3DMark Benchmark Coming to Android in 2012

By Kevin Parrish
published

Futuremark is currently working on a version of 3DMark for Android-based tablets.

On Tuesday Futuremark said that a version of 3DMark for Android tablets is currently in development and expected to go "retail" sometime in 2012. The company is currently calling on Android device manufacturers to join its Benchmark Development Program and play a critical role in the development process.

"Since 1998, the PC industry has relied on 3DMark to accurately measure gaming hardware performance," said Futuremark CEO Jukka Mäkinen. "In 2012 we will bring 3DMark to the Android platform with a professional grade benchmark that can be trusted by manufacturers, suppliers and vendors to provide the definitive measure of gaming performance on Android while showcasing the very best in real-time graphics and effects."

According to the company, the Android-based benchmark will measure gaming performance using rendering, CPU and physics tests. Other features will include real-time graphics "pushing the OpenGL ES API to the limit," an online service for comparing results between devices, and results that will be compatible with 3DMark for Windows 8.

Previous reports claim that PC manufacturers will slowly exit the tablet market in 2012 due to stiff competition from Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But research groups such as Gartner and IDC are predicting explosive growth for tablets in the coming years. Futuremark believes games will be one of the key drivers of this growth as the performance and power of these lightweight devices improves.

"Fierce competition between Android devices means hardware manufacturers and their suppliers will need an objective, impartial and forward-looking performance reference to enable their engineers to deliver competitive products," Futuremark said on Tuesday.

Android device manufacturers interested in helping out with the benchmark's development can head here to learn more.

Kevin Parrish
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • LuckyDucky7
    So will a factor in a 3DMark score be input lag?

    Because that's also one of the most important benchmark you can run.

    I mean- games are cool and all, and we need these benchmarks to tell us which tablets are faster and which ones can't do anything- but it's a running solution to a problem that's not quite up to speed.
    Reply
  • tanjo
    LuckyDucky7So will a factor in a 3DMark score be input lag?Because that's also one of the most important benchmark you can run.I mean- games are cool and all, and we need these benchmarks to tell us which tablets are faster and which ones can't do anything- but it's a running solution to a problem that's not quite up to speed.Since lag cannot be measured by the app, maybe the value can be retrieved from a list created by them (hopefully).
    Reply
  • claydavis
    3D has not reached many people yet. But still any improvement in such technology is a Welcome.
    Reply
  • machvelocy
    i hope there's an iOS version, i'm itching to know how they fared against ipads
    Reply
  • ojas
    machvelocyi hope there's an iOS version, i'm itching to know how they fared against ipadsGeekbench?
    Reply
  • machvelocy
    ojasGeekbench?uhmm no geekbench for android...
    Reply
  • ojas
    machvelocyuhmm no geekbench for android...Ah. Didn't know that...though tom's used something to compare the recent tablets to one another and the ipad/iphone 4s so maybe you could check there?
    Reply
  • eddieroolz
    I also agree with a poster above. It would be great to benchmark response speed and input lag - that's one of the major factors driving me away from Android.
    Reply
  • przem997
    Anguilla 3D Benchmark Rock Game!! This benchmark support Android & Windows XP,7,8 devices.

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rockgame.benchmark3d&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5yb2NrZ2FtZS5iZW5jaG1hcmszZCJd
    Reply