Apple N1 Modem Battles Android Flagships in 5G Benchmark Brawl
According to crowdsourced data from Ookla, Google's Pixel 10 Pro barely pipped out Apple's iPhone 17 series in terms of global median Wi-Fi speeds. The margin was wafer-thin, with the Pixel securing the lead at 335.33 megabits/second, just edging out the iPhone 17’s 329.56 Mbps. Xiaomi's 15T Pro led the pack in peak Wi-Fi performance, maxing out at 887.25 Mbps. Now, if this isn't proof that phones have basically reach parity in regards to chipsets, batteries, displays, and cameras, companies are left to skirmish over the invisible stuff like Wi-Fi speeds and satellite connectivity.
One can say that the reason behind Apple's strong showing comes from the iPhone 17's in-house N1 chip, replacing its long-time supplier Broadcom. Ookla’s data showed that the iPhone 17 family improved median speeds by up to 40% compared to the Broadcom-powered iPhone 16. In fact, while Google took the global average crown, the iPhone 17 dominated in the 10th percentile testing—an important metric for consistency and performance in poor or crowded signal conditions. In this challenging scenario, the N1 clocked 56.08 Mbps compared to the Pixel 10 Pro's 53.25 Mbps, which shows superior hardware-software optimization.
Still, even as Apple and Google fought over the median user experience, Xiaomi showcased the raw potential of next-generation connectivity. Specifically, the Xiaomi 15T Pro (equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ and Xiaomi's own Surge T1S Tuner) shattered the peak performance ceiling. In ideal network conditions, the Xiaomi flagship lasted past both Google and Apple, hitting a rather impressive 887.25 Mbps in peak download speeds. The 15T Pro’s dominance continued in upload speeds (in the 10th, median, and 90th percentile) and offered the lowest latency (15 ms), highlighting the potential of Wi-Fi 7 and its features like 320 MHz channels when the infrastructure supports it.
Based on this circumstantial evidence, it seems like Apple is doing what it does well: prioritizing consistency within existing, common infrastructure, as well as stability in suboptimal environments, whereas competitors like Xiaomi continue to pursue maximum theoretical throughput, which is great for marketing and bragging rights. The latter truly depends on wider adoption of the 6 GHz spectrum and Wi-Fi 7 router usage in global markets.
