Well, well, well, what do we have here? For the first time in what feels like tech history, a Samsung phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, has outrun an iPhone, the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max, in a speed test.
Yes, you read that right—the iPhone 16 Pro Max got left in the dust by our Android champion, as proven by none other than the speed test maestro, PhoneBuff (via SamMobile).
PhoneBuff used a robotic arm to simulate app usage, opening and then reopening apps in reverse order. The Galaxy S25 Ultra zipped through these tasks in just 3 minutes and 7 seconds, while the iPhone took a slower 3 minutes and 21 seconds.
OnePlus 13, with its 16GB of RAM (yes, more than the Samsung’s 12GB), still couldn’t keep up, finishing in 3 minutes and 12 seconds. So, what does this tell us? It’s not just about the RAM; it’s about how you use it.
For years, we’ve all acknowledged that Apple’s custom chips were the speed kings, setting the pace in CPU performance. But Qualcomm has been quietly catching up, and with their latest ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite’, they’ve not only caught up but leapfrogged past with the help of Nuvia’s CPU architecture.
This chip has brought a massive leap in performance, especially in single-core tasks, making devices like the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S25 Ultra formidable competitors.
Now, let’s talk about what this means for us, the users. Does this victory signal a new era where Android phones might consistently outperform iPhones in speed? Or is this just a one-off?
As someone who’s been juggling between Android and iOS for years, this is both exciting and confusing. I mean, do I switch back to Android for the speed, or do I stay with iOS for the ecosystem? What about you? Are you ready to jump ship, or are you loyal to your brand?
You can see it for yourself in the video below – trust me, it’s like watching a tech race where you didn’t know who would win.
