It might not of been great but Apple’s mobile web browser is bringing out the big guns! With iOS 5 on its way and the beta being tested as we speak, Apple’s mobile browser is pulling out all the stops to come out on top.
The new addition that has helped the browser come out on top is the new Nitro JavaScript engine. Apple have created the Nitro engine to allow the mobile browser to load pages much, much faster than on any previous iPhone or iPad.
Back when Microsoft announced the major Mango update to the Windows Phone 7 platform, they tested the speed at which the iOS, Android and Windows Phone browsers load HTML5 content. Back then, the iPhone 4 came in 3rd place with a lowly 2 frames per second. Unsurprisingly (Microsoft created the test), the Windows Phone browser came out on tops with a whopping 26 frames per second.
However, thanks to Apple’s new Nitro Javascript Engine for Safari in iOS 5, the iPhone 4 now scores a huge 31 frames per second, smoking Windows Phone Mango.
IOS 5 will more than likely be released for general use before Windows Phone 7 Mango, giving Apple the upper hand in the mobile browser market. Microsoft are really pushing both HTML5 and their new Mango platform, so we expect the fight for the fastest mobile browser to rage on.
UPDATE: We’ve had a lot of you write in to let us know just how well Windows Phone Mango and its IE browser is performing. Recent benchmarks have shown that Mango’s IE browser is capable of up to 45FPS in the HTML5 speed reading test, which is pretty phenomenal. We’ve got to hand it to Microsoft!