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iPhone 14 Pro Over 20% Faster Than Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in Benchmarks
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Most of the name brand smart phones are more than fast enough. For me I look for a phone that is easy to use with a good battery usage time.
No surprise here, Apple's A chips are beastly. To be fair though, I never experience any lag whatsoever with my Z Fold 4 and I multi-task with 3 apps all the time.
So, what 'productivity' tasks are you doing on your phone where the speed difference between the Snapdragon and the A16 makes a noticeable difference in real world usage? I'm genuinely curious.
Samsung makes some nice looking phones. But it’s Android and that taints it for me. I much prefer Apple’s iOS better and how it easily syncs with my other devices.
Samsung has but two things I think have appeal: entry level models and expandable storage. But I can live without either of those.
My current 8+ underscores why I like Apple’s iPhone. It serves all my needs and has been going strong going on five years. Currently I want to get a new phone, but I don’t actually need a new phone given my 8+ has given me zero issues. And this was true of my previous iPhones as well. Among other things that durability and history of issue free service is reassuring.
Samsung has but two things I think have appeal: entry level models and expandable storage. But I can live without either of those.
My current 8+ underscores why I like Apple’s iPhone. It serves all my needs and has been going strong going on five years. Currently I want to get a new phone, but I don’t actually need a new phone given my 8+ has given me zero issues. And this was true of my previous iPhones as well. Among other things that durability and history of issue free service is reassuring.
There’s a new show on Apple TV called “Slow S23-Ultras”, everything is 20% slower, everyone talks 20% slower 😂
Ha!
While I do mostly agree, I got a Zfold 4 a short while back to play with the form factor and it is great having the option to switch between basic phone functions and a tablet on the same device. The front screen is too thin for most things, but fine for basic use.
Anyway, my point is I doubted the usability aspect of a folding phone until I tried one and it is not perfect, but it is far from as bad as I thought.
As others have noted, smartphones - the flagships, at least, have basically been as fast as needed for many years now.
So what's the point?
Well there's a very good point. This competition (whether with a company's own previous generations, or a competitor) keeps pushing those numbers up until we get to new inflection points. Points at which new things become possible that we just haven't been able to do before. It's not about incrementally making your web pages load faster!
Take the Apple Silicon transition, for example. That happened off the back of the years of investment in the A series chips for iOS devices. If the A series had plateaued when it was "good enough" would the M series have been ready when it was, if ever?
We also have AR/ VR stuff coming (which is more about GPU, but raw CPU will likely help there, too). Perhaps other devices we don't know about yet.
Each year we get new iPhones (and iPads) that have a bundle of new features, or new designs. Improved CPU is only one of those, and hasn't really been the selling point for many years. But if that number didn't go up we'd complain! (look at what happened when the base iPhone 14 got last year's chip - and that's not even the flagship!)
That might not be entirely rational, but for now it helps fuel the other advancement towards making the next big thing possible - so let's not rock the boat
And that's before we talk about efficiency and trickle down to smaller chips - like the Watch chips - which could still do with some advancement. The pressure to move to smaller process sizes impacts both of those in positive ways - but it all comes from the flagship end, where the money is made.
So what's the point?
Well there's a very good point. This competition (whether with a company's own previous generations, or a competitor) keeps pushing those numbers up until we get to new inflection points. Points at which new things become possible that we just haven't been able to do before. It's not about incrementally making your web pages load faster!
Take the Apple Silicon transition, for example. That happened off the back of the years of investment in the A series chips for iOS devices. If the A series had plateaued when it was "good enough" would the M series have been ready when it was, if ever?
We also have AR/ VR stuff coming (which is more about GPU, but raw CPU will likely help there, too). Perhaps other devices we don't know about yet.
Each year we get new iPhones (and iPads) that have a bundle of new features, or new designs. Improved CPU is only one of those, and hasn't really been the selling point for many years. But if that number didn't go up we'd complain! (look at what happened when the base iPhone 14 got last year's chip - and that's not even the flagship!)
That might not be entirely rational, but for now it helps fuel the other advancement towards making the next big thing possible - so let's not rock the boat
And that's before we talk about efficiency and trickle down to smaller chips - like the Watch chips - which could still do with some advancement. The pressure to move to smaller process sizes impacts both of those in positive ways - but it all comes from the flagship end, where the money is made.
Apple is going to revive the modular PC idea with the phone as the centerpiece soon. I will put this theory up against any from Gurman.
I got one to play with and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.
Now imagine that Apple ran an ad about how the S23 Ultra runs slower in benchmarks than a phone released in 2021? That's exactly how Samsung markets. Really puts Samsung's petty marketing in perspective huh?
And if so I'm going to claim I predicted that 10 years ago
https://levelofindirection.com/blog/the-future-of-computing.html (esp. the section "Evenly distributed").
(I just read that back and its amazing how much has already come to pass, in some form)
Agreed. I remember a time when every six months the leaps in performance were pretty significant. Now I can own any major phone for 2-3 years and be content, assuming software updates.
Great, great. And how many people do you think are going to rush out to sell their Samsung phones to buy an iPhone? A nothing burger article.
“Benchmarks don’t matter”
They matter. It’s all about technology and pushing the boundaries of it. The fact that TikTok opens fast enough on both devices is irrelevant for us who like the tech.
They matter. It’s all about technology and pushing the boundaries of it. The fact that TikTok opens fast enough on both devices is irrelevant for us who like the tech.
I have the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the S22 Ultra and can use them side by side and have not yet noticed any difference in performance. BUT my 14 PM is battery king by a long shot.
Why not include the GPU benchmarks, you just pick and choose to make yourself feel better. The GPU on the 8 gen 2 smokes the A16 out of the water. Be fair in your comparisons
Not surprised at all. A16 is the best mobile SoC on the market.
Btw there is A16 score with 5600+ for multi.
Btw there is A16 score with 5600+ for multi.
Real world tests and games showed completely difference scenario for the GPU.
Well, I have some bad news for you if you're an Android fan.