iPhone 12 Pro Beats Samsung Note 20 Ultra in App Loading Speed Test

Apple's iPhone 12 Pro has successfully outperformed the Samsung Note 20 Ultra in a real world app speed test conducted by PhoneBuff, with the A14 chip and 6GB RAM winning out over the Snapdragon 856 chip and 12GB RAM in Samsung's smartphone.


The performance test measured how long it took each phone to open a series of apps. Each smartphone opened the same series of apps, including Facebook, the camera app, Microsoft apps, Adobe Rush, games, and more.

The ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro pulled well ahead in the portion of the test that included rendering video in Adobe Rush, and kept up the lead through launching several games. Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro finished the first "lap" of opening apps up in a minute and 41 seconds, while it took the Note 20 Ultra one minute and 55 seconds to complete the same tasks.

During the second lap, which measures how well the smartphones are able to keep apps running in the background, the ‌iPhone‌ finished in 42 seconds, while the Note 20 Ultra took 46 seconds.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was the prior winner of app speed tests conducted by Phone Buff, but the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro is the new champion and the best performing smartphone available on the market today when it comes to that particular app speed test. According to PhoneBuff, it has been 20 months since an ‌iPhone‌ last held the top spot.

Tag: Samsung

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
amazon black friday

Amazon Kicks Off Black Friday Sale With Major Discounts on Apple Accessories, TVs, and More

Sunday November 23, 2025 7:12 am PST by
Black Friday deals have begun, and Amazon is one of the best places you can find steep discounts on numerous products this week. We've already collected all of the best Apple-related deals you'll find at Amazon (and other retailers) in our Apple Black Friday Deals post, so below you'll find other discounts on devices like Anker accessories, Beats headphones, video games, TVs, and more. Note:...

Top Rated Comments

UltimateSyn Avatar
66 months ago
How could that be possible! Samsung Note 20 Ultra has TWELVE JIGGABYTES of RAM!
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
7thson Avatar
66 months ago
These tests are impressive in their findings but it’s safe to say that nobody uses their devices like this. It’s all about software optimized to hardware, which iOS will continue to dominate for the foreseeable future. So props to Apple but keep innovating.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chinch07 Avatar
66 months ago

The difference is minimum though...
I disagree. The iPhone finished nearly 20 seconds faster and it only has half the RAM that the Samsung has available.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chrjy Avatar
66 months ago
I love my 12 Pro but what has the world come to when we need to save a few seconds when opening apps. People need to experience the world a little more and just enjoy life.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cupcakes2000 Avatar
66 months ago

Pointless test, but OK
Pointlesss comment, but OK
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cubsfan Avatar
66 months ago

I love my 12 Pro but what has the world come to when we need to save a few seconds when opening apps. People need to experience the world a little more and just enjoy life.
I agree with this, but "enjoy life" != "waiting for my phone". The quicker my devices do what I want them to do, the more I can actually enjoy life.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)