Updated – Your iPhone 6 is already incredibly fast, but can you believe the next generation of iPhones will be even faster?
For average users this might not make sense, as the iPhone 6 doesn’t lag and is usually anything but slow. However, every year Apple pushes out new and improved iPhones, with various features and enhancements bumping them to the next level. This effectively future-proofs the phones for upcoming graphically intense apps and games.
Some “S” increments were more exciting than others, for example the iPhone 5S. The iPhone 5S garnered a huge speed boost over the iPhone 5 pushing it above almost all of the competition. It was funny to some that the tiny iPhone 5S could take mobile video game graphics to higher levels than its “hardcore” Android counterparts.
We can see here the iPhone 5S outperformed many Android Phones
Photo: FairerPlatform
In another, more recent GeekBench performance test, the iPhone 5S scored 2542 while the iPhone 6 scored a reasonable 2931.
So the iPhone 6 wasn’t a huge improvement over the iPhone 5S, in terms of graphic performance benchmarks, and it didn’t really need to be. The iPhone 6 still runs smooth like butter, and according to leaked reports the iPhone 6S is going to run even “butterier”.
We’ve heard rumors that the iPhone 6S will include amazing new features like Force Touch technology, a 12 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5 megapixel front-facing camera, increased base-storage capacity, stronger aluminum, new microphones, and faster processors. Not atypical of Apple to give their phones a boost in speed, but according to the aformentioned reports, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will be even faster than we expected.
According to VR-Zone, an iPhone 6S prototype was found on the popular GeekBench database. This information was originally spotted by the Chinese website MyDrivers. They go on to announce that the Apple iPhone’s new A9 chipset is definitely a beast compared to last year’s A8 processor.
The A9 chipset reportedly features three cores, compared to the two cores on the A8 chip. Also reported, and backing up previous rumors, they found 2 GB of RAM on board.
VR-Zone goes on to say that this prototype device achieved higher scores than almost all flagship smartphones currently on the market, which wasn’t surprising considering the iPhone 6 beat out most of them too.
Their single-core test, which mirrors average usage, pushed out an extremely impressive score of 1811. This number is much higher than the scores of top-of-the-line Android flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S6, LG G4, and the HTC One M9.
The iPhone 6S multi-core test, which provides results based on heavier graphical power needs, cranked out an impressive score of 4,577. Compare this to last year’s iPhone score of 3,000 and you can see there is a glaring improvement.
More recently, GFXBench scores have surfaced online as well. These results parallel the GeekBench leaks, which prove amazing speeds coming from the iPhone 6S prototype.
It seems that since Job’s passing, we are seeing gaming become more of a focus for Apple. The introduction of Metal to iPhone will prove impressive results during intense gaming sessions.
Information posted on Weibo, and sourced from VR-Zone, stated the “Apple A9 chip in the iPhone 6S achieves 30.3 fps in the GFX Manhattan 1080p offscreen test. For reference, the iPhone 6 Plus manages around 18.9 fps in the same test. Exynos 7420 powered Galaxy devices manage scores between 21 and 26 fps.”
Another test, called the T-Rex off-screen test, was used to calculate the power of the Apple A9 chipset. Almost always, a higher number means faster and more efficiently running chips.
The results from the iPhone 6S came in at an impressive 66 frames per second, beating out the iPhone 6 Plus by 22.4 frames per second. The iPhone 6S managed to jump ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S6’s scores as well, beating it out by 7 frames per second.
Another interesting bit of information posted on Weibo also revealed performance stats of the “A9X” chipset. Numerous rumors are stating that we will most likely not see and iPad Air 3 debuted this year, and analysts are leaning towards a 12.9-inch iPad Pro instead, featuring the powerful A9 processor.
Update: A recent tweet from a GeekBench developer, John Poole, might have ended the iPhone 6S benchmark score rumor.
While we won’t know for sure any official stats until the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are released later this year, we can still wrap our heads around these exciting and undoubtedly impressive unofficial numbers. Without a doubt, Apple is turning up the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus heat, and these devices will surely be ultra-fast crowd pleasers.
Will you use your iPhone 6S for gaming?
What other iPhone applications are so graphically
intensive that an iPhone 6S will be a necessary upgrade?
If the graphic capabilities of the iPhone 6S don’t excite you,
what other new features do excite you?
Let us know in the comments below!