Benchmarks Reveal Nexus 5 Is Faster Than Nexus 6
With its $699 price tag, you would probably expect the Nexus 6 to boast faster speeds than its predecessor. After all, Google did upgrade the processor from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 to the Snapdragon 805. But recent benchmarks posted on AnandTech.com paint a different picture.
According to AnandTech.com, the Nexus 5 fared better across the board when compared to the newer, and more expensive Nexus 6. The random read benchmarks, for instance, revealed a speed of 10.06 MB/s for the Nexus 6 and 27.70 MB/s for the Nexus 5, suggesting the Nexus 5 is nearly three times faster. And when performing a random write benchmark, the Nexus 6 scored 0.75 MB/s, whereas the Nexus 5 scored 13.09 MB/s.
This round of benchmarks is certainly eye-opening considering all of the hype surrounding Google’s latest flagship smartphone. Conventional wisdom should lead you to believe the Nexus 6 is faster. It features a faster Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB RAM (compare to the Nexus 5’s 2GB), and it runs the latest version of Google’s Android operating system, Android 5.0 Lollipop. The problem, however, may be related to encryption settings within Android 5.0.
Android 5.0 Lollipop introduces new encryption technology to help protect users’ devices from prying eyes, which AnandTech.com believes is the cause of its poor benchmarks. When benchmarks were performed on a Nexus 6 device without encryption, users noted a steep improvement in both read and write.
“To me, the move to enable FDE by default in Lollipop seems like a reactionary move to combat the perception that Android is insecure or more prone to attack than iOS, even if that perception may not actually be accurate. While it’s always good to improve the security of your platform, the current solution results in an unacceptable hit to performance. I hope Google will either reconsider their decision to enable FDE by default, or implement it in a way that doesn’t have as significant of an impact on performance,” wrote AnandTech.com.
Does this mean you should avoid buying the Nexus 6? Not necessarily, as the slower benchmarks are most likely caused by Android 5.0’s Full Disk Encryption (FDE). If enough users voice their displeasure with this feature, Google will likely either remove it or optimize it so it doesn’t slow down the Nexus 6. Until that time comes, though, you can check back with our blog here at TheNexus5.com for all of the latest news surrounding Google’s flagship smartphone, or smartphones.
Do you plan on buying the Google Nexus 6? Let us know in the comments section below!
