Antutu Benchmark Score Comparison : Snapdragon 801 vs. 800 vs. 805, Exynos 5433, MT6592, Apple A7

I know a lot of my readers tend to look at the Antutu Benchmark Score of their smartphones or tablets to determine the level of gaming performance and overall touch and user experience that their devices are capable of delivering.

But what exactly does this benchmark test measure?

According to Beijing Antutu Technology, "Through click and go test suite, Antutu benchmark measures User Experience, CPU, RAM, 2D/3D graphics, GPU, and I/O performance of any Android smartphone or tablet. You will get accurate device performance score report. The score will update to the Antutu benchmark database and get your device ranking, which you can compare with other Android devices. Here's the Benchmark Matrix:

• User Experience (UX) - Direct impression on smart device performance with detailed scores.
• CPU Tests - Measures how powerful the CPU is, with detailed score points and true hard numbers.
• RAM Tests - Real processing ability of the RAM.
• GPU Tests - Real graphics processing performance, 3D effects, games, and video play performance.
• I/O Tests - A direct score that reflects on the factual input/output (I/O) performance your system permits.

Note, however, that the Antutu benchmark score of your device is decided not just by its hardware configuration but it is also affected by many elements, including system mode, device temperature and running apps as well as other elements. It may not be the same score every time you test."

The amount of RAM and Internal Storage, the GPU model, the screen size and resolution, the power saving settings -- these are some key factors that affect or contribute to the Antutu Benchmark Score of a device. But of all of them, the central chipset model is number one element which greatly determines how high or low a smartphone or tablet will rank in the charts.

TP Friends, here's a comparative chart of Antutu Benchmark Scores of popular devices running on the most powerful SoCs currently available in the market. (2014). I've also taken the liberty of listing down notable smartphone and tablet models from various electronics companies that are powered by each chipset.

NVIDIA Tegra K1 - 32-Bit: Xiaomi Mi Pad, HTC Nexus 9, 64-Bit: Acer Chromebook CB5, Google Project Tango Tablet

Samsung Exynos 5433 64-Bit Octa Core - Samsung Galaxy Alpha

Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 - LG G3 LTE-A (Korea), Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A (Korea), Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 - Sony Xperia Z2, Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3, Oppo Find 7, HTC One M8, HTC One E8, Samsung Galaxy S5 Active, Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport, Sony Xperia Z3, ZTE Z7, Gionee Elife EZL, Xiaomi Mi4

Huawei Hi3630 Octa Core - Huawei Mulan

NVIDIA Tegra 4 - Cherry Mobile Tegra Note 7, NVIDIA Shield, Microsoft Surface 2, Asus Transformer Pad Infinity 2013

Samsung Exynos 5420 - Samsung Chromebook 2 11.6, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 - Sony Xperia Z1, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, Gionee Elife E7, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, LG G2, LG G Pro 2, Lenovo Vibe Z LTE, LG G Flex, Samsung Tab S 10.5 and 8.4 LTE, Nokia Lumia 930, Nokia Lumia 1520, Nokia Lumia Icon, Xiaomi Mi3

2.0 GHz Mediatek MT6592 - Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+

Apple A7 64-Bit - Apple iPhone 5S, Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display, Apple iPad Air

Samsung Exynos 5260 Hexa Core - Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo, Samsung Galaxy K Zoom

Samsung Exynos 5410 - Samsung Galaxy S4 i9500 non-LTE, ZTE Grand S II

LG Odin - TBA

1.7 GHz MediaTek MT6592 Octa Core - O+ Air, Gionee Elife S5.5, Starmobile Octa, MyPhone Agua Infinity, THL 100s Monkey King 2, THL T200 Cyborg, Cherry Mobile Cosmos Z2, Cherry Mobile Magnum S, Cherry Mobile Omega Infinity, Cherry Mobile Pulse, SKK Kraken, Xiaomi Redmi Note

Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 - Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE Variant, HTC One, HTC One Max, Nexus 7 2013, Oppo N1, HTC Butterfly S, ZTE Grand Memo, Xiaomi Mi2s, LG Optimus G Pro

Huawei Hi6620 - Huawei MediaPad X1

MediaTek MT6591 Hexa Core - TBA

Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 - Samsung Galaxy Mega 2, Huawei G621

As you can see in the table, Dual Core "Project Denver" 64-bit Tegra K1 SoC by NVIDIA currently leads the pack in terms of raw power measured by Antutu Benchmark. It is closely followed by the recently launched 64-bit Octa Core Exynos 5433, which will debut on the upcoming metal-clad flagship Samsung Galaxy Alpha.

Last year, Qualcomm had a runaway winner with the Quad Core Krait 400 and Adreno 330 based Snapdragon 800, which powered some of the best-selling 2013 flagship releases including the TechPinas of Badge of Excellence recipients Sony Xperia Z1, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and LG G2. I believe it is also in this SoC's era that the argument that Android phones are laggy became moot and academic. I hope, though, that Qualcomm won't rest on its laurels and continue to release game-changing chips -- as obviously, Snapdragon 805 and 801 both offer little improvement from what their predecessor is capable of delivering.

Of all of these chipset makers though, MediaTek - I would say - is the one that greatly helped to democratize the smartphone industry. By releasing the affordable yet powerful True Octa Core MT6592 SoC, OEMs from India and China were able to come up with very affordable devices with power rivaling that of handsets more than twice the price. This, in turn, made it possible for our local handset players and even international handset makers O+ and Gionee to offer powerhouse yet pocket-friendly flagship smartphones. The much-anticipated 2GHz version this processor is believed to offer a considerable leap in performance from the 1.7GHz model that's currently in the market.

What are the chipsets powering your smartphones, TP Friends? What can you say about your devices' overall performance? Share you thoughts in the comments section below.