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All iPads Real world performance: Snapdragon 800 vs Apple A7

macfacts

macfacts

macrumors 603
Original poster
Oct 7, 2012
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Cybertron
Here is a video I made of web browsing in Chrome on both my Note 3 (Snapdragon 800 soc) vs my iPad mini retina (Apple A7 soc, same as iphone5s, and ipad air).

In the benchmarks I've read, the Apple A7 is fast but in real world usage it seems slow. This is my first iOS device and have used android devices before and never experienced lag like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvVsElyQuQ
 
Obviously that's not normal. Is it always like that? I imagine it's not like that after a fresh boot.
 
macfacts said:
Here is a video I made of web browsing in Chrome on both my Note 3 (Snapdragon 800 soc) vs my iPad mini retina (Apple A7 soc, same as iphone5s, and ipad air).

In the benchmarks I've read, the Apple A7 is fast but in real world usage it seems slow. This is my first iOS device and have used android devices before and never experienced lag like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvVsElyQuQ
Click to expand...

Odd, yours seems like a pretty extreme case, all in all. I've used chrome on iOS and it was never that bad. That said, I think it partially is due to Chrome being a google application, which runs natively and smoothly on it's own operating system (at least it should). I'm not an expert, but that definitely seems strange to have SO much lag.

I'm sure others will chime in regarding this...
 
Wow. That lag on the Mini is awful. It almost seems like a bad digitizer. I haven't experienced that kind of lag on mine. I would know. It's very obvious.
 
ZBoater said:
Wow. That lag on the Mini is awful. It almost seems like a bad digitizer. I haven't experienced that kind of lag on mine. I would know. It's very obvious.
Click to expand...

It isn't a digitizer issue. Scrolling and touch input is responsive in simple text web pages and in the "mobile" version of that web page in Safari. I used Chrome because Safari won't give me the desktop version of the web page and cause Safari won't let me pinch to zoom or tap to zoom.

It seems the CPU in the iOS device is just not as fast as other devices.

Here is the link to the web page I showed in the video for you to test yourself in Chrome (with "show desktop version" setting set).

http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-charged-aggravated-assault/story?id=20926767
 
You want us to pat you on the back for finding a crummy webpage that cripples Webkit? Go to apple.com and show me that lag.
 
macfacts said:
It seems the CPU in the iOS device is just not as fast as other devices.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'd reach the same conclusion from that test. It could be a iOS 7 issue. It could be a iOS Chrome issue. I'd have to see some performance benchmarks to reach the same conclusion you did.
 
macfacts said:
Here is a video I made of web browsing in Chrome on both my Note 3 (Snapdragon 800 soc) vs my iPad mini retina (Apple A7 soc, same as iphone5s, and ipad air).

In the benchmarks I've read, the Apple A7 is fast but in real world usage it seems slow. This is my first iOS device and have used android devices before and never experienced lag like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvVsElyQuQ
Click to expand...

Everyone knows chrome is far slower on iOS vs Safari and Chrome on Android as it is not the native browser and doesnt have access to nitro like Safari does on iOS for security reasons. Anand has performance tests.
 
conorporter said:
You want us to pat you on the back for finding a crummy webpage that cripples Webkit? Go to apple.com and show me that lag.
Click to expand...

The thread is for real-world performance. People visit abc.com much more than they visit apple.com. Let's be honest, Apple (and Macrumors in general) are always extolling the real-world superiority of Macs, iPads, etc, benchmarks and specs aside. I think this thread is perfectly reasonable. In fact, OP should probably be using Safari to be perfectly real-world about it as that's by far the most popular iOS browser.
 
g35 said:
The thread is for real-world performance. People visit abc.com much more than they visit apple.com. Let's be honest, Apple (and Macrumors in general) are always extolling the real-world superiority of Macs, iPads, etc, benchmarks and specs aside. I think this thread is perfectly reasonable. In fact, OP should probably be using Safari to be perfectly real-world about it as that's by far the most popular iOS browser.
Click to expand...

Every other browser is dead in the water on iOS because its a webview which is far and away slower than the browser engine Safari runs on. Web pages load up instantly for me in safari.
 
Why would I want to use Chrome? Page loads quickly on Safari. No lag whatsoever. Why not also try it with Safari on the Note and then compare with ipad?
 
Ford engines run like crap dropped into a Chevy body too.

Chrome running slowly on an iPad sounds like an Android salesman's trick.
 
AdonisSMU said:
Every other browser is dead in the water on iOS because its a webview which is far and away slower than the browser engine Safari runs on. Web pages load up instantly for me in safari.
Click to expand...

As I said before, Safari will only show me the "mobile" versions of webpages. So what I see is a blown up smartphone interface on the tablet, something the extreme fanboys always bring up when attacking android.

I want to see the desktop versions of some webpages so that is why I used Chrome.
 
macfacts said:
As I said before, Safari will only show me the "mobile" versions of webpages. So what I see is a blown up smartphone interface on the tablet, something the extreme fanboys always bring up when attacking android.

I want to see the desktop versions of some webpages so that is why I used Chrome.
Click to expand...

Or you can just scroll to the links at the bottom that let you choose the desktop experience. Thats what I do if I prefer it. Most sites have iPhone view and desktop view and nothing in between. With gmail I prefer the mobile experience.
 
Last edited:
macfacts said:
Here is a video I made of web browsing in Chrome on both my Note 3 (Snapdragon 800 soc) vs my iPad mini retina (Apple A7 soc, same as iphone5s, and ipad air).

In the benchmarks I've read, the Apple A7 is fast but in real world usage it seems slow. This is my first iOS device and have used android devices before and never experienced lag like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvVsElyQuQ
Click to expand...

If I try scrolling in the middle of the page, it's like your video. But if I scroll on the very right edge of the screen/page, it scrolls very well! Something is very wrong with the site.:eek:
imo.
 
macfacts said:
It isn't a digitizer issue. Scrolling and touch input is responsive in simple text web pages and in the "mobile" version of that web page in Safari. I used Chrome because Safari won't give me the desktop version of the web page and cause Safari won't let me pinch to zoom or tap to zoom.

It seems the CPU in the iOS device is just not as fast as other devices.

Here is the link to the web page I showed in the video for you to test yourself in Chrome (with "show desktop version" setting set).

http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-charged-aggravated-assault/story?id=20926767
Click to expand...
That link runs butter smooth in Safari. Chrome is not the browser of choice for iOS and hasn't been for a long time...
 
I'd rather just enjoy what I prefer than reveal the truth.

Lately it seems emotions run high amongst the Apple faithful causing them distress. Why compare if it's so traumatic...

Overall my Apple products are just fine :)
 
If devs would build a proper responsive site we wouldn't need to switch. But anyway, Safari has access to a faster JavaScript engine—and I think it's due to security reasons because it can more directly access system memory which speeds things up. Third party apps don't have access to that, which is why I always stick with Safari. It's rather apparent during casual browsing using what is essentially UIWebView. You think that's Chrome that you're using? It's watered down Safari. Anything else is a security risk.
 
macfacts said:
Here is a video I made of web browsing in Chrome on both my Note 3 (Snapdragon 800 soc) vs my iPad mini retina (Apple A7 soc, same as iphone5s, and ipad air).

In the benchmarks I've read, the Apple A7 is fast but in real world usage it seems slow. This is my first iOS device and have used android devices before and never experienced lag like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvVsElyQuQ
Click to expand...

That's not a real world test. Chrome doesn't render that page correctly on iOS.
 
This has NOTHING to do with the CPU. It comes down to rendering engines, web technologies used and compatibility, etc.

And for the record, Chrome is not slower than Safari. It has a slower JavaScript engine, but that's nothing anybody would notice in day-to-day usage. I ran that desktop website on both Safari and Chrome and both were similarly unresponsive.
 
That site crashes chrome on my iphone 5. There is something the iOS version of Chrome can't render properly on that page. Sounds like you found a bug.
 
If you want to use a browser on iOS, use Safari. That would be a better comparison, stock browser vs stock browser. Also you need to include many different sites in a comparison to make sure it's just not a bad website.
 
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