Apple iPhone 6 review: Scaled to order

Performance

The iPhone 6, just like the iPhone 6 Plus, is running on the new generation Apple A8 chipset. It is manufactured by a new 20nm process, which means smaller parts, less heat and less power consumption.

Just like the past few years Apple didn't specify the A8 specifications, but thanks reverse engineering of the chip the details are no longer a secret. Apple A8 inside the iPhone 6 packs a dual-core 64-bit Cyclone processor clocked at 1.4GHz. It is 100MHz faster than the processor inside the A7 (iPhone 5s), but it requires less power to run. There are suggestions that L1 and L2 CPU caches are larger and the L2 isn't shared as before, but this is yet to be confirmed.

The other more prominent upgrade in the Apple A8 is the new generation GPU - the PowerVR GX6450 with four GPU cores. The A7 chip used a quad-core PowerVT GX6430, which was quite the performer, but Apple needed something even better for the higher resolution iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The GX6450 within the Apple A8 also uses four GPU cores, but the newer generation should be enough to provide the necessary graphic boost.

So, there is no better way to illustrate the actual Apple A8 performance than with some synthetic benchmarks.

We start with the Geekbech 3 test to see how the overclocked CPU and memory are doing. The iPhone 6 did great, providing 20% performance boost over its iPhone 5s predecessor and on par with the current crop of Snapdragon 801 flagships. The octa-core Galaxy Alpha isn't that far ahead either.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  3214
• Oppo Find 7
  3178
• Oppo Find 7a
  3093
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S800
  2937
• Apple iPhone 6
  2924
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  2884
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2860
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  2856
• LG G3 - EU version
  2563
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  2552
• Apple iPhone 5
  1296

The Basemark OS II gives an overall device score based on CPU, graphics, system performance, memory, web, among others. Surprisingly, the new iPhone 6 duo climbs on top of our chart beating every device we've tested so far and on par with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge phablets powered by the latest Snapdragon 805 chipset.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  1260
• Apple iPhone 6
  1252
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  1235
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  1222
• Oppo Find 7
  1212
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  1167
• LG G3 - EU version
  1126
• Sony Xperia Z3
  1109
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  1077
• Oppo Find 7a
  1057
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S800
  1003
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  915
• Apple iPhone 5
  589

As we mentioned before, the Apple iPhone 6 comes with a brand new PowerVR GX6450 GPU. It uses four GPU cores for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but its clock is quire possibly higher on the Plus model because it has an even better performance despite its higher resolution. First we ran the Basemark X graphic benchmark and we were surprised to find the iPhone 6 among best phones we've tested to date. It seems the onscreen performance of the PowerVR GX6450 GPU is excellent.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  16620
• Apple iPhone 6
  15841
• Oppo Find 7
  14968
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  14341
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12637
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  12080
• LG G3 - EU version
  11552
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  11065
• Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  8300
• Apple iPhone 5
  2229

The GFX Benchmark 3.0 gives more perspective on the iPhone 6 performance. We found out that the GFX Benchmark, on the iPhone 6 Plus use upscaled graphics for the on-screen tests due to the lack of proper support for the new devices, hence the surprisingly good score. That's why we removed the iphone 6 Plus scores. Apple iPhone 6 runs the on-screen test probably upscaled as well, but the difference in the resolution isn't as significant as with the iPhone 6 Plus.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6
  51
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  48.4
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  41.3
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  40.7
• Sony Xperia Z3
  29.3
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.8
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S800
  26.7
• LG G3 - EU version
  20.5
• Oppo Find 7
  19.9

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6
  29.2
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  25.4
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  25.3
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  24.3
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S800
  10
• LG G3 - EU version
  7.2
• Oppo Find 7
  6.7

What we didn't expect is the offscreen 1080p score of the iPhone 6. Naturally, the iPhone 6 Plus did very close to its 1080p onscreen results, but the iPhone 6 output almost equal frame rate. There is a minor difference, which is probably due to the difference in the GPU clock, but apparently the PowerVR GX66450 GPU is a real beast, handling heavy graphics with ease. It's obvious that in terms of hardware the new iPhone is not behind the curve but just on the contrary - it's ahead of it.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  44.6
• Apple iPhone 6
  42.6
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  31.3
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  28.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.4
• Oppo Find 7
  28
• Sony Xperia Z3
  27.7
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  27.4
• LG G3 - EU version
  27.2
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S800
  26.3
• Apple iPhone 5
  6.9

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  18.6
• Apple iPhone 6
  17.7
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  13.4
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  12.9
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  11.8
• LG G3 - EU version
  11.4
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• Oppo Find 7
  11.1
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S800
  9.9

If the great CPU and GPU scores on the benchmarks didn't convince you enough the new iPhone 6 is a real powerhouse featuring flagship hardware and software, then here come the web browser tests. Both the JavaScript-centric Kraken and the compound BrowserMark 2.1 confirm the iPhone 6 is among the best performers on the market and the device newcomers have to beat.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  4650
• Apple iPhone 6
  4710
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  4911
• Apple iPhone 5s (iOS 8)
  5396
• Sony Xperia Z3
  6355
• Oppo Find 7
  6363
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  6480
• Oppo Find 7a
  6660
• LG G3 - EU version
  6987
• Apple iPhone 5
  14171

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3389
• Apple iPhone 6
  3153
• Sony Xperia Z3
  1533
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  1500
• LG G3 - EU version
  1474
• Oppo Find 7
  1452
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  1364
• Oppo Find 7a
  1327
• Apple iPhone 5
  900

These benchmark results might come shocking for some, but they really aren't. The new GPU is better in every way against the current crop of flagships, but that's probably going to change with the Adreno 420 with the Snapdragon 805 and the Nvidia Kepler in the Tegra K1. The upgraded dual-core Cyclone processor seems to be handling things way better than expected providing similar performance as a quad-core Krait 400 CPU.

Judging by the raw performance in the benchmarks and the snappier than ever user experience with the iOS 8 and its app, the new iPhone 6 is a flagship device in every way - beating everything the competition has to offer. Hopefully you didn't bet money on the opposite.