- Google claims that Android is faster than iOS when it comes to web browsing
- The company says some Android phones are up to 47% faster
- The tests were performed with the Speedometer and LoadLine benchmarks
Choosing between iOS and Android can be difficult – should you go for the privacy-focused, deeply integrated approach of iOS or the open, flexible mindset adopted by Android? Both mobile phone operating systems offer brilliant experiences for their users, but if you’re looking for a way to choose one over the other, Google believes it has a good reason to choose one of the best Android phones: internet browsing speed.
Specifically, a new post on Google’s Chromium blog claims that Android has set a “new record for mobile web performance,” making it “the fastest mobile platform for web browsing.” Given the importance of web browsing to everyday phone use, “web content and its performance are central to the user experience,” Google says.
Android browsing speed was measured using two benchmarking tools: Speedometer, which focuses on latency, and LoadLine, which measures page load speeds. According to a chart provided by Google, three unnamed Android phone makers hit higher Speedometer and LoadLine scores than a “competing mobile phone platform,” which is almost certainly iOS.
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In fact, in the LoadLine test—which was developed by Google and Android manufacturers—Android scored “up to 47% higher than non-Android competitors,” Google claims. Since this is a test expressly designed by companies in the Android ecosystem, it demonstrates the benefits of interested parties working together to improve performance – but may raise questions about its suitability for iOS.
‘Deep vertical integration’
Google says these results were achieved thanks to “deep vertical integration across hardware, Android OS and the Chrome engine.” The firm also worked with Android partners to tune up their devices, leading to an improvement in Speedometer and LoadLine scores of between 20% and 60% year-over-year.
Of course, Google is not a neutral observer in this battle – Android is its own creation, and it is responsible for maintaining and updating the operating system. Without independent testing, these results should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt.
Regardless, what can iOS fans do? Well, it might just be a matter of time before Apple catches up. After all, if any company is known for “deep vertical integration,” it’s Apple. It designs both the hardware and software on its phones — something Google doesn’t yet do — and that’s part of the reason its products tend to perform so well. But with Google throwing down the gauntlet, Apple will have to use all that integration to move the needle back toward iOS.
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