The highly anticipated and hotly rumored Galaxy Note 5 from Samsung has reportedly passed through benchmark tests at AnTuTu, and word has it that the upcoming phablet will become the best-performing Android phone so far when it launches.
Now, before we go any further, it's worth noting that benchmark tests are not the be-all and end-all of performance tests. While the numbers are often a fairly accurate way of predicting how the device will fare in real-world tests, there are instances when smartphones that score high actually perform poorly in practical tests, while low scorers can sometimes be surprisingly swift and smooth. That said, benchmark test results are still a good indicator of how devices will perform, so on to the numbers.
AnTuTu claims (via GforGames) that a device with model number SM-N9200, the same model number for the Galaxy Note 5 as seen in Chinese news media's reports, topped its tests with an average score of 69,702 points. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, which is believed to have very similar specs as the Galaxy Note 5, comes in second with 68,345 points.
The numbers are only slightly higher than the 67,520 points garnered by the Galaxy S6, currently the most powerful Android smartphone according to AnTuTu's benchmarks. This suggests that the upcoming devices are not likely to run on Samsung's homegrown Exynos 7422 chipset, which is believed to revolutionize the mobile processor industry when it launches by combining the CPU, GPU, RAM and storage all stored in a single chipset.
Instead, the devices might run on the same Exynos 7420 processor that powers the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. The only thing that makes the upcoming smartphones slightly more powerful than the current flagships is the 4 GB of RAM that they are purported to have. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have 1 GB less memory, which should explain their lower benchmark scores.
Of course, all these are rumors right now, and it is best to wait for the official launch of the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus on Samsung's Unpacked event scheduled for Aug. 13.
Photo: Vernon Chan | Flickr
