The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review
by Ryan Smith & Joshua Ho on November 2, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- SoCs
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
System Performance Cont'd
Moving on towards our more GPU-bound workloads, we use our standard test suite of benchmarks like GFXBench and 3DMark to get a good idea for performance. Unfortunately, due to the move to iOS 9 the Unity engine version used in Basemark X is no longer working so for now we’re left with 3DMark and GFXBench. There is also Basemark OS II’s graphics test, but this is embedded in a larger benchmark with CPU and storage performance tests.
As always with 3DMark, there are some issues in the data structures used. Due to the data dependencies present within the physics test, it is necessary for the CPU to stall for data to be committed to memory before continuing on to the next portion of the test instead of executing instructions in parallel. This strongly reduces the practical performance of the CPU because the architecture is primarily focused upon instruction-level parallelism to deliver major performance gains. However, due to the strong showing in graphics performance the iPhone 6s’ still manage to take the lead.
In GFXBench, the A9 SoC just shows absurd performance. It’s strange to think about how the iPad Air 2’s GPU seemed incredibly quick at the time but with the A9 Apple has surpassed that level of performance in their smartphone SoCs. The move to a new generation of PowerVR GPU IP, in addition to the move to a FinFET process node are really the drivers for this kind of performance improvement.
Overall, the Apple A9 SoC is the best SoC in any phone shipping today. In cases like web browsing, gaming, and even just going through the UI it’s quite evident that this new SoC is a major factor in improving performance and smoothness across the board. Something as simple as visiting some popular tech websites will show this, which really goes to show how much “specs” still matter due to their influence on user experience.
NAND Performance
At this point is almost goes without saying that storage performance is important, but in a lot of ways the testing here is still in its early days. In the case of the iPhone 6s we’ve discussed what distinguishes its storage solution from others in this industry, but for those that are unaware the iPhone 6s uses PCIe and NVMe instead of a UFS or eMMC storage solution. In a lot of ways, this makes the storage on board closer to the SSD that you might find in a more expensive PC but due to PCB limitations you won’t necessarily see the enormous parallelism that you might expect from a true SSD. In the time since the initial results we've found that all of our review units use Hynix-supplied NAND. In order to test how this storage solution performs, we use Eric Patno’s storage test which allows for a simple storage test comparable to AndroBench 3.6.
Here, we can really see the enormous performance improvements that result from a combination of TLC NAND with an SLC cache, along with the new NVMe protocol which allows for low CPU overhead and removes architectural bottlenecks to storage performance. This should allow for things like faster burst photos and faster app updates. Downloading and updating apps on the iPhone 6s feels noticeably faster than it is on the iPhone 6, to the extent that small apps feel like they install almost instantly when I’m on a WiFi connection fast enough to saturate storage bandwidth.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
531 Comments
View All Comments
IanHagen - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
I read on my phone all the time. It's great to have my library in my pocket and being relieved of carrying heavy books wherever I go.Caliko - Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - link
A higher resolution wouldn't make a difference(besides pleasing spec junkies).jospoortvliet - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
Of course it would. Putting my HTC One m7 next to the latest iPhone shows the latter has simply less crisp text. The screen is awesome besides that but don't go and deny it has almost the same resolution as the cheap Moto G I bought for my wife... Just as it has taken Apple a long time to finally deliver a larger screen (though with a bang) and just as they keep sporting ridiculous bezels, the low resolution is both factual and a noticeable compromise. I suspect they just have a too rigid ecosystem of apps which is not build for responsive screen sizes, unlike Android.Of course it doesn't make the 6s any less amazing as a phone, it might not be the best on every aspect but it is very close and seems well deserving of the gold. Too bad it is an Apple product, closed off and locked down. The day I can just plug a normal USB cable in and it will present itself as a normal USB storage device to my OS (Linux), and I can replace all proprietary cloud services with my own, switch app store and use open source apps I might consider it. Until then - thanks but no thanks.
Caliko - Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - link
You're so full of it. The resolution is beyond what your eyes can distinguish.I can't believe in 2015 I STILL have to explain this. Feels like 2006 again....
Alexey291 - Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - link
Nope you're really really wrong. And yes in 2014 people even at apple realised that 330ppi is too little. They are just you know... Behind...lurker22 - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
Or, it could be that the phone is really the best right now... maybe if android manufacturers would agree to stop abandoning their devices they would get more "bests." Something I noticed about android people, you're constantly whining whenever someone says the iPhone is a fantastic device.I have a Nexus 7, its ok, but wow is it not smooth or easy to maintain...i ended up installing a task manager to just get web browser to be somewhat less jerky on large pages.
SaolDan - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
Come on dude. I dislike apple a lot but that being said they have very good hardware. Software sucks and a iPads i don't see a use for iPads specially the "pro" version specially when u can get a surface pro 4 for the same price but again their SOC are really really fast. im sayting this as someone who looks down on iPhones and iPad. I can respect mac os but IOS is garbage. BTW my work and only phone is a company issued iphone 6 so im not just saying all this. SP4 FTW.ASEdouardD - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
I'd argue that since iOS 8, iOS is very close to Android in terms of functionality, and has the added value of a better App Store. To each his own of course, but I feel the gap between the two OS's is much smaller than it was before. Android's app store is better than it was, and you havec more functionality with iOS than before.SaolDan - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
I lost my faith in android since 4.4. 4.3 was great. My wife got a lumia 1520 and that thing is awesome. Ive seen a few universal apps and they look great in big and small devices. I think that microsoft continuum would be great if it had a x86 SOC inside. I used to own a lumia 635 and i miss it so much.zeeBomb - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
Soon ill get my hands on one.