32GB 7/7 Plus iPhones are slower than models with higher capacity

32GB 7/7 Plus iPhones are slower than models with higher capacity

A few days ago, the GSMArena published a test that caused quite a stir on the internet. Briefly, they showed that the 32GB iPhone 7 it was less fast than a 128GB or 256GB iPhone 7. Comments varied, some blaming the app responsible for benchmark while others saying that Apple uses cheaper parts at a high price and things like that. The real reason came, but people kept asking themselves how bad it could be and what it could affect in the user’s life.

For skeptics on duty, the YouTuber Lew Hilsenteger, from the channel Unbox Therapy, tested two iPhones 7 (one 32GB and the other 256GB) and found the same problem. Check out the video:

First, Hilsenteger tested the performance of both devices with a free app called PerformanceTest Mobile. There was a difference in the reading result, but it was not so drastic: the 32GB model got 656Mbps and the 256GB model got 856Mbps. So far, so good. When the writing speed was tested, the difference was exorbitant: the 32GB device reached only 42Mbps against 341Mbps of the 256GB model – that is, the model with the smallest capacity would be 8x slower!

For many, these numbers may be nothing. Then he did a real test, of a situation that the user could go through on a day-to-day basis. Hilsenteger timed the time it would take a movie to transfer from a MacBook to the iPhones in question. The result was a long minute of difference: while the MacBook transferred all the content (a movie in Full HD) to the iPhone 7 of 32GB in 3 minutes and 40 seconds, for the iPhone 7 of 256GB the total time was 2 minutes and 34 seconds.

The big problem here is that the two devices should have the same speed because the only thing that differentiates them is the amount of space to store files – which, theoretically, should not affect performance. Is Apple hiding something from users? Well, certainly the internal components do not differ according to capacity, as some may claim, so what would be the real problem?

The fact is that SSDs with smaller storage capacities do tend to be slower. This process is * normal * and happens with all devices – whether smartphone or computer – that have SSD. As explained by the How-To Geek, SSDs with more capacity have a greater number of channels (the NAND flash memory chips) than those with less capacity. In this way, iPhones with a greater capacity are able to access more channels in parallel, which makes the experience faster.

Because it is a normal SSD process, there is not necessarily a “fault” of Apple – even if it is a bit boring. However, when you choose a model to buy, analyze what weighs most for you: if it is the pocket – the smaller the storage, the lower the price – or the speed of the device.

[via MacRumors]