A real-world speed test saw Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 beat Apple's iPhone 8 Plus, reversing the results of previous benchmarks on the two smartphones.
While benchmark scores provide an indicator for a device's performance, speed tests take a look at how fast the devices function in real-life situations. The iPhone 8 may have dominated benchmarks, but it is on the losing end when it comes to speed tests.
Galaxy Note 8 Beats iPhone 8 Plus In Speed Test
YouTuber David Rahimi filmed a speed test between the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 Plus for his PhoneBuff channel. Rahimi has been making such videos for years, and has been using a consistent and straightforward process in comparing and ranking the speeds of smartphones.
The speed tests require the smartphones to access 16 apps in two laps. The apps include lighter ones such as Settings and Calendar, as well as apps that require heavier loads such as games and an exported Photoshop image.
In previous speed tests on the PhoneBuff channel, the iPhone consistently won over high-end Android smartphones, except the OnePlus 5. However, when the iPhone 8 Plus went up against the Galaxy Note 8, the results were unexpected.
After going slower by a few seconds in the first lap, the Galaxy Note 8 finished the second lap with an advantage of six seconds over the iPhone 8 Plus.
PhoneBuff Speed Test Reverses Benchmark Scores
The results of the PhoneBuff speed test between the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were surprising due to early Geekbench scores that showcased how powerful Apple's A11 Bionic chip is. In addition, the Galaxy Note 8 used in the speed test is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, which is almost one year old, and not Samsung's own Exynos chip.
In the first lap of the speed test, the iPhone 8 Plus opened tiny apps slower, but was much faster when launching apps that needed more processing power. The second lap, however, focused on RAM management, as the smartphones accessed the already-open apps. This is where the 6 GB of RAM packed in the Galaxy Note 8 shined, allowing it to overtake and beat the iPhone 8 Plus.
It should be noted that the iPhone 7 Plus was actually faster than the iPhone 8 Plus in the same test, which might mean that the newly launched smartphone still needs some tweaks. In addition, there have also been various iOS 11 issues such as the battery life issues and crackling noise problem. Perhaps the iPhone 8 Plus can reclaim the throne once Apple makes a few adjustments?
