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

[neuropsychguy]

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.

This is why people who complain about the "limited" hardware of iPhones are short-sighted. The point of hardware limitations is to encourage optimization (and maybe is an opportunity to annoy some software engineers too). Yes, it saves Apple some money and increases profit margins but it requires Apple's software and firmware teams to be efficient. Of course you can be efficient and have loads of RAM and CPU cycles but it's easier to start limited and then offer more hardware after optimization (and always encourage optimization after increasing resources; Apple used to do better at optimization).

Samsung's phones offer great hardware but they layer so much junk with TouchWiz that it negates many of the benefits of the great hardware specs. If someone likes using Android, there are better options than Samsung.

 

[mi7chy]

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?

I use both ecosystems extensively. Android caters more to the technical users who use their phone more like a PC whereas iOS is for the casual non-technical users.

The problem with using iOS to SSH into Cisco equipment is that there is a set connection limit and if iOS keeps killing the app and connection in the background without properly logging out then you get locked out of production equipment. Some apps like vSSH even warn of this iOS limitation.

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)

 

[GeneralChang]

I was all ready to be like "yeah yeah, a couple seconds advantage in a bizarre use case doesn't really say anything" but after just watching the load time on some of the individual apps... yeah, that says something.

 

[satchmo]

Could the Galaxy Note 7's AMOLED higher screen resolution cause the slower performance?

 

[bbbb4b]

Be fair. If the report said Apple lost, everyone would says speed tests don't matter. My point... speed tests don't matter.

Naw. People who can't accept simple facts, don't matter.

 

[Jsameds]

Could the Galaxy Note 7's AMOLED higher screen resolution cause the slower performance?

On some things, sure. That "Lapse It" test will be pure horsepower though, and just look at the speed difference there.

 

[SMIDG3T]

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/16/12491196/samsung-galaxy-note-7-review

The Verge are up their own you-know-what.

 

[Phoenixx]

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 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, FTP, bittorrent, etc.

This isn't a test of the chip in either phone. This is about loading speed, which is something different entirely. This is like saying that the loading times of software in your computer are a reflection of the processor, so you should get an i7 machine instead of an i5 if you want faster load times. Clearly this is idiotic. If you want faster load times, you need faster storage e.g. an SSD drive instead of a 5400 speed hard drive. That's all the results of this test show. Also, does the test also take into account the type of memory card installed in the Note 7? All that would need to be done to manipulate these results is a slow memory card and to load the apps from that.

 

[admob71]

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.

A quarter of the pixels that it has to push round the screen, you don't think that's worth mentioning. It's practically like looking at an 8 bit Sega mega drive screen compared to the notes screen. Pathetic in 2016!!

 

[redman042]

Fact is, Samsung just makes better hardware and software. Samsung's hardware has more cores and more RAM. So I have to think these tests are just false.

Which division of Samsung do you work for again? I mean seriously, you just said Samsung makes better software?? Even the most hardcore Android fans know that isn't true. A Galaxy contains carrier bloatware layered upon Samsung bloatware upon stock Android. And one doubts that more cores and more RAM doesn't necessarily equate to better performance? Heck, I can stick a Corvette engine in a big rig but it's still not going to beat a Mustang.

There has never, ever been a time where I've personally wished I could press harder on an interface element. Never.

I do it every day when I get in my car to go home. I do a hard press on the Google Maps app, slide down to Home, and immediately get directions (and more importantly, traffic reports with reroutes) in no more than one tap. Apple will be building on this feature in the future. Just wait.

 

[The Game 161]

iPhone is faster but would you base your next buy based on another phone being 1-2 secs faster than another?

Is this what things have become where it's bragging rights over loading apps a few secs faster? Isn't what the phone does and looks as important?

 

[I7guy]

A quarter of the pixels that it has to push round the screen, you don't think that's worth mentioning. It's practically like looking at an 8 bit Sega mega drive screen compared to the notes screen. Pathetic in 2016!!

So just to clarify your position you believe launching apps to pick an example is pixel dependent?

Have an extraordinary day sir!

 

[Keane16]

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 pleaseid 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.

Neither am I. That's why these tests mean more to me than spec sheets. Whilst you don't (and probably shouldn't) care about what's under the hood. You should care about daily performance.

Lets take the Safari tab refresh issue that so many users on this forum moaned about over and over on the iPhone 6 - we got noise (rightfully so) until the 6s got double the RAM and alleviated it. The Note 7 doesn't just refresh the tabs within a browser. It refreshes entire apps. That would drive me insane - I can hop between TweetBot, Apple Music, Safari, Telegram, Whatsapp, Messages and Notes pretty quickly on a normal day. If they had to reload like this video shows on a Note 7 it would be infuriating for me.

Not to mention the generally speedier performance adds up. Obviously personal use cases matter and if you only use one or 2 apps at a time you may see no benefit. Like for my parents this test would mean nothing. They generally need just one app at a time.

 

[Jsameds]

A quarter of the pixels that it has to push round the screen, you don't think that's worth mentioning. It's practically like looking at an 8 bit Sega mega drive screen compared to the notes screen. Pathetic in 2016!!

Much faster performance > a slightly sharper display

 

[keysofanxiety]

It's practically like looking at an 8 bit Sega mega drive screen compared to the notes screen. Pathetic in 2016!!

Spewing hyperbole like that diminishes your argument, rather than helping it.

 

[I7guy]

iPhone is faster but would you base your next buy based on another phone being 1-2 secs faster than another?

Is this what things have become where it's bragging rights over loading apps a few secs faster? Isn't what the phone does and looks as important?

If the note 7 Took the cupcake the "Samsung devotees" would be shouting from the rafters. I agree this is meaningless and one should buy what suits them.

 

[bbbb4b]

Could the Galaxy Note 7's AMOLED higher screen resolution cause the slower performance?

No.

 

[scott5626]

This shows the better optimization iOS apps have, nothing less, that's why the iPhone 6s destroys it. If you were to compare the stock system apps of both phones, you'd get pretty similar results, since stock apps are optimized obviously for both devices.

Not a Note 7 fanboy, I own the iPhone 6s. But the Note 7 is a fantastic smartphone in terms of specs and performance (at least compared to other Android phones). But I also adore the speed of my 6s.

Actually it's performance is quite terrible compared to other Android devices like One+ and HTC 10. (According to the XDA article)

 

[redman042]

A quarter of the pixels that it has to push round the screen, you don't think that's worth mentioning. It's practically like looking at an 8 bit Sega mega drive screen compared to the notes screen. Pathetic in 2016!!

You're forgetting a few things:

• The 6s Plus renders at 1242x2208 and then down samples to achieve the proper scaling (so it is both rendering more pixels at 1080 and then running a down-sampling algorithm).
• The tests run in the video have a lot more to do with CPU/OS efficiency and flash memory access than graphics rendering.

 

[admob71]

Any user should care more about this test than any other test.

Even which device has the best screen, or takes the best pictures? I'd wager most folk are more concerned with.those metrics than fractions of a second loading apps...

Have a nice day..

 

[The Game 161]

If the note 7 Took the cupcake the "Samsung devotees" would be shouting from the rafters. I agree this is meaningless and one should buy what suits them.

Of course, in the same way this wouldn't of been posted had note 7 been faster

iPhone will always be the faster OS as it's the smoothest experience you can get on any device.

 

[blackcrayon]

This is why people who complain about the "limited" hardware of iPhones are short-sighted. The point of hardware limitations is to encourage optimization. Yes, it saves Apple some money and increases profit margins but it requires Apple's software and firmware teams to be efficient. Of course you can be efficient and have loads of RAM and CPU cycles but it's easier to start limited and then offer more hardware after optimization.

Samsung's phones offer great hardware but they layer so much junk with TouchWiz that it negates many of the benefits of the great hardware specs. If someone likes using Android, there are better options than Samsung.

I agree with you on RAM, but not CPU. Apple's A series CPUs are anything but hardware limitations that their software has to work around. They're arguably the best in the industry at their application.

 

[spacemnspiff]

And I was expecting substantial battery life improvement over 6s Plus, battery size of the Note 7 is 3500mAh and 6s Plus is 2750 mAh. 27% increased battery size just gives 1.2% increased battery life for the Note7. Google and Samsung must be the best.

 

[Jsameds]

iPhone 7 (2016) will be the fastest phone of 2017.

 

[redman042]

I'm approaching one year with my 6s Plus, and I have to say, the phone is a beast when it comes to performance. For the first time in the history of my owning smartphones, I have a nearly one year old device that I have no desire to replace on account of performance. I might replace it with a 7 for the better camera or some other reason, but not because it's getting sluggish. It still just rips through any task I throw at it.

I can only imagine what the A10 will be like. Sure seems like Apple is close to a version of this chip that will run MacOS just as well as iOS, and Intel's days in Apple products are very numbered.