Spaceport.io, the maker of a cross-platform development tool kit for games, decided to conduct a study pitting iOS against Android to see which platform HTML5 games perform better on. It did so by determining how many images their respective browsers can move across the screen while maintaining at least 30 fps.
The test dates back to the iPhone 3GS of 2009 when the iPhone had virtually no competition. It scored a 53, which means it could handle 53 images moving all at once before dropping below 30 frames per second. Next came the original iPad in early 2010 with its Apple A4 chip and scored a 98. It also had no competing tablets to go head-to-head with.
Enter Android.
The iPhone 4 up against the Motorola Droid 2 — which are both from around mid-2010 — scored in Apple’s favor. The iPhone 4 received a 73 while the Droid 2 achieved only 1 animated image at 30 fps. That’s right folks: one. Uno.
Next up is the iPad 2 running iOS 4.3.3 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The former scores an impressive 198 and the latter scores 65. Meh.
Then comes Apple’s same tablet — the iPad 2 — but this time running iOS 5.0.1, the latest version of iOS to date. This goes up against Amazon’s Kindle Fire. It ends up being an astounding 327 compared to a disappointing 25. Now some may argue that the Kindle Fire is only $199 while the iPad 2 starts at $499. True, so I did some math and found that in order for the Kindle Fire to balance out in terms of value, it would have had to score a 130 on Spaceport.io’s test. Damn that Silk.
Finally, the last test is a battle between the iPhone 4S and the new and arguably best Android phone on the market, the Galaxy Nexus. The margin is way smaller here, but the iPhone still wins with 252 and the Galaxy Nexus gets a 147. To Android’s credit, however, it’s unclear whether or not Spaceport.io used Chrome for Android (which would probably result in a higher score) or the stock Browser app in Ice Cream Sandwich.
Overall in terms of gaming and graphics, iOS kicks some serious ass.