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Results: Web Benchmarks
The tests on this page are JavaScript- and HTML5-heavy selections from our Web Browser Grand Prix series. Such tests are extremely meaningful to mobile devices because so much of the in-app content is served via the platform's native Web browser. These tests not only offer a view of each device's Web browsing performance, but since these tasks are traditionally so CPU-dependent, browser benchmarks (especially JavaScript-heavy tests) are a great way to measure SoC performance among devices using the same platform and browser.
In order to keep the browser version even across all Android devices, we're employing a static version of the Chromium-based Opera on that operating system. Due to platform restrictions, Safari is the best choice for iOS-based devices, while Internet Explorer is the only game in town on Windows RT.
Browsermark 2.0
Rightware's Browsermark 2.0 is a synthetic browsing benchmark that tests several performance metrics, including load time, CSS, DOM, HTML5 Canvas, JavaScript, and WebGL.
The Tegra Note 7's score allows it to hold a substantial lead over what is regarded as the gold standard for Web-capable tablet devices, Apple's iPad Air. It's even crazier that the Note 10.1 (2014) Wi-Fi finishes just behind it. We're taking this one with a grain of salt, however, since the Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi doesn't feel nearly as smooth as the iPad Air during browsing. The Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) LTE finishes about 150 points behind, and the Nexus 7 (2013) follows.
JSBench
Unlike most JavaScript performance benchmarks, JSBench could almost be considered real-world, since it utilizes actual snippets of JavaScript from Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo.
JSBench gives what is arguably the most accurate depiction of Web performance based on our experience; none of the Android tablets come even close to the iPad Air in score. With a finishing time of 52.5 seconds, every other tablet takes at least five times longer. The Tegra Note 7 and Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi finishes in just under five minutes, while the Snapdragon 800-based Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) LTE finishes shy of six. The older, more budget-friendly Nexus 7 finishes in slightly over eight minutes.
Peacekeeper 2.0
Peacekeeper is a synthetic JavaScript performance benchmark from Futuremark.
The results of Peacekeeper 2.0 continue to reinforce the iPad Air's dominance as the go-to Web consumption device. Samsung's Exynos-based Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi holds its own against the Tegra Note 7, while the LTE version of the Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) again falls significantly behind its Wi-Fi counterpart.
WebXPRT 2013
Principled Technologies' WebXPRT 2013 is an HTML5-based benchmark that simulates common productivity tasks that are traditionally handled by locally installed applications, including photo editing, financial charting, and offline note-taking.
WebXPRT 2013 follows the same trend as the other tests, with the iPad finishing ahead of the Android tablets, which by and large don't even come close to matching the score of Apple's flagship.
All of the Web benchmarks place the LTE model far behind the Wi-Fi model of the Note 10.1 (2014 Edition). It should be noted that both systems were tested on the same Wi-Fi network, and both used the same copy of Opera 19. We can't say for sure why this is occurring (particularly since the Snapdragon 800 consistently beats the Exynos 5 Octa in nearly every other performance metric), but it yet again lends some insight as to why the Exynos is so popular among makers of ChromeOS devices, where Web browsing over a Wi-Fi connection is essentially the paramount performance consideration.
