According to user tests, the new iPhones with processors made by Samsung get discharged a lot faster

Oct 7, 2015 11:38 GMT  ·  By

A week ago Chipworks discovered that Apple uses A9 processors build by both Samsung and TSMC in their new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, with the one made by Samsung having a smaller die and using a 14-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process as opposed to TSMC's, which is built using a 16-nanometer tech.

After this discovery, Chipworks promised that they would continue their investigation to find the exact differences between the two A9 models.

Even though we haven't yet heard from Chipworks since then, a number of users on Reddit ran their own battery life tests using the Geekbench benchmark utility for iOS and found out that, even though the A9 processor built by Samsung seemed to be more energy efficient on paper, the iPhones that came with TSMC A9 processor had much better battery life.

According to Reddit user raydizzle, "the TSMC chip was able to last for almost 8 hours while the Samsung chip was only able to achieve approx. 6 hours."

To support the claims made in the Reddit thread, there is also a thread on the MacRumors forum where users have confirmed the results published on Reddit.

This two-hour battery life discrepancy between the TSMC and Samsung A9 processor is quite astounding considering that they both use the same Apple approved design, and we will keep an eye out for Chipworks' iPhone 6S teardown report to see what exactly leads to this difference in performance between the two A9 models.

Users can install the free Lirum Device Info Lite iOS app to find their iPhone's processor manufacturer

If you want to see what model your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus has, you can do so by installing the free Lirum Device Info Lite iOS app from the iOS App Store. Once you open it, you can find the processor's manufacturer by tapping on "Menu" at the bottom of the window and sliding down to "Manufacturer."

Another, more complicated way is to get your iPhone's chipset model on the main screen, listed under "Model:" and match it with the models for Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus TSMC and Samsung chips are listed in the table below:  

Samsung TSMC
iPhone 6s N71AP N71MAP
iPhone 6s Plus N66AP N66MAP

Leave us a word in the comments section below if you've made a Geekbench battery test on your iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to share your results with the rest of the readers and with us.

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus battery tests (4 Images)

iPhone 6s Plus with TSMC processor
iPhone 6s Plus with Samsung processorFinding the processor manufacturer using Lirum Device Info Lite
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