It's no big secret that Samsung has an extensive lineup of ultra-high-end Galaxy S11 handsets in the pipeline, two main variants of which have been the protagonists of a pair of major leaks in the last few days. Curiously enough, even though the design and key specifications of the company's next flagship family are pretty much as transparent as glass, the first legit-looking benchmark of one of these upcoming powerhouses is only transpiring today thanks to the always reliable folks over at Primate Labs.
The vast database of the popular Geekbench Browser tool used to measure the theoretical processor performance of smartphones, tablets, and PCs running different operating systems is the place where a no doubt unfinished Samsung SM-G986B prototype has just stopped by en route to a commercial release several months down the line. That obviously means we shouldn't read too much into the handset's preliminary speed results, although for what it's worth, this bad boy is already powered by the newest version of Android.
Which Galaxy S11 variant is this?
Before analyzing exactly what the early benchmark reveals, it's important to answer that existential question (literally) and try (as hard as it might feel) to wrap our heads around the convoluted Galaxy S11 family. If all those recent rumors are to be trusted (and they probably are), Samsung is gearing up to release a budget-friendly "e" model in a 6.3 or 6.4-inch size (with a curved screen), as well as a "regular" S11 version sporting a 6.7-inch display, and a plus-sized 6.9-incher.
That's actually not too hard to comprehend, but at the same time, it's worth highlighting that the S11e and S11 are tipped to come in both 5G-enabled and LTE-only derivations, while the Galaxy S11 Plus will reportedly be launched exclusively in a 5G-enabled variant. That means there are in fact five big S11-series models in the works, up from just four S10s and four Note 10s. And now to answer your question, the SM-G896B is most likely the 6.7-inch Galaxy S11 with 5G connectivity.
A state-of-the-art SoC and a generous memory count
It should come as no surprise that Samsung's next big phone is packing the company's next big in-house processor in an "international" variant, and in case you're wondering, the Exynos 9830 and Exynos 990 are almost surely one and the same chipset. A chipset built on the same 7nm EUV process as Qualcomm's unannounced Snapdragon 865 silicon, with 5G support available from a separate Exynos 5123 modem, and a bunch of super-advanced capabilities, including support for up to six individual imaging sensors sporting up to 108 megapixel counts.
Those scores are far from etched in stone, mind you
Speaking of counts, it's certainly nice to see there will be a "regular" Galaxy S11 5G configuration equipped with a whopping 12 gigs of RAM. The S10+ allows you to pair 12GB memory with 1TB storage, while the S10 and S10 5G are both limited to 8 gig versions. Not even the Note 10 is furnished with that much memory, although the Note 10+ only comes in 12 gig configurations.
The only other technical detail revealed by this Geekbench listing is the presence of Android 10 software on an unpolished pre-release Galaxy S11 5G unit that may not be as rough around the edges as you think.
No, it's not really fair to compare this preliminary benchmark with results posted by commercial Galaxy S10 or iPhone 11 devices. But it's interesting to point out this GS11 prototype is already on par with the Exynos-powered Galaxy Note 10+ and slightly better than the Galaxy S10+ in both Exynos and Snapdragon variants in terms of multi-core capabilities. For some reason, the single-core performance of the Exynos 990 inside the Galaxy S11 5G still needs work, but the good news is Samsung has plenty of time to optimize the heck out of its "next big thing."
As things stand, the Galaxy S11 5G isn't even faster than the iPhone XR... on paper
In the end, we expect a substantial leap in both single and multi-core muscle from the Galaxy S11 compared to its forerunners, but the iPhone 11 family might be a little harder to touch at Geekbench 5 scores of around 1300 and 3400 points respectively. The same probably goes for the gap between Apple's A13 Bionic and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 processors, the latter of which did post pretty impressive early results a few months ago, but in the old v4 iteration of Geekbench.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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