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OnePlus 3 vs. Galaxy S7 edge speed test, round 2: What happens when 6GB of RAM is unleashed?

Updated Jun 21st, 2016 2:47PM EDT
OnePlus vs. Galaxy S7 edge Speed Test

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The OnePlus 3 might be one of the best smartphones you can buy without parting with too much cash, but it’s not necessarily the fastest one. Recent real-life speed tests showed that the OnePlus flagship lags behind the Galaxy S7 edge and the iPhone 6s even though it has an outrageous amount of RAM. The OnePlus 3 packs 6GB of RAM, compared to 4GB for the Galaxy S7 edge and 2GB for the newest iPhone.

OnePlus addressed the RAM management following these tests, saying that the phone doesn’t keep too many apps in memory to conserve battery life. That said, some intrepid hackers came up with an unofficial “fix” for the issue, prompting a second speed test comparison.

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The same C4ETech channel that conducted the previous tests performed this “revenge” comparison and the results are quite intriguing. The Galaxy S7 edge’s Samsung processor is speedier than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 in the OnePlus 3, but the RAM performance is clearly now superior on the OnePlus phone.

The Galaxy S7 edge might still be speedier at opening apps, but the OnePlus 3 seems to load them from memory much faster when the 6GB of RAM is unleashed. Compared to Apple’s iPhone 6s, the OnePlus 3 is still slower at opening apps but the RAM fix makes it even faster at loading apps from memory than the iPhone, something that didn’t happen in the first test.

That said, it should be noted that the OnePlus 3 in this test is rooted and running custom firmware that “repairs” the default RAM management. OnePlus is yet to roll out similar firmware for the phone, and it might never make these changes in order to conserve battery life.

The OnePlus 3 does have a large 3,000 mAh battery and comes with fast-charging technology, so why is OnePlus so worried about battery life that it decided to throttle RAM performance?

The full video is embedded below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.