Is the iPhone 17 Pro really the fastest phone? I've reviewed today's top phones, and here's what lab tests tell me about Apple's claim

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

When Apple announced the iPhone 17 Pro, it said the Apple A19 Pro processor inside was the fastest chip you'll find in a mobile device today – and now that we have the iPhone 17 family in our hands, we’ve run all of Apple’s new phones through the same tests we use for every phone we test.

By some benchmarks, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are today’s top phones, but the complete story is more interesting… and Android fans have reason to hope.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max REVIEW — (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Apple’s claim likely relies on pure application processing performance. Apple’s CPU has six processing cores, and our benchmark software, Geekbench, tests the top performance of the biggest core, as well as the top performance of the entire multi-core platform working together.

The Apple A18 Pro processor in the iPhone 16 Pro was our fastest-performing phone in terms of single-core performance. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (and the 'for Galaxy' upclocked edition in the best Samsung phones) beat the A18 Pro in multicore performance. Our first question is whether Apple’s newest A19 Pro takes the multicore crown.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max scored 9968 on Geekbench multicore benchmark tests, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, the fastest Android we've tested, scored 9829. So the new Apple A19 Pro is the fastest processor in any mobile phone for both single-core and multicore performance…

The iPhone 17 Pro is the fastest phone... unless you're a gamer

Apple iPhone 17 Pro REVIEW — (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

But wait! Just like laptop and desktop computers, today’s top mobile phones also have a graphics processor, and we test graphics performance using a variety of software tools. Using the popular 3DMark benchmark software, for instance, we see Apple’s performance dominance waver quite a bit.

On the 3DMark ‘Solar Bay Unlimited’ test, the iPhone 17 Pro Max managed a respectable 14.43 frames per second. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, on the other hand, drove a whopping 42.36 frames per second on the same test. That’s a massive boost in graphics performance.

Other tests were much closer, however, and once or twice the iPhone took back the lead. On the ‘Wild Life Extreme Unlimited’ test, the iPhone 17 Pro Max pushed 35 frames per second, while the Galaxy made 35.4 frames per second. That’s an unnoticeable difference.

On the ‘Steel Nomad Light Unlimited’ test, the iPhone 17 Pro Max managed 18.63 frames per second, beating the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 16.19 frames.

Can the A19 Pro beat the Snapdragon 8 Elite on battery life?

One of the most interesting lab results we found was the battery life of the latest iPhone Pro models. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite has been providing amazing efficiency, and every Elite-powered phone I’ve tested has offered a major battery life upgrade over the previous generation.

That’s nice for Android, but the iPhone was already incredibly efficient, and today’s iPhone 17 Pro Max continues the tradition. The Pro Max lasted 17 hours and 54 minutes in our battery rundown test. The Galaxy S25 Ultra lasted 17 hours and 35 minutes. Those are average rundown times, and the Ultra did last more than 18 hours in a few test instances.

Of course, neither the iPhone nor Galaxy can hold a candle to the OnePlus 13. With new silicon carbon battery technology inside, the OnePlus 13 lasted 19 hours and 39 minutes in our battery tests, which simply blows every other phone away. It also charges much faster than Apple or Samsung’s best, just to rub it in.

The Snapdragon we have yet to meet

Apple Park campus for Apple Event 2023 — (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

It would be easy to say that Apple makes the fastest phones for raw processing performance and Android makes the best phones for gaming, but there’s a bump in the road ahead that precludes such a proclamation.

Later this month, Qualcomm is hosting its latest Snapdragon Summit, at which I expect to see the next generation of Qualcomm Snapdragon chips for mobile devices. It’s unlikely that Qualcomm will let Apple sit with this performance crown on its head for too long.

Of course, the reality is that most phones are overpowered for today's tasks, and phone makers are scrambling to find new ways to make use of all that processing prowess.

No matter what you're doing with your phone, you can buy these top iPhone and Android models and be sure you're getting amazing performance – and now each side has a victory to brag about.

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Phil Berne is a preeminent voice in consumer electronics reviews, starting more than 20 years ago at eTown.com. Phil has written for Engadget, The Verge, PC Mag, Digital Trends, Slashgear, TechRadar, AndroidCentral, and was Editor-in-Chief of the sadly-defunct infoSync. Phil holds an entirely useful M.A. in Cultural Theory from Carnegie Mellon University. He sang in numerous college a cappella groups.

Phil did a stint at Samsung Mobile, leading reviews for the PR team and writing crisis communications until he left in 2017. He worked at an Apple Store near Boston, MA, at the height of iPod popularity. Phil is certified in Google AI Essentials. He has a High School English teaching license (and years of teaching experience) and is a Red Cross certified Lifeguard. His passion is the democratizing power of mobile technology. Before AI came along he was totally sure the next big thing would be something we wear on our faces.

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