iPhone XS Max vs Google Pixel 3 XL in Speed Test

While Google has made its Pixel 3 XL a superior device compared to last year's Pixel model, the new smartphone was found by one speed test to deliver inferior performance when compared against the Apple iPhone XS Max. The new Pixel phone has a bunch of similarities with the largest-ever iPhone model, including the traditional notch on the front, thin-bezel display, and minimum 64GB of onboard storage.
Some reports also confirm that there is 4GB of RAM on both models, though Apple didn't reveal memory details on the new iPhone. However, despite the similarities, the Pixel 3 XL has lost a speed test with the iPhone XS Max as the opponent. The latest iPhone model is found to have better memory management over the Pixel 3 XL, which was recently spotted with memory management issues by some users.

A video posted by YouTube channel PhoneBuff tests the performance of the Pixel 3 XL with the iPhone XS Max with two rounds of app launches on each phone to find a winner. It shows that while the latest iPhone model completes its first "lap" of app launches in just 1 minute and 46 seconds, the new Pixel phone took 2 minutes and two seconds in completing its first lap.

Once the first lap in which apps such as Facebook, Starbucks, Microsoft Word, Camera, and Subway Surfers are launched, the video moves to the second lap in which the same series of apps is accessed to test how quickly the competitors are able to recall them from their memory. The iPhone XS Max apparently does an "excellent job" in going back to the previously accessed apps. But in contrast, the Pixel 3 XL was significantly slower to recall the previous apps from its memory. The end results show that the iPhone XS Max took about 2 minutes and 30 seconds in completing two laps, while the Pixel 3 XL finished the speed test by taking a total of 3 minutes and 35 seconds.

It appears that the memory management issues that were reported soon after the launch of the Pixel 3 XL impacted its performance in the speed test. Also, the faster performance of the iPhone XS Max in the video highlights how efficient is iOS 12 in terms of caching apps in the background and optimising the overall experience.

Having said that, the latest speed test isn't valid to measure real-world performance neither of the Pixel 3 XL nor the iPhone XS Max. There may be some instances in which you'll see the latest Pixel phone defeating the top-end iPhone model. Also, network latency plays a vital role especially in loading apps that access Web services.

October 24, 2018