Though it has often been said that "specs aren't everything" when it comes to buying electronic devices, many consumers are still swayed by things like RAM or processing speed alone when considering device purchases. A
new speed test by enthusiast site
PhoneBuff, however, may convince many buyers to re-think the importance of the spec sheet. The new iPhone 6 was tested against the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8), and won the race handily.
Though the new iPhone was the only smartphone with a 64-bit chip onboard, the A8 processor continues to be dual-core compared to the quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor on the HTC One and the Galaxy S5. In addition, the A8 is rated at a speed of 1.4GHz per core, whereas the Galaxy S5 and HTC One cores are rated at 2.5GHz and 2.3GHz, respectively.
The test also compares the Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM found on both Android-based phones against the iPhone 6's PowerVR GPU and 1GB of RAM. Despite the seemingly underwhelming specs, the iPhone 6 easily outpaced the other two smartphones in a "obstacle course" type rapid-fire test of launching and closing apps, then returning to them in the second "lap." Although not specifically noted by
PhoneBuff, the fact that the hardware and OS are integrated in the iPhone 6 appears to have given the device a substantial advantage in both the first and second "lap" of testing.
Interestingly, the HTC One (M8) fared far better than the nearly-identical (specs-wise) Galaxy S5, even though the latter is actually clocked slightly higher. The HTC One did not lag too far behind, nearly keeping pace with the iPhone 6 in the initial stages and losing out mainly due to a need to reload some applications in the second "lap," whereas the iPhone 6's use of "suspension" meant that users could return to where they were in an app far faster than on either of the competitors.
In the end, the iPhone 6 was able to accomplish all the tasks given in under two minutes (1:55), while the HTC One (M8) clocked in at 2:10, and the Galaxy S5 limping into third place with a time of 2:59 due to having to reload each and every app opened in the first "lap." All three devices had been freshly rebooted before the test began, and all three were on the same Wi-Fi network.
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