iPhone 7 is Now the World's Fastest Phone (By a Lot)

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Based on performance tests, the iPhone 7's A10 Fusion processor smokes the Android competition.

The iPhone 7's new A10 Fusion processor has gotten lost in most of the hype around the missing iPhone jack, but it shouldn't. In fact, based on our performance tests thus far, the iPhone 7 beats every major recent Android flagship phone. By a wide margin.

Take the relatively new Geekbench 4 test, which has been updated to model real-world tasks and applications. On the mutli-core portion of the CPU performance test, the iPhone 7 scored 5,507. That obliterates the 3,918 score from the Galaxy S7. In other words, the iPhone 7 is 33 percent faster.

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

We saw similar results from other premium Android phones, such as the LG G5, which notched 3,737 on the same Geekbench 4 test. However, the OnePlus 3, which benefits from 6GB of RAM, hit a fairly high 4,171.

MORE: Best Lightning Headphones and Earbuds For Your iPhone 7

So what about graphics performance? The iPhone 7 turned in a very high score of 37,810 on the 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited Test. That beats the LG G5 (27,118), Galaxy S7 Edge (27,851), as well as the OnePlus 3 (29,957).

We also measured browser performance on the iPhone 7 and Android competition using the JetStream Javascript benchmark. And once again Apple's phone came out on top. It scored 169.04, compared with 44 for the Galaxy S7 and the low 50s for the LG G5 and OnePlus 3.

To gauge real-world performance, we also ran a quick app open time test using the Chameleon Run game. The iPhone 7 took 3.3 seconds, compared to 4.5 seconds or longer on the Galaxy S7 and LG G5.

We're still in the process of running other tests, so stay tuned for our full review.

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Mark Spoonauer
Mark Spoonauer

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.

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5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Flavio_4
    This report is very, very far from accurate. As can be seen in the geekbench 4 table bellow, both the Exynos 8890 and the Kirin 950 offer almost the same score. They are also much older SOCs.

    Exynos 5433 A57 1145 4033 948 3053
    Exynos 7420 A57 1267 4290 1272 3915
    Exynos 8890 M1 2161 6480 1761 5199
    Kirin 920 A15 850 3042 740 1730
    Kirin 950 A72 1691 6294 1703 5346
    Snapdragon 600 Krait 630 2274 704 1671
    Snapdragon 801 Krait 920 2599 960 2344
    Snapdragon 805 Krait 1021 2881 1004 2508
    Snapdragon 810 A57 1013 3451 1155 2450
    Snapdragon 820 Kryo 2357 5339 1573 3520
    Tegra K1 Denver 1880 3195 1643 2616
    Reply
  • Sammy84
    In typical day to day use of the phone, there iPhone 7 has comparable speed to current Android flagships (youtube has several speed comparison vids), so obsessing over synthetic benchmarks is silly.
    Reply
  • Michelmilo
    Sammy84, there are multiple videos of the year-old iPhone 6S totally obliterating the newest Android flagships in daily usage tests.
    Reply
  • Omega Green
    The battle of incrementalism is alive and well its the 90's all over again.
    Reply
  • hscchang
    Thoughts on Day 1 of my new Rose Gold, 256GB, iPhone 7 Plus:

    I hate it! Right now, I am 80% certain that I will return it and continue using my iPhone 6 Plus instead.

    When I press on the Home button, the entire lower panel clicks. I feel like I am clicking on a toy.

    I took photos of my iPhone 7 Plus using the iPhone 6 Plus and vice versa. I do not notice any difference in the quality of the photos.

    The speakers are supposed to be twice as loud than the previous ones, I hear absolutely no difference.

    I notice no increase in speed or performance when compared to my iPhone 6 Plus.

    The breaking point is the fact that they took away the headphone jack.

    I will shamelessly admit that I am an Apple fan, and have all of their gadgets.

    When they decided to change to the lightning connector, I upgraded our iPads just so that they also use the lightning connectors.

    I am also a minimalist, which was why I didn't want to have to remember to carry around different connectors, especially when we travel.

    But this time, Apple has gone too far by removing the headphone jack! It is the most selfish, greedy, and non-health-conscious decision they have ever made so far! Not to mention how egotistical and unconcerned they are about people who have been loyal supporters of their products throughout the years!

    They are basically saying to their fans that 'You are just a bunch of sheep, and it doesn't matter what I do, you will follow'!

    The decision to remove the headphone jack was not due to 'courage', it was due to PURE GREED! Since I still use 'normal' headphones for my Surface Pro 4, I now need to carry the stupid Apple headphone adapter so that I can also use the normal headphones to listen to music on
    my iPhone 7 Plus.

    I was shocked at myself when I suddenly felt that Airpods, which are a complete waste of money, started feeling more like a 'necessity' because Apple took away the headphone jack. And I will probably have to buy another one of those stupid headphone adapters to carry in my bag in case I accidentally leave them at home.

    Last night, I listened to music using my iPhone 6 Plus, and this morning, I listened to my meditation music using my iPhone 6 Plus as well.

    I asked myself, I got the iPhone 7 Plus for what? Just so I will now have to carry more accessories around all the time?

    Removing the headphone jack also shows that Apple has no concern for the public's health, and now wants to brainwash everyone to start using wireless headphones/earbuds 24/7, which causes a lot more exposure to EMF radiation. This is what angers me the most!

    I have never hated an Apple product, but I hate that they took away the headphone jack!
    Reply