Think that dual-core 4G Android powerhouse of yours easily kicks iPhone ass? Think again, because AnandTech performed numerous benchmark tests on the iPhone 4S running iOS 5 GM. The combination of hardware and software made this device faster than any other in every single test.
The Apple iPhone 4S scored a 2222 on the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark 0.9. Right behind that is actually the 15-month old iPhone 4 running iOS 5 with a score of 3921 — not even close. In this category, iPhone 4S is second in line only to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, which is a tablet, not a smartphone. For some reason, that’s the only tablet thrown in the mix. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 received a score of 2220.
Next is the Rightware BrowserMark test. iPhone 4S wins again, even triumphing the Galaxy Tab 8.9 this time. The 4S has a score of 89567. The second place smartphone — Samsung Galaxy S II — is over one-third slower in this test at 55144.
Finally, we move on to GLBenchmark 2.1 for the graphics statistics. In two different 720p offscreen tests, iPhone 4S achieves 73.1 frames per second and 122.7 frames per second, respectively. Samsung Galaxy S II is again right behind for both tests, and I give credit to Samsung where credit is due. It smokes the iPhone 4, but it now has some serious trouble facing the 4S. It’s a good thing it has that heaven-sent Galaxy S III on the way, right?
One last thing to note is the difference in processors between the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S as shown by these benchmarks. Apple is always quick to announce the clock speed of the iPad, and this year the company proclaimed the dual-core A5 was clocked at 1 GHz. The iPhone specifications have always been more vague. AnandTech found that the iPhone 4S is slightly under-clocked, and therefore slightly slower overall. They peg it at around 800 MHz.
It just goes to show that software can really make the difference. Manufacturers can load up devices with dual-core 1.5 GHz processors, but if Android is hogging up resources, the powerful hardware won’t mean much to the end user.