Apple's new A8X powered iPad Air 2 smokes new Android tablets, including Nvidia's Tegra K1 Shield Ta
New Geekbench processor benchmarks show Apple's triple core, 64-bit A8X Application Processor is dramatically faster than the latest Android tablets, despite their additional cores and faster clock rates.
Previous Android tablets ranging from Amazon to Samsung delivered multiple core benchmarks in the ballpark of Apple's original iPad Air, despite running much faster and incorporating two to three times as much RAM in a thicker--or in the case of Samsung, plastic--body. Their single core scores were significantly lower however, closer to Apple's fourth generation iPad from late 2012.
In 2013, Google's Nexus 7 similarly lagged Apple's iPad 4 in single core performance, but benchmarked higher for software that could take advantage of multiple cores. Nexus 7 was primarily marketed as being cheaper than similar iPads, but Google has since shifted its strategy for its latest crop of Nexus tablets, which are now more expensive.
The fastest Android tablet, a gaming-oriented device produced by Nvidia to show of the power of its Tegra K1 Application Processor, has ruled the roost in CPU benchmark performance since its release this summer, although it ironically can't run some of the most popular games, including top Google Play title "Five Nights at Freddy's."
Google's new, more expensive Nexus 9 will use a Tegra K1 similar to the Shield Tablet in a form factor designed to look and work more like an iPad than conventional 16:9 Android tablets. It will also be priced higher. The HTC-built Nexus 9's K1 uses Nvidia's new 64-bit "Denver" dual core CPU. It has not yet been released or benchmarked
[Update: According to figures published by GSMArena, Nexus 9 turns in scores (added below) that are much better in single core but only slightly better in multiple core benchmarks than the original Tegra K1 Shield Tablet. Its single core performance is similar to iPad Air 2 but its multiple core CPU performance is beat by the A8X iPad Air 2 by 34.8 percent.
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According to numbers published by Geekbench developer Primate Labs (above), Apple's iPad Air 2 is 39.8 percent faster than the K1 powered Shield Tablet in multiple core tests, even using three cores to the K1's four core chip design. In single core tasks, iPad Air 2 scores 67.9 percent faster than the K1.
Compared to Samsung's own Exynos 5420 Octa Application Processor, used in its Galaxy Tab S 10.5 introduced alongside the Shield Tablet this summer, Apple's iPad Air 2 is 69.5 percent faster in multiple core tasks (again with three cores to the Exynos' 4 active cores or 8 advertised cores) and 104 percent faster in single core tasks, even clocked significantly slower and with 2GB rather than 3GB of RAM.
AppleInsider is still waiting to obtain A8X GPU performance benchmarks for the new iPad Air 2, which should be interesting to compare against Nvidia's K1 "Kepler" GPU architecture, given Nvidia's core competency in GPU design. [Update: benchmarks here]
The less powerful A8 chip Apple uses in its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models already shows a large advance over the GPU performance of Samsung's ARM Mali-based GPU used in the Exynos 5 Octa versions of its Galaxy smartphones and phablets, and is roughly tied in core GPU performance with Qualcomm's Adreno 420 GPUs used in the Snapdragon 805, which powers most higher end Android smartphones.
However, due to limitations in Android software, as well as Android licensees' spec-centric engineering decisions that resulted in putting extremely high resolution 2K "WQHD" displays on 5 to 6 inch smartphones, Qualcomm's GPU performance parity with the A8 is erased, resulting in OpenGL ES 3.0 performance roughly half that of iPhone 6 Plus and even worse when compared to iPhone 6 at its native Retina HD resolution.
Previous Android tablets ranging from Amazon to Samsung delivered multiple core benchmarks in the ballpark of Apple's original iPad Air, despite running much faster and incorporating two to three times as much RAM in a thicker--or in the case of Samsung, plastic--body. Their single core scores were significantly lower however, closer to Apple's fourth generation iPad from late 2012.
In 2013, Google's Nexus 7 similarly lagged Apple's iPad 4 in single core performance, but benchmarked higher for software that could take advantage of multiple cores. Nexus 7 was primarily marketed as being cheaper than similar iPads, but Google has since shifted its strategy for its latest crop of Nexus tablets, which are now more expensive.
The fastest Android tablet, a gaming-oriented device produced by Nvidia to show of the power of its Tegra K1 Application Processor, has ruled the roost in CPU benchmark performance since its release this summer, although it ironically can't run some of the most popular games, including top Google Play title "Five Nights at Freddy's."
Google's new, more expensive Nexus 9 will use a Tegra K1 similar to the Shield Tablet in a form factor designed to look and work more like an iPad than conventional 16:9 Android tablets. It will also be priced higher. The HTC-built Nexus 9's K1 uses Nvidia's new 64-bit "Denver" dual core CPU. It has not yet been released or benchmarked
[Update: According to figures published by GSMArena, Nexus 9 turns in scores (added below) that are much better in single core but only slightly better in multiple core benchmarks than the original Tegra K1 Shield Tablet. Its single core performance is similar to iPad Air 2 but its multiple core CPU performance is beat by the A8X iPad Air 2 by 34.8 percent.
iPad Air 2 with a 3-core processor is the fastest multi-core iOS device by a large margin. pic.twitter.com/xBnjG613ba
-- Primate Labs (@primatelabs) According to numbers published by Geekbench developer Primate Labs (above), Apple's iPad Air 2 is 39.8 percent faster than the K1 powered Shield Tablet in multiple core tests, even using three cores to the K1's four core chip design. In single core tasks, iPad Air 2 scores 67.9 percent faster than the K1.
Compared to Samsung's own Exynos 5420 Octa Application Processor, used in its Galaxy Tab S 10.5 introduced alongside the Shield Tablet this summer, Apple's iPad Air 2 is 69.5 percent faster in multiple core tasks (again with three cores to the Exynos' 4 active cores or 8 advertised cores) and 104 percent faster in single core tasks, even clocked significantly slower and with 2GB rather than 3GB of RAM.
AppleInsider is still waiting to obtain A8X GPU performance benchmarks for the new iPad Air 2, which should be interesting to compare against Nvidia's K1 "Kepler" GPU architecture, given Nvidia's core competency in GPU design. [Update: benchmarks here]
The less powerful A8 chip Apple uses in its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models already shows a large advance over the GPU performance of Samsung's ARM Mali-based GPU used in the Exynos 5 Octa versions of its Galaxy smartphones and phablets, and is roughly tied in core GPU performance with Qualcomm's Adreno 420 GPUs used in the Snapdragon 805, which powers most higher end Android smartphones.
However, due to limitations in Android software, as well as Android licensees' spec-centric engineering decisions that resulted in putting extremely high resolution 2K "WQHD" displays on 5 to 6 inch smartphones, Qualcomm's GPU performance parity with the A8 is erased, resulting in OpenGL ES 3.0 performance roughly half that of iPhone 6 Plus and even worse when compared to iPhone 6 at its native Retina HD resolution.
Comments
Here go the fireworks again...
So the Air 2 has 2GB RAM. Can't wait for people to explain why it's not necessary.
LOL!
Here go the fireworks again...
Now that insightful.
Why a Kindle HDX7 and not the HDX8.9?
Probably the same people that will tell you they never have unjustified tab reloads in Safari.
This iPad rev so blows the competition out of the water that I'd rather see this iPad put up against Mac Book Airs and other laptops. Especially in the context of Intels integrated GPU's.
I still have tab reloads with my Air, but no where near as many with iOS8 as I did with 7. That being said, I do have an family history app that chokes with 1GB RAM, 2GB would help it nicely, I believe.
I'm really curious to see how Denver compares. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that will be the only other custom 64-bit ARM chip out there. It seems everything else is based on ARM reference designs.
Ease of use?
An iPhone/credit card is considerably easier to whip out and pay with.
Yo seriously, speaking as a true Fandroid, that new iPad is just such a waste!
It's too powerful now! Nobody on the planet has use for all of that power, least of all people like me, true Fandroids.
The most productive and important thing that I do all day is check on Facebook. What do I need all of that beastly power for?
Apple surely screwed up big this time.
And specs aren't everything! What really matters is user experience, and that's why I prefer Android, because let's face it, iOS is just too damn smooth for me. I enjoy jerkiness, I welcome lag and I happened to be in an automobile accident 8 years ago, which caused extensive damage to my eyes, and I am unable to detect anything higher than 12 frames per second.
Apple really needs to get their act together. Big time disappointed here.
Tell me about it. Like, I don't even think you get Google trackin your stuffs with this thing. Overpriced crap, ya ask me! iSheeps love their toys. Real people be buyin the Nexus 9, cause plastic is for cool people. Who wants hardware quality?! I want my SOC to have a 25W TDP! Can use it to warm my cocoa when I use this thing as a coaster in a month.
I'm sorry but I, personally, am unable to accept what you've said unless you tell us that you have owned at least five or more Android products, for how long you've been buying them, and how much Google stock you have.
(By the way, how many widgets do you have installed? I have 317. I bet you I have more than you and win!)
Tell me about it. Like, I don't even think you get Google trackin your stuffs with this thing. Overpriced crap, ya ask me! iSheeps love their toys.
I hear you brother!
Steve Jobs would never have allowed this to be released!
And the iPad doesn't even have a removable battery! I live in a mud hut, with no electricity and no running water (ebola here we come!), so any devices that I buy must have removable batteries, because I'm only near electricity once a week, twice if I'm lucky.
What's the big obsession with thinness anyway? My 1.5 inch thick convertible that weighs 2.4 lbs suits me just fine! I'm no weakling!
Preach, brother! I love carrying around three batteries to make it through the day with my Android phone!* I also needs that SD card slot cause I wants to load all my 32kbps music I gots from the Internet on it. Hey, you hear that we're getting that new Lollipop? I love that flat design, totally original. Gotta get me some more Googleaid!
*seriously, this was me when I had an Android phone. Worst mistake ever, didn't make it through the first year of my contract.
I'm sorry but I, personally, am unable to accept what you've said unless you tell us that you have owned at least five or more Android products, for how long you've been buying them, and how much Google stock you have.
(By the way, how many widgets do you have installed? I have 317. I bet you I have more than you and win!)
How dare you insinuate that I am not a true Fandroid!
I have owned Android devices since the very beginning, ever since they ripped off the first, original iPhone!
I will soon be purchasing my next and latest Android device. It has a lovely band-aid design on the back cover and it comes with a 19 megapixel camera that is sure to take better pictures than the iPhone 6+!
I'm really curious to see how Denver compares. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that will be the only other custom 64-bit ARM chip out there. It seems everything else is based on ARM reference designs.
I think that is correct.
Qualcomm's upcoming 64-bit Snapdragon 810/815 are based on ARM's big.LITTLE A57 + A53 spec, both are due next year.
Samsung's Exynos 7 (aka 5433) used in the Galaxy Note 4 is also based on ARM's big.LITTLE A57 + A53 spec and makes some use of the "new" ARMv8-A 64-bit architecture used by the A7 last year. But that chip is only designed to run in AArch32 mode, in part because Android isn't ready to use 64-bit and users wouldn't really benefit because most Android apps are not native but rather interpreted Java-esque applets.
It's also not clear to what extent Nexus 9 users will benefit from the "64-bit" Denver K1. The speed bump seems partly due to a slightly faster clock and architecture advances, more cache, etc.
Are developers going to go out of their way to enhance their apps to take advantage of the Nexus 9's chip, given that it will only ever make up an extremely tiny shred of the Google Play installed base? Most new iPhones and iPads sold over the last year were 64-bit, making it an obvious step to take.
Yo seriously, speaking as a true Fandroid, that new iPad is just such a waste!
It's too powerful now! Nobody on the planet has use for all of that power, least of all people like me, true Fandroids.
The most productive and important thing that I do all day is check on Facebook. What do I need all of that beastly power for?
Apple surely screwed up big this time.
And specs aren't everything! What really matters is user experience, and that's why I prefer Android, because let's face it, iOS is just too damn smooth for me. I enjoy jerkiness, I welcome lag and I happened to be in an automobile accident 8 years ago, which caused extensive damage to my eyes, and I am unable to detect anything higher than 12 frames per second.
Apple really needs to get their act together. Big time disappointed here.
Quote:
Tell me about it. Like, I don't even think you get Google trackin your stuffs with this thing. Overpriced crap, ya ask me! iSheeps love their toys. Real people be buyin the Nexus 9, cause plastic is for cool people. Who wants hardware quality?! I want my SOC to have a 25W TDP! Can use it to warm my cocoa when I use this thing as a coaster in a month.
What ticks me off with my iPad is I now have to mail lists of my shopping habits, location, internet searches, friends, contacts, visa cards into Google because "Apple" apparently won't collect if from me automatically!!! I mean what the hell?!! Where's the automatic malware installations?! For Pete's sake, I can't even manually install malware because I can't even find any for iOS! Apple is doomed! I give them 6 months. Sell the stock now!
The only saving grace will be if they allow two multi-tasking windows on the new iWatch.
What ever Apple decide is right usually is ... just not ending Aperture ...