A quick look at Blackberry 10.2 and web browsing performance on Z10

Blackberry has started rolling out OS 10.2 to BB10 devices such as Z10, Q10 and Q5. Update appears to be available in Canada and UK for a start. The OS update is quite a major one. The android runtime has been updated to 4.2 Jelly Bean from the previous Gingerbread based version and its performance has improved significantly. I noticed that android-ported applications like Skype that lagged before are much smoother now. A priority hub, where it shows messages of high priority, has been introduced. These are selected intelligently, or through user controlled rules such as priority contacts. Lock screen notifications are more detailed now and you can see previews of messages. Toast notifications (called instant previews) with inline reply capability have been introduced. I noticed some issues with BBM previews, but email and SMS previews working fine. Wifi direct support has been introduced for the BB10 models, while the Z30 gets two additional connectivity features: USB host support and miracast support. A new device manager utility allows you to monitor CPU and RAM usage of various apps. Keyboard has been enhanced with more fine-grained audio feedback and smoother copy/paste.

Here are some web browsing benchmarks.

Google Octane Benchmark v1

Mozilla Kraken Benchmark - 1.1

SunSpider Javascript Benchmark 1.0 - Stock Browser

Browsermark 2.0

OS 10.2 browser improves Javascript performance significantly but browsermark, which tests a wider range of characteristics shows smaller improvement. Performance is largely competitive with older Android phones running on internals similar to the Z10 but it is considerably behind recent Android and iOS phones which use much faster internals. IE10 on the Lumia 1020, which has the same SoC as the Z10, appears to optimize for Sunspider but is behind BB10 in other benchmarks. I am interested in seeing how the Z30 performs given the faster internals. Feature compatibility-wise, WebGL has been supported on BB10 since 10.0. Flash is also available. HTML5 test revealed a score of 485 points + 11 bonus points which is also excellent.

In terms of the OS, it is nice to see Blackberry making progress on both OS features and web browsing performance. An OS update obviously cannot do anything about the relatively weak app ecosystem or the unspectacular hardware, but the OS itself is maturing quite nicely.

AnandTech | A quick look at Blackberry 10.2 and web browsing performance on Z10

Holy crap, is the iPhone really kicking everyone else's **** that badly? That's unreal. And I have always considered Anandtech the most reliable source of tech info.

10.2 definitely looks like an all-round improvement.

thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by mset

Holy crap, is the iPhone really kicking everyone else's **** that badly? That's unreal. And I have always considered Anandtech the most reliable source of tech info.

I love their testing practices. it really shows how everyone performs accurately

Originally Posted by nabil114

Blackberry has started rolling out OS 10.2 to BB10 devices such as Z10, Q10 and Q5. Update appears to be available in Canada and UK for a start. The OS update is quite a major one. The android runtime has been updated to 4.2 Jelly Bean from the previous Gingerbread based version and its performance has improved significantly. I noticed that android-ported applications like Skype that lagged before are much smoother now. A priority hub, where it shows messages of high priority, has been introduced. These are selected intelligently, or through user controlled rules such as priority contacts. Lock screen notifications are more detailed now and you can see previews of messages. Toast notifications (called instant previews) with inline reply capability have been introduced. I noticed some issues with BBM previews, but email and SMS previews working fine. Wifi direct support has been introduced for the BB10 models, while the Z30 gets two additional connectivity features: USB host support and miracast support. A new device manager utility allows you to monitor CPU and RAM usage of various apps. Keyboard has been enhanced with more fine-grained audio feedback and smoother copy/paste.

Here are some web browsing benchmarks.

Google Octane Benchmark v1

Mozilla Kraken Benchmark - 1.1

SunSpider Javascript Benchmark 1.0 - Stock Browser

Browsermark 2.0

OS 10.2 browser improves Javascript performance significantly but browsermark, which tests a wider range of characteristics shows smaller improvement. Performance is largely competitive with older Android phones running on internals similar to the Z10 but it is considerably behind recent Android and iOS phones which use much faster internals. IE10 on the Lumia 1020, which has the same SoC as the Z10, appears to optimize for Sunspider but is behind BB10 in other benchmarks. I am interested in seeing how the Z30 performs given the faster internals. Feature compatibility-wise, WebGL has been supported on BB10 since 10.0. Flash is also available. HTML5 test revealed a score of 485 points + 11 bonus points which is also excellent.

In terms of the OS, it is nice to see Blackberry making progress on both OS features and web browsing performance. An OS update obviously cannot do anything about the relatively weak app ecosystem or the unspectacular hardware, but the OS itself is maturing quite nicely.

AnandTech | A quick look at Blackberry 10.2 and web browsing performance on Z10

I read the article! Two things shocked me.

1) Very balanced and fair appraisal of performance!

2) Comment section is *not* 99% hate-filled!

Very surprising to see! Thanks for the link.



Posted via CB10

There can be many reasons for it. One is the hardware the put in the Z10. Their OS is not that fast to run on lower-clocked processors and beat the competition.

So the Z10 does get WiFi Direct?

Posted via CB10

They should give a Fail to any browser that lacks 'text reflow" . That's you BB10 and iOS.

Originally Posted by nabil114

There can be many reasons for it. One is the hardware the put in the Z10. Their OS is not that fast to run on lower-clocked processors and beat the competition.

Hey, at least it beats the Lumias (except in benchmarks the author believes Nokia optimized specifically for). This is interesting since the Z10 and Lumia's use almost identical CPU / SOCs.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by mset

Holy crap, is the iPhone really kicking everyone else's **** that badly? That's unreal.

Nope, that's 64bit computing!
And It only get better from here.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Originally Posted by FFR

Nope, that's 64bit computing!
And It only get better from here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

That's 64-bit? You're clearly the most delusional Apple fanboy I've ever read on the internet and I'm still asking myself why you're still around CrackBerry.


Posted via CB10

I like that we now have a "full screen" browsing more while on landscape.

This is great as we can now browse using all the screen.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by --TommesJay--

That's 64-bit? You're clearly the most delusional Apple fanboy I've ever read on the internet and I'm still asking myself why you're still around CrackBerry.

While it won't have the same impact in real usage, things like 64bit could end up skewing the results in a dramatic fashion if it removes a particular bottleneck from the test.

As far as these results, the main point is that other factors are likely to be a bigger deal for your browsing experience when mobile than any impact these benchmarks have on reality e.g. the speed of the network or the size of display so worrying or gloating about them is almost pointless other than as a means of tracking progress in a particular device like you can with the 10.0 and 10.2 results.

Originally Posted by --TommesJay--

That's 64-bit? You're clearly the most delusional Apple fanboy I've ever read on the internet and I'm still asking myself why you're still around CrackBerry.


Posted via CB10

Perhaps we have different definitions of delusional, Are you saying the a7 is not 64 bit?


Does my presence here bother you?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Benchmarks are trivial as safari renders less then the bb10 browser.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Bbnivende

They should give a Fail to any browser that lacks 'text reflow" . That's you BB10 and iOS.

I throw chrome in here too, no text reflow.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by AaronDeVante

I throw chrome in here too, no text reflow.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Who needs text reflow when all you need is a double tap?

From this:
Attachment 215018

To this:
Attachment 215019

With nothing but a double tap. It works on any column of text on any website. Just double tap on text and it automatically makes the text fit your screen at a size that is easier to read. Works every single time I've ever needed it.

Originally Posted by Saiga

Who needs text reflow when all you need is a double tap?

From this:
Attachment 215018

To this:
Attachment 215019

With nothing but a double tap. It works on any column of text on any website. Just double tap on text and it automatically makes the text fit your screen at a size that is easier to read. Works every single time I've ever needed it.

I know that, text reflow is cooler though.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by AaronDeVante

I know that, text reflow is cooler though.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

I don't see how either is any more or less useful. They both accomplish the samething, which is to allow you to read text easier. I never even think about if it reflows or not and honestly only noticed it didn't after I read your comment.

I tried LawnMark 2013 on my Z10 but fell asleep before the end.



Posted via CB10

YouTube sucks on my z10..

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by FFR

Perhaps we have different definitions of delusional, Are you saying the a7 is not 64 bit?


Does my presence here bother you?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

My point is that, although the A7 is 64-bit, it's not the 64-bit which makes it so fast. Apple could've just release the A7 with 32-bit and have the same boost, like they did every year before. But as a delusional brain washed Apple fanboy, you totally buy this 64-bit-is-what-makes-the-5S-so-fast-fairytale.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by --TommesJay--

My point is that, although the A7 is 64-bit, it's not the 64-bit which makes it so fast. Apple could've just release the A7 with 32-bit and have the same boost, like they did every year before. But as a delusional brain washed Apple fanboy, you totally buy this 64-bit-is-what-makes-the-5S-so-fast-fairytale.

Posted via CB10

Don't bother with FFR man :) You won't be able to explain this to him.

You're absolutely right though: The 64 bit registers of the A7 have very little to do with what makes the A7 a great SOC (and it IS a helluva SOC).

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by trroystory

YouTube sucks on my z10..

Posted via CB10

I've said the same thing for a long time. The absolute worst YouTube experience there is.

Originally Posted by Saiga

I've said the same thing for a long time. The absolute worst YouTube experience there is.

I find the mobile youtube to work well: easy to ff or rw for example. The controls on the desktop site are too small and the video doesn't seem to stream as well as it could. I like the browser for everything else and leave it on desktop mode. I wish there was an option somewhere that when you click on a youtube link (on Twitter for example), that it would go automatically to the mobile version.