iOS 4.3 Benchmarks On iPad

So like everyone else in the Apple universe, we had to download the iOS 4.3 update today AS FAST as POSSIBLE, and you know good and well what the next step is: benchmarks! Thustly we whipped out our SunSpider Browser Benchmarking webpages and our cool Geekbench apps and we're ready and more than excited to bring you the results. Would you like to know more?

Every time I type that "Would you like to know more?" I feel like I'm reenacting Starship Troopers. That said, we've got all the iPad 1 goodness you could ever want right here:

First we've got the SunSpider results. What this benchmark shows is core JavaScript performance based on a series of replicated real-world behaviors. When you see the results, note that lower is better:

iPad 1 with iOS 4.21: 8594.9iPad 2 during iPad 2 release event: 2121.7iPad 1 with iOS 4.3: 3240.8

So while we are seeing a MASSIVE improvement here, we're not quite up to the level that iPad 2 will be releasing with. This is where Nitro engine shines. This is a very big deal as far as browsing goes, and it's a massive step forward for iOS even before it gets cooking on iPad 2.

Then as for Geekbench, not a whole lot has changed. It's gone down a tiny bit, but not enough to make a big impact on how your device will be cruising along. Geekbench is the opposite of SunSpider in that the resulting number is better as it is higher:

iPad 1 with iOS 4.21: 453iPad 1 with iOS 4.3: 448

See all these results in person in the gallery below.

If you'd like to perform these same benchmarks on your own system, head over to the Geekbench app or the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark webpage and tell us what you got!