The author of the YouTube channel PhoneBuff has published a comparison test in which he evaluates the speed of six generations of Apple smartphones at once – from iPhone 12 Pro Max to iPhone 17 Pro Max – using a robotic arm that performs the same set of tasks on each device.
During testing, the smartphone took and processed images, launched applications, mobile games, and photo and video editors. The purpose of the test is to visually compare real-world performance gains between different device generations over a gap of several years.
The results show that productivity growth is uneven. In some stages, the iPhone 13 Pro Max performed comparably to newer models, suggesting that the growth rate with each generation is slowing down. At the same time, the iPhone 17 Pro Max model confidently completed the first test, leaving behind its opponent by a notable time gap.
The authors of the experiment note that these allow one to clearly assess the actual dynamics of device performance and the true extent of improvement.
