranking, simply for bragging rights.

In 2013, Antutu changed its benchmarks specifically to block cheating, after Samsung along with Asus, HTC and LG, were repeatedly caught fudging their performance rankings.

"With the exception of Apple and [Google subsidiary] Motorola," AnandTech observed, "literally every single OEM we've worked with ships (or has shipped) at least one device" that has cheated in benchmarks.

Apple's 2017 iPhones faster yet

Samsung's Galaxy S8--and other Androids--have a limited window to ship before Apple unveils its anticipated iPhone 7s and iPhone 8 models this fall.

In addition to a faster version of its existing A10 Fusion, Apple may unveil its rumored new in-house GPU, as well as other enhancements incorporated in the upcoming iOS 11. Apple is expected to reveal more about its latest mobile OS release in June at its Worldwide Developer Conference, to be held this year in San Jose.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 75
    Google is a one horse dog and pony show. Gets most of it revenue from one product advertising revenue ......Google is DOOMED. DOOMED I tell ya. 
    watto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 2 of 75
    qwweraqwwera Posts: 281member
    Widgets!

    With Android you still get funky useless widgets!

    Don't forget the amazingness of customizable widgets!

    ...and side-loadable malware!!
    edited April 2017 cincymacchiamagman1979jahbladepropodmejsricredgeminipaargonautjbdragonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 75
    Android... lol! Rofl! 
    magman1979mejsricwatto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 4 of 75
    qwwera said:
    Widgets!

    With Android you still get funky useless widgets!

    Don't forget the amazingness of customizable widgets!

    ...and side-loadable malware!!
    And a back button!! My brother in law switched from android to iPhone, loved it, then switched back because the iPhone doesn't have a back button... lol
    cincymacchiamagman1979jahbladeajlredgeminipajony0Don.Andersen
  • Reply 5 of 75
    iPhone SE looks incredibly competitive, even with just 1GB of ram.

    And, the best value of the bunch.
    Mikeymikemagman1979qwwerachiaGeorgeBMacargonautwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 75
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Hmm... Fandroids infesting this site seem to be conveniently quiet at the moment.  They must be firing-up their spinning machines to fabricate some kind of fake-news on how this benchmark is somehow flawed or staged.
    chiamagman1979qwweralkruppredgeminipaargonautwatto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 7 of 75
    Google is a one horse dog and pony show. Gets most of it revenue from one product advertising revenue ......Google is DOOMED. DOOMED I tell ya. 
    Wall Street doesn't think so.  Alphabet has a much higher valued P/E than Apple and I'm fairly certain Google Search will go unchallenged by everyone.  Youtube shows no sign of letting up.  The highest praise goes to Google's Android for having such huge market share percentage.  The usual talk is how the iPhone is losing to Android and eventually Android will obliterate iOS.  I'm fairly certain Wall Street sees Alphabet as a much stronger growth entity than it sees Apple.  This is not my opinion but I think I'm in the minority.  Wall Street sees Alphabet's one-trick pony (search/ad) as more powerful than Apple's one-trick pony (iPhone).  P/Es don't lie.  All the FANG stocks put Apple to shame in terms of P/E and share gains.  Those are the stocks the big investors are betting on to crush Apple into powder.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 75
    The A10 is no slouch considering it can still hang with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835.  What is even more impressive is how the iPhone can do with far less RAM than nearly any Android smartphone and keep all those apps active in the background while Android has to close apps and reopen them.  I'd also like to see sustained benchmarks instead of just peak benchmarks.  I'll bet the A10 can run a longer time without thermal throttling to hold those benchmarks.  The smartphone industry doesn't give Apple's iPhone very much credit of being an excellent device.  All they talk about is how some Android smartphone is just as good as an iPhone and costs a whole lot less.  They even disregard Apple's customer support infrastructure as being nothing special.  I think there are a lot of people out there who have a bone to pick with Apple.  They can accept the high cost of a Tesla vehicle but think the iPhone is too expensive.  It's really crazy when it comes to the value of a product.

    I say give credit where credit is due.  There are some really nice Android smartphones out there and they're reasonably priced for those who can't afford more expensive smartphones.  However lumping all Android smartphones and saying they're all just as good as iPhones seems to me a bit of a stretch.  Most Android smartphones are not flagship smartphones whereas most iPhones are flagship quality.  Still, it's always going to come down to Samsung selling more smartphones than Apple without any regard to Samsung's vast smartphone pricing differences.  Just make it look as though the iPhone is no longer attractive to the masses because of some lack of innovation when it really comes down to the iPhone being more expensive than probably 80% of Samsung's smartphones.  Just overlook the obvious reasons but emphasize the headlines telling the number of unit sales.
    propodargonautpatchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 75
    DCJ0001DCJ0001 Posts: 63member

    That reality is reflected in the Galaxy S8's inability to launch common apps and then switch between them as rapidly, even with 50 percent more RAM than the iPhone. Samsung's Android Galaxy S8 took 7:40 minutes to follow the iPhone 7 Plus through tasks that took iOS less than 3:20 minutes. 

    iPhone 7 Plus has 3GB of RAM. Galaxy S8 has 6GB of RAM. 

    Galaxy S8 has 100% more RAM than the iPhone 7 Plus, not 50% more.

    Am I correct?
    rich gregorySoli[Deleted User]mejsricredgeminipaargonautwatto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 10 of 75
    DCJ0001 said:

    That reality is reflected in the Galaxy S8's inability to launch common apps and then switch between them as rapidly, even with 50 percent more RAM than the iPhone. Samsung's Android Galaxy S8 took 7:40 minutes to follow the iPhone 7 Plus through tasks that took iOS less than 3:20 minutes. 

    iPhone 7 Plus has 3GB of RAM. Galaxy S8 has 6GB of RAM. 

    Galaxy S8 has 100% more RAM than the iPhone 7 Plus, not 50% more.

    Am I correct?
    Only the version sold in Asia. In the US you get 4 GB.
    rezwitschiaCelTanargonautjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 75
    qwwera said:
    Widgets!

    With Android you still get funky useless widgets!

    Don't forget the amazingness of customizable widgets!

    ...and side-loadable malware!!
    And a back button!! My brother in law switched from android to iPhone, loved it, then switched back because the iPhone doesn't have a back button... lol
    But it does, you just swipe right from the left side to go backwards. Doesn't that count? I find that to be a far more elegant action than cluttering your phone with extra buttons. Did he try that and just not like it?
    Mikeymikeredgeminipaargonautwatto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 12 of 75
    The real kick-in-the-teeth is the 4K video encoding. iPhone 7 just kills the S8 and all other devices.

    Second kick-in-the-teeth is the S8 processors (Qualcomm or Exynos) are both on 10nm. The A10 is on (I think) 14/16nm? Imagine the A11 on 10nm.
    magman1979chiaredgeminipaargonautjony0watto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 13 of 75
    qwwera said:
    Widgets!

    With Android you still get funky useless widgets!

    Don't forget the amazingness of customizable widgets!

    ...and side-loadable malware!!
    And a back button!! My brother in law switched from android to iPhone, loved it, then switched back because the iPhone doesn't have a back button... lol

    So he switched back for an inconsistent feature? That's the number one complaint about the back button in Android.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 75
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    Well, no surprise. This is the result of software-hardware integrity. Such elegance and efficient designs are not to be expected from copycat and throw-mud-on-wall-see-which-one-sticks method ala Androids. To be honest, I am kinda curious how Pixel fails in this regards.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 75
    Well let me know if "true multitasking" wants a magazine or something. 

  • Reply 16 of 75
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    iPhone OS inherited the tradition from MacOS.  MacOS beat Windows OS.  iOS beats Android OS. 
    mejsric2old4funRoyfbwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 75
    qwwera said:
    Widgets!

    With Android you still get funky useless widgets!

    Don't forget the amazingness of customizable widgets!

    ...and side-loadable malware!!
    And a back button!! My brother in law switched from android to iPhone, loved it, then switched back because the iPhone doesn't have a back button... lol
    But it does, you just swipe right from the left side to go backwards. Doesn't that count? I find that to be a far more elegant action than cluttering your phone with extra buttons. Did he try that and just not like it?
    That's what I tried to get him to do. I guess he was unwilling to unlearn that which he had learned. Oh well.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 75
    Samsung has a huge advantage over the other Android makes. They make all of the components. 

    Google's real problem regarding the Pixel's poor sales is the fact that they can't get hold of any more OLED panels. And with Apple in the picture purchasing massive quantities of OLED panels, Samsung is going to kick Google to the curb so to speak. It's no secret that Samsung wants to move away from Android and over to Tizen. With their lock on high end hardware, they have the means to do so. It is going to take LG some time to ramp up OLED production and they will not be able to achieve the same economies of scale that Samsung now has. 

    It means that Google will be paying more for those OLED panels. They can either charge more or watch their margins disappear. 

    The A11 on 10 nm is going to scream. The GPU will enable levels of game play the Android market can only dream about. The A11 is going to even put a hurting on Intel's Portable Core i7 line. 

    In the end, there will be only two. Apple and Samsung. Google is going to have to double down on YouTube. Because Samsung is going to take the Android market from Google. 
    propodpatchythepiratewatto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 19 of 75
    ericesque said:
    Well let me know if "true multitasking" wants a magazine or something. 


    The funniest part about this is Android O is going to start suspending background Apps, instead of just letting them run freely.

    So after all these years of pretending Android has "true multitasking" (a made up term that's changed meaning over the years to make it appear iOS doesn't multitask), Android is now going to treat Apps similarly to how iOS does.

    I can't wait to see the reactions from the fandroids.
    magman1979chiaredgeminipaericesqueargonautpatchythepirateigorskywatto_cobraDon.Andersen
  • Reply 20 of 75
    Gavin1117Gavin1117 Posts: 3unconfirmed, member
    The iPhone se has 2GB of RAM, not one.
    edited April 2017
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