iPhone 8 Plus vs Galaxy Note 8 Review: Speed Test Shows Samsung Is Finally Catching Up
A recent basic speed test shows that Samsung's Galaxy flagship has somehow caught up with the system speed of the latest iPhone.
Currently, Samsung's and Apple's most premium devices in the market are the Galaxy Note 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus – at least until the iPhone X comes out early next month. And for several years, many smartphone fans agree that the iPhone's custom chips have been successful in making Apple's famous mobile devices a speedy gadget compared to its rivals.
However, a recent speed test conducted by the YouTube channel PhoneBuff showed that the Galaxy Note 8 could have a slight advantage at the moment as far as system performance speed is concerned.
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Before starting the test, viewers were reminded of the key differences between the smartphones. Both have the latest available chips for Android and iPhones, namely the Snapdragon 835 and A11 Bionic, respectively.
However, Samsung had a commanding advantage in the RAM department as the Galaxy Note 8 had 6 GB compared to only 3 GB on the iPhone 8 Plus. But to those knowledgeable with smartphones, they will know that the lower RAM count on iPhones historically never meant a slower device.
To perform the test, David Rahimi of PhoneBuff presented a Galaxy Note 8 and an iPhone 8 Plus with a screen containing the same set of stock and third-party apps. The built-in apps included the Camera, Gallery/Photos, Calendar, and Settings. Meanwhile, for the third-party apps, it was an array of light and heavy social media, gaming, streaming, photo editing, and online shopping apps.
Going into the speed test, iPhone models in the past took the lead against Samsung flagships, and it somehow became the fans' justification for Apple's normally higher price points. However, PhoneBuff's recent speed test showed several game changers: Galaxy Note 8 is more expensive and it emerged as being slightly faster.
To compare the devices' speed, Rahimi set up a timer to see how fast both devices opened each app as well as the time it took for them to go back to the home screen to access another one. As Rahimi opened more apps, it showed how the smartphones will maintain its speed or slow down as several other programs are running in the background.
At first, the Galaxy Note 8 had a considerable lead but it struggled a little when opening the Adobe Photoshop Mix app and this allowed the iPhone 8 Plus to catch up. From then on, the two were running almost at the same pace.
However, in the end, the Galaxy Note 8 finished the test first by more than a 6-second lead. But it is also important to note that the iPhone 8 Plus performed much better in opening heavy gaming applications.
The iPhone 8 Plus is now out in the market for $799, while the Galaxy Note 8 is available for $929 and includes the S Pen.
