First Benchmark Validates Apple’s iPhone 5 A6 Processor Speed Claim

Apple’s claim that the iPhone 5 is twice as fast as any previous iOS device could be well-founded if the results of a processor benchmark are true.

The iPhone 5 A6 processor achieved a Geekbench score of 1601, which compares favourably with the iPad 3’s 755 and the iPhone 4S’s 629.

The test showed a device running iOS 6, which will be rolled out to compatible iDevices on Wednesday, with a dual core 1.02GHz ARMv7 processor and 1GHz of RAM. Only the Samsung Galaxy S III’s score of 1628 is higher than the iPhone 5, with Apple’s latest smartphone beating all other Android devices on Geekbench.

iPhone 5 A6 Processor

The iPhone 5 was unveiled in San Francisco last week and boasts a larger screen, thinner form, support for 4G Long Term Evolution networks and a brand new eight-pin connector. There were no major surprises from the Cupertino-based company although some were disappointed with the lack of support  for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used in mobile wallets.

Apple claimed that the A6 chip would make it twice as fast the iPhone 4S and would allow for faster graphics.

The Apple-designed processor is manufactured by Samsung (somewhat ironically given the patent war between the two companies over smartphones), which also supplies a number of other components, including flat screens, dynamic random access (DRAM) and NAND memory chips.

However Apple is reportedly reducing its order of memory chips for the iPhone 5 from the Korean manufacturer as it aims to diversify its supplier base. Samsung sold Apple £3.7 million worth of NAND chips in 2010 and the decision is apparently unrelated to the ongoing patent war between the two companies as both consider their relationship to be too important to jeopardise.

How much do you know about the iPhone? Take our quiz!