I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen someone buy a phone purely because it tops an AnTuTu chart, then complain a month later that it still stutters in real use. Benchmarks are catnip for spec nerds, but they’re also one of the easiest tools for brands to weaponize against consumers who don’t look past big numbers.
Now AnTuTu has dropped its April 2026 Android performance rankings from the Chinese market, and on paper it’s a clean sweep for iQoo at the top and MediaTek in the middle. But if you’re about to treat this list like a shopping guide, you’re doing it wrong.
What AnTuTu Actually Measured in April 2026
AnTuTu’s latest report covers Android phones tested in China between April 1 and April 30, 2026. Unlike some previous lists, this one is split into two categories: 10 flagship devices and 10 mid-range phones.
The scores aren’t one-off runs. Each phone’s final number is an average from at least 1,000 individual tests per device. AnTuTu pulls from four main areas: CPU performance, GPU performance, memory, and storage.
That means the ranking is heavily weighted toward raw processing and throughput, the kind of stuff that looks great in graphs but doesn’t automatically translate to smoother scrolling or better battery life. It’s a performance snapshot from China, not a universal verdict on global phones.
Flagships: iQoo 15 Ultra Stays on Top, Gaming Phones Chase
On the flagship side, the iQoo 15 Ultra holds onto its throne as the fastest Android phone on AnTuTu for April 2026. It posts an average score of 4,126,940 points, enough to stay ahead of every other high-end Android tested that month.
Right behind it is the regular iQoo 15 in second place, jumping up sharply from sixth place in the previous month’s rankings. That’s a big climb in a short time, and it shows how aggressive iQoo is in tuning its flagship line for this specific benchmark.
Third place goes to the RedMagic 11 Pro Plus, a gaming-focused device that exists almost purely to crush charts like these. No surprise seeing it up there with the iQoo duo.
If you care only about raw synthetic performance, this trio is your podium: iQoo 15 Ultra, iQoo 15, RedMagic 11 Pro Plus. Just don’t confuse leaderboard status with guaranteed real-world superiority. AnTuTu doesn’t account for software update quality, thermal throttling over a full gaming session, or how a phone behaves outside China.
Mid-Range Mayhem: iQoo Z11 Wins, Snapdragon Vanishes
The more interesting story is the mid-range category. Here, the iQoo Z11 takes the crown with an average score of 2,323,047 points, making it the fastest mid-range Android on AnTuTu’s April 2026 list.
Second place goes to the Honor Power2, and then things get very familiar very fast: Oppo locks down the third through fifth spots with three different devices. So mid-range performance in China right now, by this metric, is mostly an iQoo–Honor–Oppo turf war.
But the real shock isn’t the brand names. It’s the silicon.
Across all 10 mid-range phones in this April list, not a single one is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. Zero. The entire board is dominated by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8000 series.
MediaTek’s Dimensity 8000 Series Owns the Mid-Tier
Every mid-range device on the list is running a Dimensity 8000-series chip. No exceptions. That’s a complete MediaTek sweep in a category where Snapdragon used to be the default answer.
Here’s how it breaks down:
- Dimensity 8500 shows up in four different phones.
- Dimensity 8450 powers two phones.
- Dimensity 8400 is used in four others.
You don’t need the full device list to see the pattern: if you’re shopping mid-range in China and performance is your top priority, odds are high you’re ending up with a Dimensity 8000-something under the hood.
From a consumer angle, this matters for two reasons. First, it proves that MediaTek isn’t just “catching up” anymore; in this specific performance slice, it’s dictating the tempo. Second, it highlights how regional these battles are. A mid-range Dimensity phone that crushes AnTuTu in China might not even sell in your country under the same name—or at all.
Benchmarks vs Reality: Why These Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Even AnTuTu, and the report KompasTekno pulled this from, are pretty clear on one critical point: benchmark scores do not automatically represent real-world user experience.
You can have a 4-million-point monster like the iQoo 15 Ultra and still get:
- Aggressive thermal throttling in long gaming sessions.
- Janky software updates that break performance optimization.
- Heavy skins and background processes that eat away the advantage.
Same with the mid-range iQoo Z11 or the Honor Power2. On paper, 2.3 million points is impressive. In day-to-day life, a supposedly “slower” phone can still feel faster if it has leaner software, better RAM management, or fewer background services.
And remember: these tests are all from the Chinese market. That usually means Chinese ROMs, China-specific app loads, and sometimes different tuning versus global variants. The hardware may share a name, but the experience can diverge.
So yes, this ranking is useful as a performance baseline. No, it should not be your sole decision-making tool.
How You Should Actually Use This AnTuTu List
If you’re an enthusiast, this April 2026 list is good for three things:
- Identifying performance-focused brands. iQoo clearly cares about topping charts, both in flagship (15 Ultra, 15) and mid-range (Z11). RedMagic is still gunning for gamers. Honor and Oppo are quietly stacking strong mid-range hardware.
- Spotting chipset trends. MediaTek’s Dimensity 8000 series has effectively locked down the Chinese mid-range performance space in this snapshot, with multiple phones on Dimensity 8500, 8450, and 8400. That’s a big strategic shift away from Snapdragon.
- Narrowing your shortlist—not deciding it. If you see iQoo or MediaTek Dimensity 8000-series phones in your region, this data tells you they’re capable of high synthetic performance. From there, you still need to check reviews for thermals, software support, battery life, and regional variants.
If you treat this ranking as a leaderboard to worship, manufacturers win and you lose. If you treat it as one piece of data in a bigger puzzle, you make better buying decisions.
Check back soon as this story develops.