iPhone 4S Preliminary Benchmarks: ~800MHz A5, Slightly Slower GPU than iPad 2, Still Very Fast
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on October 11, 2011 3:22 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone 4S
- SoCs
Apple's ability to control the entire information chain, down to the point of limiting leaks, appears to be gradually slipping as it grows as a company. Case in point are the numerous hardware and performance leaks surrounding the newly launched iPhone 4S. Little did we know that several weeks ago we were staring at photos of the 4S' PCB, and more recently we've seen the first performance results from Apple's first A5 based smartphone thanks to a few eager users around the web. We've compiled these results here from various sources (all linked below) and compared them to our existing database of tests.
The results are pretty much as expected. Javascript performance finally catches up to Tegra 2 based Honeycomb devices, while general CPU performance is significantly higher than the iPhone 4. I suspect Ice Cream Sandwich will bridge the Android smartphone gap (the Honeycomb equipped Gtab 8.9 is here to give you an idea of where a more modern Android browser ends up).
Keep in mind that all of these tests measure performance of the software stack in addition to the hardware. In particular the web browser tests depend largely on browser optimizations, which is why we see differences between similar hardware running different browser versions. Also note that all results were run at stock, with the stock browser. Finally, although these browser tests were captured on video we'll still be running our official tests once our 4Ses arrive and will update accordingly.
Using some of the integer and fp tests of published Geekbench scores we can already conclude that Apple is shipping a lower clocked A5 in the iPhone 4S than it does in the iPad 2. This naturally makes sense as the iPhone 4S has a much smaller 5.25 Whr battery. Based on the Geekbench results it looks like the iPad 2 is clocked around 25% higher than the iPhone 4S, pegging the latter's clock speed at 800MHz.
A lower clock not only means higher yields from the factory, but likely a lower operating voltage as well. Dropping a CPU's core voltage, yields a greater-than-linear decrease in power consumption, making the marginal loss in clock speed a good choice. At a lower operating frequency than its Android competitors, Apple does have to exploit its strengths in software to avoid any tangible performance penalties. Apple has traditionally done this very well in the past, so I don't expect the loss of frequency to be a huge deal to the few who do cross-shop iOS and Android.
Unsurprisingly, memory bandwidth doesn't appear to have gone up either compared to the iPad 2's A5 (taking into account scaling due to CPU clock increases). The Samsung part number on the iPad 2's A5 indicates two LPDDR2-800 die on package, it's safe to assume that whatever Apple clocked the memory interface at in the iPad 2 remains unchanged in the iPhone 4S.
The GPU results tell a similar story courtesy of some early GLBenchmark 2.1 results. The 960 x 640 results are useless as they are bound by vsync at ~60 fps. Luckly GLBenchmark 2.1 added an off-screen render mode at 1280 x 720 where we can really see the differences between the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S A5 implementations:
Here the iPad 2 holds a ~21% performance advantage, which once again I assume to be all related to clock speed. Also note the huge advantage over the existing iPhone 4. The GPU power in the 4S should be more than enough to run any well written, current generation title at well north of 30 fps on its display.
We'll be reviewing the iPhone 4S in the coming weeks, stay tuned!
Source: GLBenchmark Database, Geekbench Database, Macrumors
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edsib1 - Friday, October 21, 2011 - link
Using Firefox and Android 2.3.3 in Sunspider 0.9.1Samsung GS2 scores 1467
HTC Desire scores 3197
The SG2 blows away the Iphone 4S, and the Desire beats the IPhone 4.
All you can say is that the stock browsers on the various androids seem slow.
Silkwood - Saturday, October 22, 2011 - link
Apologies if this has been asked/answered before, but when are we gonna see the full review of the 4S? (can't check the rest of the comments because this computer is slooow... OK, I'm really just lazy)JesusR - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
Regarding the stock/custom browser/ROM stuff to compare, we all just want to know what the best device is. But Apple fans here seem more interested in finding merit, culprits and heroes. Android phones may be better than 4S with different browser or ROM. Buaaaa, that's not fair, that's not Android! So what? Call it whatever you want, people just want to know what the best option is, and for that purpose, comparing non-stock is not just fair but necessary. Some people here speak as if using a different web browser was some kind of high-level hacking... Come on, guys...gel nail polish - Thursday, December 1, 2011 - link
I love gadget. Although I'm not a tech savvy but I think this mobile is great!<a href="http://couturegelnailpolish.com">gel nail polish</a>
arafat_mw - Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - link
just visited the Rightware BrowserMark website reading this post..My cell is : Google Nexus One
Custom Rom: Medroid 6.1 CM 7.2
SetCPU : ONDEMAND @ 1.13GHz
if my cell gives a score like 64694... I have no comments to make on the benchmark they have released.. I mean are they kidding me ? what ever clock speed is set on my Nexus One.. is it really better than - Optimus 2x, Motorola Atrix or Even iPhone 4(iOS5) ? I can't rely on their benchmarks ..I'm sorry.. on Quadrant my Nexus one leads the stock 2.2+ only by a few percentage like 5%... ..Haven't tried the other benchmarks.. but I'll try soon :)
Screenshot : http://tinypic.com/r/dno65h/5
Halo9x - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Benchmarks are fine, but let's get real. All this talk about speed is beginning to sound like the speed wars of the Desktop days. I purposely decided to save $100 and get a 64GB 4s while I could. Is the iPhone 5 faster, maybe. It really depends on what you are doing. I compared my 4s to the 5 and found the differences to be negligible.Everyone needs to take a deep breath and remember what they have. Whether it's an iPhone or Android, it doesn't matter. They mainly have to make phone calls, they do that. A secondary use is taking pictures, they all do it with the iPhones taking the lead. None of them are going to completely replace a dedicated camera. They all record video with the 4s/5 doing 1080p. As for the rest of the functions they are all about equal and yes, I know there are some minor improvements. Okay, the 5 did some things a full second faster. What will one do with all that time saved???
Everybody acts like it's a matter of bragging rights but in reality, it's just plain dumb! It's like a bunch of school kids arguing about whose device is faster! Who cares? The more important question is whether or not one's chosen device does the job in a manner that works. The 4s is no slug and neither are the other phones.
So, what did I like about the 4s? Stainless steel! Much more durable than Aluminum. The weak point is having not just one glass element, it has two. Advantage...5! However, I shopped around for replacement backs for the the 4s. Result, I found a stainless steel back and so now, the glass back is no longer an issue. Furthermore, the back is identical to the glass back I swapped out. There are a whole range of backs for the 4/4s. Can't do that with the 5, advantage...4/4s.
The bottom line is the 4s is fast enough and I like the styling and size. It therefore remains a winner in my book. I do understand the desire to have the latest and greatest but it is a race most pocketbooks will not win. I do think Jobs was right, the 4/4s do fit the hand just right.
Same goes for the NEW New iPad. Is it really THAT much better than the 9 month old new iPad???
I doubt it. Certainly not in day to day functions.