Qualcomm shares study showing Androids beat iPhone 16e on 5G
TL;DR A Qualcomm-commissioned report has found that Apple's C1 modem lags behind Qualcomm's last two flagship modems.
The report found that two Android phones with Qualcomm modems consistently outperformed the iPhone 16e and its custom modem.
The Android phones opened the gap to the iPhone 16e as they moved away from the cell towers.
Apple launched the iPhone 16e earlier this year, and this is a landmark release as it includes the company's first cellular modem. We've already seen reports about its performance, and now a Qualcomm-commissioned study has revealed some (unsurprising) results.
Cellular Insights posted a report comparing two Qualcomm-powered Android phones to the iPhone 16e and its Apple C1 modem. The company tested these phones in New York City in various real-world environments while connected to T-Mobile's sub-6GHz network. It added that these tests were conducted in 'near-, far-, and mid-cell' conditions.
One of these Android phones was described as a January 2025 flagship with the Snapdragon X80 modem and a $799 price tag. Meanwhile, the other phone was described as a January 2024 flagship with a slightly older Snapdragon X75 modem and a $619 price tag. We're guessing that the former is the Samsung Galaxy S25. Based on the release date, it seems like the latter device is a Galaxy S24.
So which one was better?
The report found that the Android phones consistently beat the iPhone 16e in all situations. It specifically said that the Android phones were 34.3% to 35.2% faster on average than the Apple device in terms of download speeds. There was a huge advantage in terms of average upload speeds, as the Android devices were a claimed 81.4% to 91% faster.
Cellular Insights reported that the iPhone 16e narrowed the gap to the Android phones in near-cell conditions, but that the Android devices stretched their lead as they moved to mid-cell and far-cell conditions. It suggested that this disparity was due to the Qualcomm modems supporting downlink carrier aggregation and uplink carrier aggregation (ULCA) features, while the Apple C1 seemed 'constrained on the downlink and lacks observable ULCA support.'
So what was the key takeaway? Here's what the company had to say:
The Android A and B smartphones powered by Qualcomm modems deliver measurably superior performance in real-world 5G standalone environments. While the iPhone 16e powered by Apple C1 performs adequately under optimal RF and network load conditions, it lags significantly in edge cases—the very scenarios where next-generation modems are expected to excel.
You'll want to take these results with a healthy dose of salt as Qualcomm commissioned the study after all. Nevertheless, it's been the undisputed leader in the cellular modem space for over a decade now, and this is simply Apple's first modem. So it's not a surprise to see Qualcomm's modems delivering faster speeds. However, it does suggest that you're better off with a premium Android phone if you're constantly in areas with less-than-ideal coverage, particularly on T-Mobile.
The study also comes after Ookla reported that the iPhone 16e offered 'better worst-case speeds' than the iPhone 16, but that the latter device offered higher top-end speeds. It's worth noting that the iPhone 16 uses a less capable Snapdragon X72 modem than contemporary Android phones anyway.
In any event, Apple doesn't appear to be standing still on the modem front. An apparent Apple modem roadmap suggests that the company's 2026 release will offer mmWave support and improved carrier aggregation technologies ahead of a potential Qualcomm-rivaling modem in 2027.
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