iPad Air 2 Up to 55% Faster Than iPhone 6, Up to 68% Faster Than iPad Air - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iPad Air 2 Up to 55% Faster Than iPhone 6, Up to 68% Faster Than iPad Air

A short time ago, we highlighted a new benchmark appearing to show an iPad Air 2 device carrying an A8X chip with a triple-core 1.5 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM.

While we mentioned that the enhanced specs have led to huge performance gains compared to the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Primate Labs has now published a nice pair of charts showing just how dramatic this improvement really is, making the iPad Air 2 far and away the fastest iOS device ever.

The most striking improvement comes in the multi-score benchmarks, where the A8X with its three cores of processing power blows away the dual-core A8 found in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. As a result, the iPad Air 2 registers over 55 percent faster than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the multi-core benchmark. Comparing iPad to iPad, the A8X in the iPad Air 2 measures 68 percent faster than the A7 in last year's iPad Air according to the multi-core benchmark.

ipad_air_2_geekbench_multi
The iPad Air 2 also sets new high scores in the single-core benchmarks thanks to the 1.5 GHz cores in the A8X, with much of the nearly 13 percent gain over the A8 coming from the 100 MHz speed improvement compared the 1.4 GHz cores found in the iPhone and 6 Plus. The iPad Air 2 of course also compares favorably to the original iPad Air, with single core scores up 23 percent.

ipad_air_2_geekbench_single

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

iPad A16 Colors

Here's When to Expect an iPad 12 With Apple Intelligence

Friday May 1, 2026 8:21 am PDT by
A new entry-level iPad 12 with Apple Intelligence support likely remains months away, based on a comment shared by an Apple executive this week. On an earnings call on Thursday, Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh said that the company's iPad revenue in the March-June quarter will face a "difficult compare" due to the the launch of the entry-level iPad 11 with the A16 chip in March 2025. Parekh is...
ipad blue

It's a Bad Time to Buy the Low-Cost iPad

Thursday May 14, 2026 2:12 pm PDT by
Apple's iPad that's just an iPad with no Air or Pro attached is its most appealing tablet because of the affordable starting $349 price tag, but if you've been thinking about buying one, you should wait. Apple refreshed the iPad in March 2025, so it's over a year old. That's reason enough not to buy when there's a new model on the horizon, but this year, there's even more to lose by...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Apple Card Promo to Offer Free AirPods Pro 3

Friday May 15, 2026 8:59 am PDT by
Starting as early as next week, customers who sign up for an Apple Card at Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will receive $249 cash back when they purchase AirPods Pro 3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The promotion has yet to be officially announced by Apple, so exact terms and conditions are not available at this time. AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 in the U.S., so customers who...

Top Rated Comments

151 months ago
While my iPhone 6 gently weeps
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
151 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
151 months ago
Facebook must be snappy.

Oh they'll find a way to make it lagtacular. Just you wait.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
151 months ago
My iPhone 6 is a total piece of junk.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gotluck Avatar
151 months ago
Damn I'm feeling some iPad Air 1st gen buyers remorse
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
151 months ago
Enjoy it while it lasts.

A few iOS upgrades will kill any snappy performance glee.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)