- Networking company Ookla compared the iPhone C1X modem to the iPhone Air
- The results show that it is 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 begin equipping its top iPhones with its own internal modem chip, concerns were raised about how long it would take the Cupertino giant to get its wireless performance up to par compared to competing components like Qualcomm. But according to a recent report from networking firm Ookla, those concerns may have been overblown.
In the report, Ookla put Apple’s C1X modem, which you’ll find in the iPhone Air, to the test. 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 benchmark results, the iPhone Air C1X outperformed the iPhone 17 Pro Max in latency in 19 of the 22 markets Ookla tested. While the differences were small, they suggest that Apple has caught up to rival Qualcomm’s offering in just a couple of years.
Article continues below.
In terms of download speeds, the C1X and the Qualcomm X80 were neck and neck. When measured in the United States, for example, the X80 pulled ahead in average and better conditions, while the C1X had the advantage in areas with low signal strength. In all cases, the differences were minor.
Compared to its own C1 chip, the C1X offers a “generational leap,” Ookla says. It made progress in download speeds and also offered much better latency, 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 ‘very visible update’
Considering that the C1 and C1X chips were released just a year apart, the improvement in wireless performance has been notable.
Given that Apple has committed to using its own in-house modems, that kind of increase could give its rivals pause for thought, especially with the prospect of a C2 modem launching in this year’s iPhone 18 range.
In fact, Ookla says the iPhone Air and C1X provide a “very visible upgrade over the iPhone 16e in terms of content sharing capabilities for most markets in this analysis.”
But companies 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 balance in Qualcomm’s favor once again.
However, the mere fact that Apple can compete with a long-established force like Qualcomm so soon after entering the modem market is great news for Apple fans. Ookla states that the C1X’s impressive latency performance against competitors and previous Apple chips means that “Apple has created the most responsive everyday modem on the market,” one that offers “no discernible sacrifice in peak 5G performance compared to the bulkier, more capable ‘Pro’ device.”
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
