Following last week's introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S4, Primate Labs has analyzed Geekbench 2 scores for the phone, comparing it to a number of other smartphones including the iPhone 5.

The analysis shows the new Samsung flagship is significantly faster than competing phones including the HTC One, and its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S3. However, the S3 also benchmarked faster than the iPhone 5.

Skitched 20130318 145500From John Poole's analysis:

The Samsung Galaxy S 4 is twice as fast as the Samsung Galaxy S 3. Given that the Samsung Galaxy S 3 is less than a year old, that's a remarkable achievement. I am amazed at how quickly smartphone technology is improving.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4 is also twice as fast as the Apple iPhone 5. Apple has improved performance dramatically in the past (there was 2.5x increase in performance from the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5). Will they be able to make a similar improvement for the next iPhone?

Though the iPhone does benchmark somewhat slower than its competitors, Apple's close integration of software and hardware leads to significant performance gains that Android phones can't easily replicate.

Top Rated Comments

Risco Avatar
168 months ago
Android is a far less optimised system, it needs the faster CPU to give the same fluid user experience that iOS gives. Don't read too much in to it folks.
Score: 80 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chaos86 Avatar
168 months ago
Android is a far less optimised system, it needs the faster CPU to give the same fluid user experience that iOS gives. Don't read too much in to it folks.
As a developer, I can back this up. I made a web game that ran smoothly on an iPhone 4, averaging about 30fps, great on an iPhone 5 at 60fps, and like crap on the FOUR core Galaxy S3, at about 20fps.

Don't even get me started on the fact that I had to support Android all the way back to 2.3.3, and the Android Browser which has been modified by the various hardware makers (HTC, Samsung, etc) to break a few web standards we needed. I can't wait for the day when the whole world is on a late version of Chrome.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santabean2000 Avatar
168 months ago
That's impressive. On paper.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MasterHowl Avatar
168 months ago
Bet it still lags when you scroll down a Wikipedia page...
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
srxtr Avatar
168 months ago
Wait a minute. Samsung Galaxy phone model from this year is faster than Apple's iPhone from last year?

WOW!
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adildacoolset Avatar
168 months ago
Amazing

We want innovation not iteration !
And yet you're amazed by an iterative release
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...