In a shocking new speed test, the new iPhone 7 blows away the Galaxy Note 7 so completely you might forget about the Samsung phone’s other problems.
Watch the iPhone 7 versus Galaxy Note 7 in this new head-to-head video, created by PhoneBuff.
Samsung may have rushed development of the Note 7 in an attempt to gain a competitive edge against the iPhone 7, but there’s no question which device is zippier in the video.
Given that the Note 7 previously got embarrassed by the year-old iPhone 6s in a speed test, it’s no surprise that the iPhone 7 emerges the clear winner here.
However, just how totally the Galaxy Note 7 gets destroyed might be a revelation to anybody who expected anything like a close-fought battle.
In fact, in the speed test to open a series of apps, one at a time, the iPhone 7 laps the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The Apple phone opens all the apps and games twice in the amount of time it takes Samsung’s handset to complete the set of tasks once.
It’s yet another reminder that a smartphone’s specs are far from the only determining factor in how fast operates. People can say what they like about the Galaxy Note 7’s Snapdragon 820 processor and “superior” 4GB of RAM, but the efficiency of iOS and Apple’s chip design working together means there’s no contest concerning which is faster in the real world.
The fact that the iPhone 7 didn’t have to be removed from the market because its battery explodes is just icing on the cake.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
28 responses to “iPhone 7 destroys Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 in speed test”
note 7 have a problem with apps opening
Exynos is better than Snapdragon? How about A10? Bottom line is a10 is the better chip.
The Exynos may well be better than the Snapdragon in Samsung phones, because it’s produced by Samsung in-house, meaning there are likely some device and OS optimizations for it.
No, the OS isn’t really optimized for the Exynos. They don’t even offer the Exynos for every market.
What shocks me is that people don’t mind if Samsung offers two different processors, if Apple did that, people and the media would be outraged. They only offer the Exynos for certain markets.
I meant to say that the TouchWiz-skinned version of Android that Samsung ships on their devices may be optimized for the Exynos processor, but not for the Snapdragon because it’s offered to a smaller market.
I don’t see any reason why people be outraged by multiple-CPU versions of the iPhone, especially since Apple already offers that by continuing to sell older-model phones.
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Exynos isn’t available in every market.
The Exynos does not work on CDMA networks, like Verizon and Sprint. However, I don’t understand why the AT&T and T-Mobile versions must use the Snapdragon except that they just want to bundle all of the US cellular operators under one basic device, right? The Snapdragon 820 runs well. Having had devices with the 808, the 820 is a vast improvement but Exynos would be better yet.
Note 7 does not have a problem with apps opening. I just happens that the Apple solution is much better than what Note 7 uses. iPhone 7 uses an Apple-designed NVMe-based controller that communicates over a PCIe connection
Wouldn’t a more fair test be the Note 7 vs the iPhone 7+?
The little iPhone destroyed it so what would be the sense
Wow that’s just embarrassing. Would be better to see 7+ vs. Note 7, but I suspect it would be nearly equally embarrassing.
Same thought but they have same chip so performance wise is similar. Only the ram is more on the Plus.
Display resolution is also different. Not sure how much difference it make. Could make a difference with games.
Yup, you are right, GPU performance should be “worse” than on normal 7.
The A10 is customized for the locked down iOS kernel, kind of like an optimized sportscar. The Qualcomm 820 is a general purpose ARM chip that can run almost anything. It’s kind of like a pick up truck, fast enough for a freeway but a great workhorse. In the end, most people don’t even care because the chip is fast enough. Also, the Apple is of lower resolution which actually helps. We don’t really need 4K on a phone. I have the S7 Active which I find runs very well. I had a Note 4 but the stylus wasn’t my thing.
” the A10 is customized for the locked down OS kernel”. What? Apple can unlock their OS anytime they want, but unfortunately, that would make the OS more susceptible to getting hacked. People have the Jailbroken phones, so that unlocks the OS, it’s not tied to the processor design. Apple just uses more advanced core designs for CPU/GPU and they use different instruction sets, that’s why there’s a big difference. the other factor that comes into play is that a lot of Android apps are STILL 32 Bit. Why? Because Google hasn’t mandated that their developers have a certain date to update their apps for 64 Bit. So, who knows what Android apps are even written to take advantage of 64 Bit processing. Apple mandated that all apps submitted to the App Store are 64 Bit, and they are getting rid of apps that haven’t been updated to the latest specs. Apple did a much better and quicker transition to 64 Bit, and In another year or two, they’ll have near 100% of the users using full 64 bit processors. Right now, 5S’s are 32/64 bit, 5C/5’s are 32 Bit, but over time, those people will upgrade to a full 64 Bit model and I’m sure there will be some improvements to the OS to eventually rid themselves of anything 32 Bit. Another thing that Apple’s planning on doing is changing their File System to APFS from HFS+, that’s supposed to gain speed improvements and security, so I think that’s going to happen next year’s OS releases for all of their devices, whether it’s a Mac, iOS device, Apple Watch, etc.
So wordy. Android is the new Windows. It runs on a variety of chips, some slow and some fast. Apple is optimized for small number of configurations. In the end, most people don’t really care as long as it runs OK. You don’t have to be the best, just good enough, to occupy the majority of a marketplace. Some people pay $$ for expensive new devices and the overpriced adapters that it will need to work with other over overpriced accessories. I will just use my $1 headphones with my old smartphone, LOL.
If the Qualcomm 820 is a pickup truck, then the A10 is a sports car. In an everyday practical sense (app for app), the sports car is faster than the pickup truck. This remains the case whether or not you want, need or like the extra speed.
Yep. I live in Texas. We drive trucks, LOL. My original post is rubbing off on you. ;-) By the way, I sold my LG V10. The Qualcomm 808 in it overheats like crazy. The 820 runs cool.
Test aren’t even close. Some company should make a real phone to compete with Apple. It’s not even worth testing. And I’m sure the testers are worried about the Samsung phones exploding while testing
To be fair… the Galaxy Note 7 destroys itself.
I think they’ll probably use an Note 7 in the next Mission Impossible movie. :-)
like that
It is a good thing that the Galaxy Note 7 is rather slow. That way you have time to run away before it explodes!
Is that before or after it explodes?
…And, The Galaxy Note 7 destroys iPhone 7 in a blast. #kThxBye
Most people dont care about performance. Anything is fast enough.