- Network firm Ookla benchmarked the iPhone Air’s C1X iPhone modem
- The results show it surging ahead of the iPhone 16e
- It’s also on par with the Qualcomm X80 chip in the iPhone 17 Pro Max
When leaks revealed that Apple would start outfitting its best iPhones with its own in-house modem chip, there were concerns over how long it would take the Cupertino giant to get its wireless performance up to par compared to competing components from the likes of Qualcomm. But according to a recent report from networking firm Ookla, those concerns might have been overblown.
In the report, Ookla put Apple’s C1X modem – which you’ll find in the iPhone Air – through its paces. And as the results show, its performance is so good that Ookla believes Apple fans are getting “true download parity” with Qualcomm’s market-leading X80 chip. Compared to iPhones with the X80 and those using Apple’s previous-generation C1 chip, Apple has “set new standards for network latency,” Ookla believes.
Specifically, Ookla tested the 5G performance of the C1X chip in Apple’s iPhone Air, then compared the results to the Qualcomm X80 in the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Apple’s C1 in the iPhone 16e. According to the benchmark results, the iPhone Air’s C1X outperformed the iPhone 17 Pro Max for latency in 19 out of the 22 markets that Ookla tested. While the differences were small, they suggest that Apple has caught up with rival Qualcomm’s offering in just a couple of years.
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As for download speeds, the C1X and Qualcomm X80 were neck and neck. When measured in the United States, for example, the X80 pulled ahead in average and best conditions, while the C1X had the edge in areas with poor signal strength. In all instances, the differences were minor.
Compared to its own C1 chip, the C1X offers a “generational leap,” Ookla says. It surged ahead in download speeds and offered far better latency too, suggesting that Apple has been able to significantly improve its wireless capabilities between chip generations.
It wasn’t all good news. Qualcomm’s X80 still outperformed the C1X in terms of upload speeds – sometimes with a performance difference of up to 32%. That said, the C1X offered notable improvements over the C1 in this area.
A ‘highly visible upgrade’
Considering the C1 and C1X chips launched just one year apart, the improvement to wireless performance has been remarkable.
With Apple committed to using its own in-house modems, that kind of uptick could give its rivals pause for thought, especially with the prospect of a C2 modem launching in this year’s iPhone 18 range.
Indeed, Ookla says the iPhone Air and C1X provide a “highly visible upgrade over the iPhone 16e in terms of content-sharing capability for most of the markets in this analysis.”
But firms like Qualcomm are not resting on their laurels, and the company is expected to equip many of the best Android phones with the next-generation X85 modem in the coming months. That could tip the scales in Qualcomm’s favor once again.
Yet the mere fact that Apple is able to compete with a long-established force like Qualcomm so soon after entering the modem market is great news for Apple fans. Ookla declares that the C1X’s impressive latency performance against both competitors and Apple’s own past chips means that “Apple has built the most responsive modem for daily use on the market” – one that offers “no discernible sacrifice in peak 5G performance compared to the bulkier, more capable ‘Pro’ device.”
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alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake)
