Half of iPhone 6s’ produced may have lower performance and there’s nothing you can do about it

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s Plus with Geekbench results shown above

A manufacturer with high standards such as Apple would be assumed to be a company that it takes a lot to please but do 2% – 3% of a gap make a difference? Well it surely does, if you look at the actual numbers. Immensely so, if you needed that extra battery mile to last through your long work day or on your expedition in some desolated area. Apple says the difference is negligible on the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus but we’ll let you decide yourself.

Basically, Apple’s iDevices vary in their processors by engaging two different vendors to supply their A9 chipset. On one hand, you have (their competitor) Samsung, while the other 50% is made by TSMC. The former has a 14nm FinFET process footprint, opposed to the latter – 16.nm FinFET process. This allegiance is nothing new, as Apple has enlisted help for quite a number of years already.

In real-world scenarios the 2-3% could set off alarms, depending how you use your new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. A Geekbench battery test was run comparing the two devices and the results are shown below:

On the left is the Samsung processor. The right is the TSMC processor.

Other than their battery scores, the two processors also performed differently on AnTuTu’s benchmark – TSMC’s chip won overall. In the same test, it was also clear that their batteries levels differed; again, the TSMC processor had more battery left (77%), when compared to the Samsung powered iPhone 6s (71%). If you managed to do the math, that’s a 6% disparity in numbers, which is double the 3% Apple noticed in their lab tests.

Then again, once you’ve loaded up your apps and info, your device would run totally different compared to someone with the same chipset. So its possible that Apple was spot on with the 2-3% irregularity. Being quick to assess damage Apple has since made a statement addressed to the various publications that brought this information to light.

“With the Apple-designed A9 chip in your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, you are getting the most advanced smartphone chip in the world. Every chip we ship meets Apple’s highest standards for providing incredible performance and deliver great battery life, regardless of iPhone 6s capacity, color, or model.

Certain manufactured lab tests which run the processors with a continuous heavy workload until the battery depletes are not representative of real-world usage, since they spend an unrealistic amount of time at the highest CPU performance state. It’s a misleading way to measure real-world battery life. Our testing and customer data show the actual battery life of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, even taking into account variable component differences, vary within just 2-3% of each other.”

There’s nothing much you can do about it though, but if you’d like to see if you’ve one-upped a friend/family member of yours, by all means use this iTunes approved Lirum Device Info Lite – System Monitor to identify if your iPhone 6s / Plus is using the better performing chip

If your device list these magic model numbers below then you’re in luck:

TSMC processor
iPhone 6s – N71MAP / iPhone 6s Plus – N66MAP

but if you’re finding this model number instead, you’re on the other end:

Samsung processor
iPhone 6s – N71AP / iPhone 6s Plus – N66AP

There may be a silver lining after all, cause any company should have an amazing reason choosing two sources for their internals. As far as supply and demand go, it’s tough when you need to go to a competitor like Samsung to get your chipsets, and relying on them is definitely pain. You could say that, biting the bullet and producing real-world results through its products on the shelves allows Apple to gauge if there’s still worth in getting chips from Samsung.

Can Malaysians nationwide do anything about this? Well it’ll be hard to make a case stating that their device is inferior, cause there’s no way of telling the difference when actually buying the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus; unlike Android OEMs (e.g Samsung) that clearly tell you that this model is an Exynos processor, while the other is a Qualcomm chip.

Apple’s statement was only directed at one publication but it doesn’t take a lot to assume that they will continue to roll-out system updates that could make them more alike; whether that means making the Samsung chip in the iPhone 6s / Plus better than the TSMC’s or vice versa, still remains unseen. Their power in controlling both their hardware and software internally gives them the ability to tweak and adjust to these issues highlighted.

What do you make of this? Will Apple’s new iPhones suffer? Or will people just live with their new status symbol? Let us know your thoughts in the comment below.

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