SHOOTOUT: iPad Air 2 versus
iPad Air and iPhone 6 Plus
Posted Wednesday, October 29th, 2014 by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
In addition to comparing the the iPad Air 2 to the iPad Air, we have added the iPhone 6 Plus.
Geekbench 3 simulates real-world workloads to measure integer, floating point, and memory performance. (RED bar means HIGHEST score.)
Notice the iPad Air 2 pulls away from the other iPad Air and iPhone 6 Plus when using multiple cores. BTW, it has 3 cores while the others only have 2. (RED bar means HIGHEST score.)
Sunspider benchmark tests the Javascript "engine" in your smartphone or computer. It's launched from a website using your browser. (RED graph bar indicates the quickest time in milliseconds.)
3DMark -- We used the Ice Storm Unlimited test without vertical sync, display resolution scaling, and other operating system factors affecting the result. Ice Storm Graphics test 1 stresses the hardwareÕs ability to process lots of vertices while keeping the pixel load relatively light. Hardware on this level may have dedicated capacity for separate vertex and pixel processing. Stressing both capacities individually reveals the hardwareÕs limitations in both aspects. Pixel load is kept low by excluding expensive post processing steps and by not rendering particle effects. (RED bar means FASTEST in Frames per Second.)
Graphics test 2 stresses the hardwareÕs ability to process lots of pixels. It tests the ability to read textures, do per pixel computations, and write to render targets. The additional pixel processing compared to Graphics test 1 comes from including particles and post processing effects such as bloom, streaks and motion blur. The numbers of vertices and triangles are considerably lower than in Graphics test 1 because shadows are not drawn and the processed geometry has a lower number of polygons. (RED bar means FASTEST in Frames per Second.)
The GFXBench 3.0 OpenGL ES 3 "T-Rex HD" test is a game simulation where a Tyrannosaurus chases a dirt bike rider. The "OFF-screen" mode runs the test at 1920x1080 offscreen for all devices. (RED bar means FASTEST in Frames per Second.)
But then, when you run games on your iPad or iPhone, your screen will be running at its native resolution. Since the iPad Air 2 has a higher resolution than the iPhone 6 Plus, the 'contest' comes down to an essential tie. (RED bar means FASTEST in Frames per Second.)
CONCLUSION
The iPad Air 2's performance is impressive compared to the iPad Air. And the iPhone 6 Plus is competitive in some tests but the iPad Air 2 is clearly the 'king' of iOS devices.
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, mad scientist.
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