- Network company Ookla compared the iPhone C1X modem with 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 in-house 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 company Ookla, these concerns may be 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 get “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 C1X outperformed the iPhone 17 Pro Max in terms of latency in 19 of the 22 markets tested by Ookla. Although the differences are small, they suggest that Apple has caught up to rival Qualcomm’s offering in just a few years.
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As for download speeds, the C1X and Qualcomm X80 were neck and neck. When measured in the US, for example, the X80 pulled ahead in average and optimal conditions, while the C1X had the advantage in areas with weak signal. In all cases, the differences were minor.
Compared to its own C1 chip, the C1X offers a “generational leap,” Ookla explains. It increased download speeds and also offered much better latency, suggesting that Apple was able to significantly improve its wireless capabilities between chip generations.
It wasn’t all good news. Qualcomm’s X80 still outperformed the C1X in download 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 a year apart, the improvement in wireless performance has been remarkable.
With Apple committed to using its own in-house modems, this type of increase could give competitors pause, especially with the prospect of a C2 modem launching in this year’s iPhone 18 lineup.
Indeed, Ookla claims that the iPhone Air and C1X offer a “highly visible upgrade over the iPhone 16e in content sharing capability for most markets in this analysis.”
But companies like Qualcomm aren’t 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. This could once again tip the scales in Qualcomm’s favor.
Still, the simple 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 says the C1X’s impressive latency performance compared to competitors and older Apple chips means that “Apple has built the most responsive modem for everyday use on the market” – one that offers “no discernible sacrifice in peak 5G performance compared to the larger, more capable ‘Pro’ device.”
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