Affordable Android beats iPhone X in new speed test

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iPhone X
iPhone X wasn't the first, but it certainly boosted the trend.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new A11 Bionic makes iPhone X blazing fast. It’s faster than its biggest rivals, despite fewer processing cores and slower clock speeds. But there’s a new Android that narrowly beats Apple’s latest in a real-world speed test.

And believe it or not, that Android costs half as much as iPhone X.

I’m talking about the OnePlus 5T, unveiled just last week. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor, and although that’s the same chip found in other flagships like the Galaxy S8, the OnePlus 5T makes much better use of it.

OnePlus 5T beats iPhone X

The OnePlus 5T cannot beat iPhone X in benchmark tests like Geekbench. In real-world use cases, however, it’s ever so slightly faster. The speed test below from SuperSaf TV demonstrates how each device performs when loading apps and games, streaming video, and more.

There’s not much between the two, and in some cases, iPhone X does get ahead. But overall, the OnePlus 5T’s near-pure Android software helps it make the most of that Snapdragon 835 chip, while its additional RAM means multitasking buttery smooth.

No one is suggesting you return your iPhone X for a OnePlus 5T for slightly better performance. But for a device that starts at $499 — half the price of an iPhone X — you have to be impressed by how well it can compete.

It’s not the first OnePlus device to outpace an iPhone, either. You may remember that the OnePlus 5 was the only Android smartphone to outpace the iPhone 7 earlier this year.

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