iPhone 6s Bests Samsung's New Galaxy Note 7 in App Speed Test

[MacRumors]

Earlier this month, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note 7, its newest smartphone with a 14-nanometer Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM, a 12-megapixel camera, waterproofing, and wireless charging.

Spec wise, the Galaxy Note 7 seems to best the dual-core A9 processor and the 2GB RAM of the iPhone 6s, but based on a new speed test, it's clear raw hardware can't quite match superior hardware and software integration when it comes to real world usage.

In the performance comparison in which the two phones simultaneously launched the same apps, Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 was thoroughly defeated by the iPhone 6s, despite the Note 7's cutting edge hardware and the fact that it's a year newer than Apple's latest iPhone.

The iPhone was able to launch apps in succession at a much faster rate than the Galaxy Note 7, launching 14 apps (including rendering a video) in one minute and 21 seconds and eventually lapping the Galaxy Note 7, which took two minutes and four seconds to complete the same tasks. The iPhone was able to cycle through two laps of the app test in one minute and 51 seconds, while the Note 7 took two minutes and 49 seconds, almost a full minute longer.

This is just a single test that compares an unusual usage scenario, but it does suggest Apple's efforts to deeply integrate hardware and software give the iPhone some significant benefits compared to even the latest Android devices.

Apple will be announcing a new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in the near future with improved hardware that includes a faster, more efficient A10 processor and perhaps more RAM, at least in the larger device. The new phones are expected to debut in early September with a launch coming later in the month.

Article Link: iPhone 6s Bests Samsung's New Galaxy Note 7 in App Speed Test

 

[639051]

XDA Developers had a pretty condemning report of the Note 7. For an $850+ device, that is pathetic.

 

[spiderman0616]

With half the RAM too.

 

[farewelwilliams]

inb4 "but it's not scientific"

keep in mind that an average user probably cares more about this test than a Geekbench test.

 

[djang0]

It totally 'bests' it.

 

[JonneyGee]

This comparison will be even more fun in a month or so after the iPhone 7 is launched.

 

[SMIDG3T]

The fact the iPhone 6s is one year old, that's ridiculous. And as spiderman0616 said above, the 6s only has 2GB of RAM. Apple's chip architecture is outstanding. The A10 chip will blow everything out of the water.

 

[morcutt11]

This is just a single test that compares an unusual usage scenario, but it does suggest Apple's efforts to deeply integrate hardware and software give the iPhone some significant benefits compared to even the latest Android devices.

And there you have it.

 

[BeSweeet]

This comparison will be even more fun in a month or so after the iPhone 7 is launched.

That's just rubbing it in.

 

[vajrakagyu]

Also XDA has an in depth performance review corroborating the findings in the video above. Yet, heavily funded sites like the Verge give it a 9/10 performance score....

 

[mi7chy]

This test is meaningless since it's not something that people normally do. Also, Android and iOS behave differently in regards to background multitasking with Android allowing apps to run in the background like a modern PC whereas on iOS apps get suspended in the background then killed after three minutes so it's inadequate if you need to run an app that requires a persistent connection in the background like SSH, VNC, RDP, FTPS, bittorrent, etc. Apps like vSSH even warn of this iOS limitation. That's why iOS can get away with lower specs/DRAM/battery since it's not true multitasking and more like task switching.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vssh/id527244258

- Background work (up to 3 minutes for iOS 7+, up to 10 minutes for iOS 5/6, alert on timeout)

Now, that we're aware of the 3 minute kill limitation of iOS we can question why they massaged this test to run under 3 minutes to avoid iOS killing and reloading apps. If they actually use all the apps they open like most people do the test would run over 3 minutes and show just how more meaningless this test is.

 

[NutsNGum]

To be fair, I find myself launching several apps in quick succession much less frequently than I used to. i.e. never.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Yay, I'm happy for the iPhone 6s. However I really don't care about these tests to see which is "the best." I'm quite pleased with the performance of my phone, and if I owned this Samsung one, I'm confident I'd be equally as pleased. I'm not a spec junky like I used to be 15 years ago.

 

[Avieshek]

Hope, the more the publicity of this news grows, the more the Samsung learn it's lesson.

 

[justinf77]

Not surprising at all. I had an S7 Edge and although the phone was beautiful and had the best screen I've ever seen in my life, I could not stand the constant lag, sluggishness, and choppy animations. Gave it a try for over a month and had to go back to the 6S Plus.

No comparison between iPhone and Samsung devices, the iPhone blows them away in terms of real world speed.

(This is a Samsung problem, not an Android one. I also tried a Nexus 6P and the phone was smooth as butter, though still not quite as fast as a 6S.)

 

[SMIDG3T]

To rub it in:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10559/the-samsung-galaxy-note7-s820-review/4

Look at the top FOUR screenshots...

 

[VMMan]

It's still Tim's fault.

 

[shk718]

I guess Samsung cant xerox everything Apple does

And i Love all the blog posts about how this phone blows away everything Apple has done and that Samsung is innovating and Apple isn't. Nice try guys!

 

[profets]

Bit of a doozy of a review here too:

http://www.xda-developers.com/with-...delivers-embarrassing-real-world-performance/

The same lag carries onto scrolling performance in many applications, and infrequently in every application after heavy continuous usage. The phone does not get too hot, mind you, but we do notice that after continuous sessions, it progressively begins misbehaving. Scrolling behavior in particular is behind what you’d expect out of an $850 device...

...The stock keyboard still sees issues with split-second lockups, and the sharing menu on the Note 7 often leaves you waiting for options to load.

After all these years the UI still stutters? Wow

 

[coolfactor]

This test is meaningless since it's not something that people normally do. Also, it's not a direct comparison since Android allows apps to run in the background like a computer whereas on iOS apps get killed after three minutes in the background so it's inadequate if you need to run an app that requires a persistent connection in the background like SSH, VNC, RDP, FTP, bittorrent, etc.

I don't have much experience with those `pro`-level apps, although I will likely dig more deeply into that with my new phone upgrade. But how accurate is your statement? You've used both operating systems and found that Android works better for these types of apps?

Also, it's ironic that Apple has needed Samsung in order to deliver the iPhone that we all enjoy today, so Samsung still wins, in a way.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Double the cores. Double the RAM. Nearly double the clockspeed.

Still gets spanked when it comes to running an OS smoothly. That's optimisation for you.

 

[nocturnum]

"Tech reviewers" competing for attention with annoying music, dumb logos and pointless tests.

 

[paul4339]

Both phones seems pretty fast and usable to me... the only exception was the sluggishness (the spinning wheel), from the Note 7 when using Photoshop... and maybe the part when they were using Lapse-It.

.

 

[longofest]

To rub it in:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10559/the-samsung-galaxy-note7-s820-review/4

Look at the top FOUR screenshots...

So, Samsung is just now catching up to where Apple was 2 years ago with the iPhone 6 - at least in terms of performance.

To be fair, there are other aspects of the device that Samsung is clearly better than Apple on - the display is what comes to mind the most.

 

[djcerla]

Apple is going to destroy everyone with the A10. Their advantage is so huge it's not even funny anymore.

This said, the performance of the Note 7 is an embarrassement for Samsung; and for sites like The Verge that kindly overlook every problem in exchange for a fat advertising cheque.