A few days ago one of the best-known benchmarks for computers landed on Android, PCMark. On this occasion, it helps us to analyze the performance and battery of our Android smartphone or tablet. But it is not just any benchmark, but one that focuses especially on the operation of the smartphone with conventional use.
Benchmarks usually analyze the performance of each of the components of the smartphone or tablet, so that the data they give us is the theoretical capabilities of these components. This data is useful if we want to compare only the components of the devices, and allows companies to optimize smartphones to perform better only in these benchmarks, as happened with Samsung. But the truth is that what is really useful is to know the performance data of the devices in a conventional environment, that is, its performance when we use our smartphone for gaming, using apps, or simply browsing the internet—not on a theoretical level, but on a practical level. And that's precisely what PCMark focuses on: trying to analyze the device's overall performance.
Now, PCMark has arrived on Android, and we can now use it to analyze the performance and battery life of our smartphone or tablet running Google's operating system. With the app installed, we'll still need to download the benchmark, called Work Benchmark, referring to the fact that it analyzes the smartphone's performance when it's working, not just its theoretical values.
PCMark has two different benchmarks, one that analyzes the overall performance of the smartphone or tablet, and the other that analyzes battery life. This last benchmark could also be used to compare the battery life of different smartphones, not only by their capacity, but also by their autonomy when running all the smartphone's functions. However, this last benchmark lasts a few hours, as it focuses on analyzing the battery from 80% to 20% capacity, without receiving alerts, messages, calls, or notifications.
As for the conventional benchmark, which analyses the performance of the smartphone, it is responsible for analysing the smartphone in common tasks such as performance in the Internet browser, video viewing, typing speed, copying or pasting text, and even photo editing. PCMark is a free benchmark and is now available on Google Play.
Google Play - PCMark.
What PCMark actually measures on Android
The philosophy of PCMark is based on real workloads that reproduce what you do every day. In the Work suite (evolved to Work 3.0), the benchmark simulates tasks web navigation, video edition, working with documents and data, deed y photo editing. Unlike microbenchmarks, here the evaluation is made of the complete system (CPU, GPU, memory and storage acting together), so the score better reflects perceived fluidity and multitasking capability.
In addition to performance, this suite allows you to measure the autonomy with real use repeating those tasks until a defined battery level is reached. That's why it's so useful for comparing efficiency between devices—as in the case of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10— and also to check whether your phone's screen time has improved or worsened after a system update.
Work 3.0, Storage 2.0 and the Computer Vision module
PCMark offers several downloadable tests from the app itself, so you can install only what you need:
- Job 3.0: Measures performance and battery life with real-world app loads (web, video, documents, data, and photos). It's the benchmark for how a device performs in real-world environments. productivity tasks.
- Storage 2.0: puts the focus on the internal and external storage, as well as in database operations. Slow memory causes lagging and stuttering; here you get detailed results by subtest and an overall score for comparison.
- Computer Vision: evaluates scenarios of image recognition, reading of barcodes y OCR Using widely used open libraries. Useful for devices running apps with lightweight device-level AI.
A key point is that you can add or remove These tests can be downloaded at any time without losing your saved scores. Downloads can be anywhere from tens to hundreds of MB, so it's best to use Wi-Fi.
Compare mobile phones: lists, filters and searches
The application integrates a section of comparative with the most popular devices, such as the Comparative Motorola Moto X vs Galaxy S4. You can check our english version performance score, popularity and battery life of recent mobile phones and tablets. You can search by model, brand, CPU, GPU or SoC y filter by Android version to check how system updates impact the ranking.
This approach makes it easy to understand what your team excels at compared to others. other models equivalents, helping you detect performance increases, storage bottlenecks or possible autonomy degradations.
Requirements, installation and non-commercial use
To run PCMark you need Android 5.0 or later, at least 1 GB of RAM and compatibility with OpenGL ES 2.0. After installing the app from Google Play, you choose which benchmarks to download and, when each run is complete, you will see graphs and scores in great detail. Remember that the app is intended for non-commercial useFor corporate or specialized media licenses, the provider offers specific contact channels.
Good practices for measuring battery and performance
For reliable measurements, try to start with the phone in 80% and 100% of battery and keep it without notifications or calls during the test. In the battery life test, PCMark runs continuous workloads up to a threshold (usually around 20%), so it can take several hours. Close background apps, activate airplane mode if you don't need data, and avoid automatic brightness changes that affect power consumption. For more details on why close running apps It doesn't always help, check that analysis.
Industry experts point out that PCMark is an example of well-designed mobile benchmark because it validates performance in real-life scenarios and offers a more practical way to quantify the battery life compared to synthetic loops. Even terminals like the Nexus 4 in real tests have served to illustrate differences between synthetic results and real experience.
PCMark for Android consolidates itself as a benchmark tool for measuring system performance, storage y autonomy under real-world loads. If you want to know how your device performs on a daily basis and objectively compare it with other models, this is one of the most comprehensive and transparent options available on Google Play.
