Yesterday Apple released its latest iOS 9 update, iOS 9.3.5. However, this time around it was to correct a major security vulnerability that was taken advantage of by the Israel-based NSO Group. Apparently, the vulnerability allowed the company to spy on journalists and government officials and read emails and text messages.
This latest update comes hot on the heels of the previous iOS 9.3.4 firmware, which was released earlier this month. However, that update was to plug a hole in Apple’s software that had been exploited by the PanGu team with its iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak, plus a memory corruption problem. To many, those reasons were not considered to be as severe as this week’s reason for updating.
How do iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.4 compare?
The answer to this question is simple. Apple has not added any new features or removed anything. iOS 9.3.5 was specifically created to plug the security hole I mentioned earlier.
However, there is a chance that it will impact the speed of a device, and as such, some Apple fans have taken to YouTube to share their findings on how iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.4 compare in speed tests on various iOS devices.
iPhone 4s: iOS 9.3.5 versus iOS 9.3.4
The people at iAppleBytes tested the two firmware versions on the iPhone 4, and from what I initially see, it is difficult to tell the two versions apart. Yes, some transitions from screen to screen are faster on one version, but in general, there’s not much difference.
In the video, you will see the tester run tests on the device, and the results are marginally different with iOS 9.3.5 winning by 1 point in the multi-core CPU test and iOS 9.3.4 winning by 2 points in the single core test. However, what is clear is that the iPhone 4s boots up more slowly with iOS 9.3.5.
iPhone 5: iOS 9.3.5 versus iOS 9.3.4
It does not seem as though there are any differences when comparing the firmware versions on the iPhone 5; however, the iPhone 5 does boot up fractionally faster with the new update.
As for the single core scores with the iPhone 5, iOS 9.3.4 scores 708, and iOS 9.3.5 gets a score of 703. For the multi-core tests, iOS 9.3.4 gets a score of 1,265, and iOS 9.3.5 scores 1274. So as you can see, this is a bit of a mixed bag.
iPhone 5s: iOS 9.3.5 versus iOS 9.3.4
If you watch the iPhone 5s comparison video below, for a long time it’s hard to see any differences between the two iOS versions. However, midway through the test, the device running on iOS 9.3.4 seems to slow down a little, but whether this has anything to do with iOS is not known.
As for test scores, iOS 9.3.4 comes out on top in both single-core and multi-core testing, scoring 1,404 and 2,527, compared to 1,393 and 2,511 for iOS 9.3.5.
iPhone 6: iOS 9.3.5 versus iOS 9.3.4
Again, it is difficult to pinpoint any consistent increase in speed between the two iOS firmware versions. Yes, while watching the video, you may think you have noticed a difference, only to be thrown off by the other firmware behaving the same way.
So the only real difference on the iPhone 6 is is in test scores, with iOS 9.3.4 scoring 1,617 in the single-core test and iOS 9.3.5 getting a score of 1,624. As for the multi-core result, this was also close, but iOS 9.3.5 comes out on top again with 2,909.
iPhone 6s: iOS 9.3.5 versus iOS 9.3.4
This is the final test so far on the iPhone 6s, and I will let you watch the video and get back with your opinion. Is there any difference?
If you’re the victim of a recent OTA update, here’s a handy tutorial that shows you how to downgrade from iOS 9.3.4 to iOS 9.3.5. Check it out.
Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
