First Galaxy S10 Benchmarks: Meet the Fastest Android Ever
The Galaxy S10’s benchmark results show a phone that’s considerably faster than all other Android phones, but the iPhone XS is faster in some tests.
We just got our hands on the Galaxy S10+, and based on our initial benchmarks, this new phone from Samsung has plenty of power.
In fact, the S10+ soundly beats the iPhone XS on one of the most demanding graphics tests, and it gets a lot closer to Apple's phone on Geekbench than any other Android phone before it.
The $999 S10+ we’re testing has the new Snapdragon 855 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but you can buy the S10+ with up to 12GB of RAM, if you don't mind paying $1,599 for a phone. Here are the test results we've logged so far.
Geekbench 4 (Overall Performance)
Phone | Score |
Galaxy S10+ | 10,732 |
iPhone XS | 11,420 |
Galaxy Note 9 | 8,876 |
OnePlus 6T | 8,972 |
Pixel 3 | 7,316 |
Galaxy S9 | 8,295 |
On Geekbench 4, which measures overall performance, the S10+ turned in a multi-core score of 10,732, which blows away the Galaxy Note 9 (8,876), OnePlus 6T (8,972) and Pixel 3 (7,316). All three of those phones use last year's Snapdragon 845, while the Galaxy S10 is powered by the more advanced Snapdragon 855 chipset.
Still, the iPhone XS, powered by an Apple designed A12 Bionic chip, is faster on this test. Apple's flagship scores 11,420 on Geekbench 4, and while that's better than what the Galaxy S10 turned in, this is the narrowest the gap has been in some time.
MORE: Galaxy S10 vs. Galaxy S10+ vs. Galaxy S10e: What Should You Buy?
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Consider this: The Galaxy S9, also powered by a Snapdragon 845, scored 8,295 on Geekbench. That means the Galaxy S10 is nearly 30 percent faster than its predecessor
The S10+ notched a single-core score of 3,521. The iPhone XS scored a much higher 4,820. The Pixel 3 gets a bit more than 2,300, and the OnePlus 6T is in the same ballpark as Google's phone.
3DMark Sling Shot Extreme (Graphics)
Phone | Score |
Galaxy S10+ | 5,648 |
OnePlus 6T | 5,183 |
Galaxy Note 9 | 4,639 |
Pixel 3 XL | 4,396 |
iPhone XS | 4,339 |
Galaxy S9+ | 4,634 |
When it comes to graphics prowess, the Galaxy S10+ is a flagship phone to be reckoned with. On the OpenGL ES 3.1 portion of the Sling Shot Extreme test, this Samsung turned in a very high score of 5,648.
Last year's Galaxy S9 hit 4,634, so that comes out to a 21 percent improvement.
The Galaxy S10+'s score also beats the OnePlus 6T (5,183), Galaxy Note 9 (4,639) and the Pixel 3 XL (4,396) and it trounces the iPhone XS (4,339).
Video Editing (Adobe Premiere Clip)
Phone | Time (Mins:Secs) |
Galaxy S10+ | 2:26 |
iPhone XS | 0:39 |
Pixel 3 | 2:53 |
OnePlus 6T | 3:45 |
Galaxy S9 | 2:32 |
While the Galaxy S10 will be optimized for Adobe’s new Premiere Rush video editing app when that software, becomes available, for now we have to use the older Adobe Clips app to compare performance between Samsung’s new phone and the competition.
It took the S10+ 2 minutes and 26 seconds to save a 2-minute 4K video to 1080p after we applied a filter and a couple of effects. With the same settings, the iPhone XS taes only 39 seconds.
The S10+ is faster than other Android phones on this test. The Pixel 3 took a leisurely 2:53, while the OnePlus 6T took a longer 3:45. Last year’s Galaxy S9 took 2:32.
Bottom Line
We will be performing other tests to measure the Galaxy S10+’s performance, including app open times and gaming tests. But for now the S10+ looks like a winner. It beats the iPhone XS on graphics performance and it has narrowed the gap significantly on Geekbench multi-core. It will be very interesting to see how the S10+ stacks up against the iPhone XS once the Adobe Premiere Rush app comes out for Android.
Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.