Apple iPhone 4S benchmarks are hitting the web well ahead of the October 14 release date imposed by Apple at last week’s product unveiling. Preliminary results show that the updated phone is significantly faster than the original iPhone 4, although not quite as fast as the iPad 2.

Anandtech has gathered test results from multiple sources across the web that have early access to the phone and compiled them together in addition to results from their own database of tablets and smartphones.

The 4S was the fastest phone in SunSpider’s Javascript benchmark, narrowly dethroned by the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 which scored two points higher. Apple’s new handset did take top honors in Rightware BrowserMark where it was 58 percent faster than the original iPhone 4.

The iPad 2 topped the 4S in Geekbench testing, leaving Anandtech to conclude that the processor in the phone is likely an 800MHz variant, not the same 1GHz chip found in the tablet. Apple probably lowered the operating frequency to conserve battery life and decrease operating temperatures.

GPU testing in GLBenchmark 2.1 also reveals that the iPad 2 has just a bit more power on tap, besting the phone by 12.6 FPS in the Egypt Offscrean test and 25.5 FPS in the Pro Offscreen run. That aside, the 4S easily trumps all other phones in testing by a large margin, including the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Motorola Droid Bionic. It remains to be seen how next-gen Android handsets like the Nexus Prime will stack up against Apple’s new top dog.