Samsung Galaxy Note 7 dominated by year-old iPhone 6S in performance showdown

The results of these tests are dramatic, it may even seem like the iPhone 6S is twice as fast as the Note 7, but there are a number of factors to consider.

The Samsung Galaxy Note may be the shiny new device that's making waves for its sleek looks, updated SPen functionality and camera performance, but it apparently can't keep up with Apple's year-old iPhone 6S.

The Galaxy Note 7 is no slouch in the specs department, the phablet comes with an octa-core processor and a whopping 4GB of RAM (double that of the iPhone 6S!). Yet, the tests above clearly show the iPhone 6S running laps around Samsung's flagship performance-wise.

Despite having the upper hand in specs, the Note 7 stumbles and fumbles next to the iPhone 6S (which has Apple's A9 processor and 2GB of RAM). According to real-world speed tests undertaken by PhoneBuff, "It took the Galaxy Note 7 two minutes and four seconds to launch 14 apps and render a video, while the iPhone did the same in one minute and 21 seconds."

The results of these tests are dramatic, it may even seem like the iPhone 6S is twice as fast as the Note 7, but there are a number of factors to consider.

Despite its stellar specs and improved design the Galaxy Note 7 is still an Android OEM device. It's not designed to run many apps in an optimized manner whereas the iPhone 6S is more cohesive in OS, processor as well as app optimizations that ensure faster and more seamless performance. We also need to consider that the Note 7 is driving a larger and more pixel-dense display plus there's definitely bloatware to consider.

Still, not good news for Samsung. Specially considering we are likely weeks away from a new iPhone and history has shown that Apple tends to further refine performance of its mobile processor as well as graphics capabilities. 

Consider this, Apple claims that the A9 CPU on the iPhone 6S has a 70 percent boost over the previeous year's A8, while the PowerVR GT7600 GPU provides a 90 percent graphical boost. If that's the kind of improvement we can expect year over year, then the next iPhone will be a monster in nearly every aspect of performance.

For most consumers, these tests don't mean much and will likely not affect their day to day use of their devices. Most of us just have one or two apps open at a time and the performance within that one app is what counts. What the above tests show is the supremacy of software, hardware and applications on a granular level that only Apple and its engineers and developers can really achieve because of the way everything is unified.

For owners of the iPhone 6S, the good news is that they still have the best performing smartphone even if the specs may not sound that impressive, they have the performance they need where it counts. As for people considering the Galaxy Note 7, they know they're getting a better display, a more versatile camera, water-resistance, an iris scanner, dual-screen capability plus one of the better stylus implementations in the market even if overall performance is just not up to par with the iPhone 6S.

Source: PhoneBuff