It was the most eagerly anticipated handset launch this year, and now Apple’s iPhone 6 has been named the fastest on the market.

Independent researchers tested the processing speeds and performance of the latest phones from Apple, Samsung, HTC and LG. Processing speed determines how quickly the phones can open apps, play videos and games, multitask and more.

Apple’s iPhone 6 came out on top in Which? magazine’s poll, ahead of the firm’s supersized iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung’s Galaxy S5.

Independent researchers tested the processing speeds and performance of the latest phones from Apple, Samsung, HTC and LG. They found that Apple's iPhone 6 was the fastest, followed by the firm's larger iPhone 6 Plus handset and the Samsung Galaxy S5 (all pictured)

Apple's older iPhone 5S model came fourth, followed by the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

The Sony Experia Z2 came in seventh place, ahead of the LG G3 and iPhone 5C.

However, in a blog post Which? noted that ‘we’re only ever a month or two away from the next breakthrough in mobile phone speed.

‘The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus might be the fastest smartphones around right now, but don’t expect that to last for long.’

Experts will soon test the raw speed of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 and Sony Experia Z3, which are both expected to give Apple’s new handsets a run for their money.

To put the phones through their paces, researchers used ‘Geekbench 3 software’ to calculate their speed. This graphic shows how they compare - with Apple performing well

To put the phones through their paces, researchers used ‘Geekbench 3 software’ to calculate their speed.

The software is designed to replicate how people use their phones in the real world and calculates single and multi-core performance.

The phones were given a score for the numerous performance tests, which were then combined and weighted.

The higher a phone's score, the better and faster it is and if a score is double, for example, the phone offers double the performance.

THE FASTEST SMARTPHONES, BASED ON Phone model Geekbench 3 score (multi-core test) Apple iPhone 6 4,569 Apple iPhone 6 Plus 4,548 Samsung Galaxy S5 3,998 Apple iPhone 5S 3,971 HTC One (M8) 3,881 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 3,843 Sony Experia Z2 3,753 LG G3 3,430 Apple iPhone 5C 1,992

The raw speed of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 (pictured left) and Sony Experia Z3 (right) - which have yet to be tested - are both expected to give Apple’s new handsets a run for their money

Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models have a dual core, 1.4GHz A8 processor. Their rivals, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 have quad-core processors. Quad-core processors are believed to be faster, yet having more cores doesn't necessarily increase speed.

It instead increases the phone's ability to do more things at once, faster, which is a small but significant distinction.

Last year, Which? crowned the iPhone 5S the fastest phone,followed by LG's G2 and the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The iPhone 5S was recorded to have a multi-core speed of 3,971, which is almost 600 points lower than this year’s fastest – the iPhone 6 at 4,569 – showing how quickly technology improves.