The iPhone XR is 25% faster than the fastest Android phones in Geekbench 4

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 is undoubtedly one of the fastest SoCs on the market, as evidenced by the blistering speeds of devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 and the OnePlus 6. But there’s a little company called Apple selling a handset that handily beats any Android competitor, and it’s not the ridiculous $1100 iPhone XS Max. Rather, the more reasonably priced iPhone XR is about 25% faster than the best Android phones, at least in Geekbench 4.

The iPhone XR, priced at $750 for 64 GB of storage, has managed to beat the best Android phone by about 25% in Geekbench 4. Considering that most high-end Android phones cost upwards of $800, that may make the iPhone XR look like a good deal on paper. After all, you’re getting 25% better performance for a bit cheaper price. While that’s all well and good, keep in mind that synthetic benchmarks do not make a phone.

The iPhone XR has been heavily criticized for its less-than-stellar screen and second-rate design. While it’s sure to offer extremely fast speeds due to the Apple A12 Bionic chip at its heart, that doesn’t mean the phone is a better overall package than, say, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The Oneplus 6 is also in the same realm as the Galaxy Note 9 and costs significantly less, starting at $529. If you’re a diehard Apple fan, the iPhone 8 may make even more sense. Several outlets are starting to sell refurbished models of the iPhone 8, which scored about 10% below the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max in Geekbench 4.

While benchmarks give us a good idea of how fast a phone can be under optimal conditions, it’s not the only thing to consider. So while it is impressive that the $750 iPhone XR beats the $1000+ Galaxy Note 9 by a wide margin in one synthetic benchmark, that doesn’t make it the better deal. As with most mobile electronics, there is much more to consider than just raw specs.

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