Test iPhone and iPad performance with benchmark apps

Benchmarks are as old as computers. After all, it’s always practical to find out how fast a particular system is. There are many ways to measure speed. The simplest ones do a complex calculation on a computer and measure how long it takes to complete. In this case, ‘faster, better’ applies.

This is not very accurately measured because then only certain parts of a processor are powered, not the rest of the system. Advanced benchmarks run a set of real-world applications (or their code). You can compress a photo or file, encrypt, edit photos, word processing, etc. think. After a while of spinning (and possibly repeating) this results in an average.

This number gives a fairly reliable idea of ​​the actual performance of a device, as the user ultimately experiences it. Comparing this number is much more interesting than a ‘formula race’.

Also read: Test your PC’s performance with these benchmarking tools

Geekbench is an application from this category. The advantage of this app is that it is multi-platform. And so completely different devices like Windows PC and iPad can be compared.

The process is simple: – in this example – launch the app on your iPad. Tap the bottom left column SELECT BENCHMARK on Processor and then Run Benchmarkrepeat for computer. Wait until everything is completed and you will be shown the scores. You can compare with other iOS/ipados devices at https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks.

If you score significantly lower (maybe not much higher unless you’re using a newly released device), then you should see what’s wrong. For example, your tested device may be running in battery saver mode. Apps running in the background can also negatively affect the score.

In short: Geekbench is a nice tool for speed measurement, just think of it as a CPU variant of the old dynamometer. But it’s also a little boring to watch. This is because Geekbench does not focus on the graphics capabilities of your device. The GPU is included, but only as an extra processor for certain tasks. Geekbench says something about the GPU, but in a different way.

There are also benchmarks that specifically target – specifically – the 3D features of your device. And here is where it gets interesting. In addition to a rigid measurement method (which often doesn’t look graphically appealing or interesting), it also usually includes a nice demo of what all calculations look like in practice. An example of such an application is 3DMark Wild Life Benchmark.

Install and launch the application. Make sure the switch is in the back for sit back and relax mode. unlimited mode closed; then click Start. You will now see a ‘movie’ of scenes calculated in real time. Older iPhone and iPad models may struggle with this, leading to a kind of slideshow in the worst case. New versions run things smoothly. After all, you will also see a score here that you can compare.

If the name 3DMark sounds familiar to you, it might be correct. The underlying company has been doing 3D benchmarks for many years now. The first is for PC where they also make the most of GPU and graphics card. And now it’s a long time for mobile devices as well. If you enter the app store, you will encounter more benchmarks from them. Legacy devices usually work much better on older devices.

However, these versions are usually no longer kept up to date. They also tend to crash sometimes because they don’t work well with much newer versions of iOS and/or iPadOS. But there’s no harm in trying, of course. Unfortunately this is the reason why some old apps have since been removed from the app store. Pity, also for historical reasons.

By the way, do not forget to remove such applications from your device after using them. They take up a relatively large amount of storage and of course these are typical for apps you forgot you installed!

Orbital Flight is also a good benchmark. Someone a few years old, so both newer and slightly older devices can handle this just fine. Snow Forest is also a beautiful forest that will delight children. The latter, even if only because of the Explore mode, where you can change the main character’s clothes and do other things. This is a more realistic approach to what the average game offers in 3D work.

If your device is having issues and you still want to play games, it may be time to upgrade. The Gravity Mark GPU takes a different path and is therefore more timeless. This app keeps adding 3D objects to a scene until the frame rate drops below 30 frames per second. For example, with an M1-based iPad Pro, this might take some time, but in the meantime, there’s something to look at.

Finally, a separate benchmark is 8 Queens Performance. This calculates a chess problem where 92 solutions are calculated as quickly as possible.

That’s about 92 of the 16 million options where 8 queens don’t attack each other on an 8×8 chessboard. It’s nice that you can specify the number of threads ‘resolver’ can use. To do this, use the selection menu in the upper right corner of the screen.

Even if you assign a single thread, we can already reveal that solving the puzzle on an M1 device is lightning fast. Admittedly: less graphic fireworks, but impressive. Try to solve such brain teasers yourself with real chess pieces on a chessboard! It will be a part of life for many people.