iPhone 3G S Benchmarks and Comparisons: Up to 4x Faster than 3G - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iPhone 3G S Benchmarks and Comparisons: Up to 4x Faster than 3G

Since Friday's release of the iPhone 3G S, there has been a lot of focus on the actual speed gains provided by the newest iPhone model.

Anandtech performed formal benchmarks between the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S, Palm Pre and Android G1 to see which was the fastest in web rendering and app launching. The site found a 122% speed improvement in web rendering in the iPhone 3G S over the iPhone 3G and a 22.6% improvement in the 3G S over the Palm Pre in the same testing. The iPhone 3G S was also the leader of the pack in app launching with 14-72% improvements over the iPhone 3G.

Meanwhile, Tap Tap Tap found that the framerate (video) of their currently unoptimized but graphics intensive Plasma application runs about four times faster on the iPhone 3G S than the iPhone 3G:

As the video shows, in our OpenGL ES testing, the 3GS is generally close to four times faster than the 3G. Results will vary depending on the application but this is remarkable to say the least. Plasmas pretty heavy on particle animation and fairly CPU intensive.

Finally, the developer of AirCoaster 3D [App Store] a roller coaster simulation application put together this comparison video showing the dramatic difference in performance of a particularly complex track on the 3G and 3G S.


The differences in performance are expected to be even more significant once developers start taking advantage of the advanced graphics capabilities found in the iPhone 3G S.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Sunday August 16, 2026 8:24 pm PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the...
iPhone 18 Pro Rumored Colors

What's Coming in September: New iPhones, Apple Watches and More

Thursday August 13, 2026 4:20 pm PDT by
Apple will introduce at least five new devices at its iPhone-centric event next month, and it's also possible we'll get devices waiting on Siri AI like the Apple TV. iPhone 18 Pro The iPhone 18 Pro is going to look like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting some internal updates, including a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more control over lighting ...
iPhone 17 One Year Later Thumb 1

Should You Buy an iPhone 17 Now or Wait for iPhone 18?

Friday August 14, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
For the first time since Apple started selling standard and "Pro" iPhones, we're not going to get an entry-level iPhone model this fall. Apple doesn't plan to release an iPhone 18 in September, and will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra. The lower-cost iPhone 18 won't come out until spring 2027. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...