iPhone 7 finally loses in speed test against Android rival

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iPhone 7 in hand
iPhone 7 isn't top dog anymore.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Thanks to Apple’s engineering magic, the iPhone has long outpaced its Android-powered rivals.

In real-world speed tests, the iPhone can blaze past high-end competitors from the likes of Google, Samsung and LG, despite slower processors and less RAM. But not anymore. We finally have an Android device that packs more power than the iPhone 7 — and that’s the OnePlus 5.

On paper, the iPhone 7 looks like the slowest of the flagship smartphones. If it was running Android, it would be considered a midrange device. But because of Apple’s incredible chips and stellar software, it easily outperforms seemingly faster devices.

It might not deliver better scores in benchmark tests, but in real-world comparisons, iPhone 7 can beat the Galaxy S8 and just about everything else on the market. One handset it cannot topple, however, is the new OnePlus 5.

Powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor (like the Galaxy S8), super-fast UFS storage, and a whopping 8GB of RAM, the OnePlus 5 is the first Android device in a long time that’s faster at loading popular apps and games.

It’s a close race, and the iPhone 7 Plus loses out mostly due to its longer system animations — something many iOS users have been asking Apple to address — rather than its hardware. But the iPhone 7 is eight months old now, while the OnePlus 5 is brand new.

Nevertheless, this shows that you can finally buy an Android that’s just as fast as an iPhone in real-world use. What’s more, while the iPhone 7 will cost you at least $649, the OnePlus 5 starts at just $479 with twice as much storage.

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