How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Nice performance numbers. Would have also been nice to see a better price now that they aren't having to pay Qualcomm licensing fees.

Starving shareholder families need food.😉

And Apple probably wants 46.9% (margin) to get to 50% ASAP 💰💰💰

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

Qualcomm modems are obviously the gold standard, but there really isn't anything special about them. They are ripe for disruption. They are power hungry monsters. One that is designed for efficiency, but performs almost as well as the competition is a great addition to iPhone.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I thought 5G was useless.

It was, until the network started absolutely demolishing the older LTE networks and forcing most people still stuck on a phone with only LTE to upgrade rather they wanted to or not, simply because LTE has become significantly worse than it was five years ago.
It’s slower, it’s less reliable, and it’s available in less places than it was in 2020.
So now 5G isn’t useless simply based on the fact that it’s the only network that’s being fully utilized by the carriers.

 

[bousozoku]

I thought 5G was useless.

mmWave is useless, unless you're standing next to a tower. Rain and snow can get in the way.

 

[upandown]

I wonder if Apple improved the antenna design in the 16e to increase performance. That would be one way to close the gap.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

It was, until the network started absolutely demolishing the older LTE networks and forcing most people still stuck on a phone with only LTE to upgrade rather they wanted to or not, simply because LTE has become significantly worse than it was five years ago.
It’s slower, it’s less reliable, and it’s available in less places than it was in 2020.
So now 5G isn’t useless simply based on the fact that it’s the only network that’s being fully utilized by the carriers.

I have 5G disabled, for battery reasons, on my 16 Pro and I can't tell any difference from when I had it enabled.

 

[akula1488]

unless it is significantly different, most user care more about display, battery life and cameras...

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

As usual, first day "reviews" are almost always "glowing." Reality- whatever it is- comes in a week or three. Reality could be just as good, better or worse... but we don't get it first day.

 

[MayaUser]

Many other reviews are showing poor numbers, especially in China where mid-band 5G is very high speed.

C1 unable to reach 1 Gbps compared to X71.

SNR and signal consistently worse than X71.

View attachment 2486789

here we compare apples to apples...and C1 is as good as the iphone 16 pro QC modem but 30% more efficient
Almost nobody here cares how it works in China..we should care to work very well were we will use it.
The fact that there are already so many test there..it shows C1 is the future. Everybody compares themselves with Apple for good reasons, they are the gold standard

 

[spartan1967]

Apple checking all the boxes with their first modem. Nicely done & more battery charge at the end of the day as a plus up. Still waiting for the reachability results, you know those dark corners where getting a signal wins the day.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

The point is not Apple modem speeds. The point is that this is a short step away from Apple having the modem on-chip, which will be hugely efficient.

 

[Johnny907]

Many other reviews are showing poor numbers, especially in China where mid-band 5G is very high speed.

C1 unable to reach 1 Gbps compared to X71.

SNR and signal consistently worse than X71.

View attachment 2486789

Yeah this is what I was worried about. I travel for work, so having a consistently reliable signal if not the fastest speeds was of more importance to me as often my shoots took me into the backcountry of Alaska or the swamps of Florida. Packing an intel modem equipped iPhone meant frequent periods of No Signal and dropped calls. Word is this C1 was derived from those intel modems, so while it’s not shocking that weakness remains, it is disappointing.

 

[california_kid]

Which modem works better in airplane mode?

 

[lkrupp]

I thought 5G was useless.

It still is on phones.4G LTE is all any phone needs and has better coverage. 5G on phones is the tech weenies' wet dream standing on a corner and comparing download speeds that they have no use case for.

 

[JPack]

here we compare apples to apples...and C1 is as good as the iphone 16 pro QC modem but 30% more efficient
Almost nobody here cares how it works in China..we should care to work very well were we will use it.
The fact that there are already so many test there..it shows C1 is the future. Everybody compares themselves with Apple for good reasons, they are the gold standard

Tests show the C1 performing slower in Mbps in a parking garage. Recovery was slower when stepping out of an elevator.

None of the U.S. reviewers even bothered to pull up the built-in FTM Dashboard to learn signal strength numbers.

 

[Johnny907]

And just like the Apple Silicon naysayers, people scared of something new were wrong again.

Don't think i have ever had a need for max speeds on my phones.. they have been fast for everything i do every since 4G.

Efficiency should remain their priority.

… except we weren’t, because lack of range and worrisome SNR compared to Qualcomm modems is a notable issue for anyone daring to travel somewhere other than a coverage saturated downtown. Efficiency is nice, but a full battery doesn’t mean much when it’s paired with an empty signal bar.

 

[lkrupp]

Starving shareholder families need food.😉

And Apple probably wants 46.9% (margin) to get to 50% ASAP 💰💰💰

So who do you by your tech from these days? We’d like to know.

 

[redmac]

Many other reviews are showing poor numbers, especially in China where mid-band 5G is very high speed.

C1 unable to reach 1 Gbps compared to X71.

With the lack of mmWave capabilities, we already knew that this modem wouldn't reach those speeds, and it's not a problem. Almost no one needs 1Gbps speeds in a smartphone in 2025. It's a good to have feature, but nothing essential for most users.

For example, as someone who considers himself as an advanced user, I have 1 Gbps wireless network at home. In my daily use, I don't notice if my phone is getting 900 Mbps from Wi-Fi, or 200 Mbps from the cell tower. The speed of the connection doesn't impact my experience at all.

For the average user, the most important criteria for a modem, the most noticeable and experience impacting things are the average speed in less than ideal cell coverage conditions, and the impact on the battery life. It's clear that C1 excels in both of those areas.

 

[ralph_sws]

why don't you write that the lack of magsafe is due to interference to this wonderful c1 modem 😂😂😂

 

[Hogswarts]

Verizon?? I get over 1 Gbps down on T-Mobile with my iPhone 16 Pro Max indoors with 3 bars of signal.

 

[ttyRazor]

This is good news, especially given how well the Apple Silicon processors have gone. Speed is always good, but for me it's much less important than the ability to acquire and reliably hold a signal.

Yeah, maintaining performance with a weak signal is probably the more significant goal to meet. Doesn’t seem like there are obvious problems with that in the reviews so far.

 

[ChrisA]

And when/if they'll be able to integrate it with the main chip it may be even more efficient!

So, do you think the buffers on the chip's external pins use a significant amount of power? Integration might save that, but what else? I think mostly it would make the total device physically smaller

 

[JPack]

With the lack of mmWave capabilities, we already knew that this modem wouldn't reach those speeds, and it's not a problem. Almost no one needs 1Gbps speeds in a smartphone in 2025. It's a good to have feature, but nothing essential for most users.

For example, as someone who considers himself as an advanced user, I have 1 Gbps wireless network at home. In my daily use, I don't notice if my phone is getting 900 Mbps from Wi-Fi, or 200 Mbps from the cell tower. The speed of the connection doesn't impact my experience at all.

For the average user, the most important criteria for a modem, the most noticeable and experience impacting things are the average speed in less than ideal cell coverage conditions, and the impact on the battery life. It's clear that C1 excels in both of those areas.

Has nothing to do with mmWave because mid-band 5G goes up to around 3 Gbps. China doesn't use mmWave either. Basically for an apples to apples comparison, the C1 is slower and less able to latch on to a weak signal.

More importantly however, C1 doesn't have as good an SNR, signal power, and signal quality compared to X71 as shown by reviewers. This translates to little or no reception in enclosed structures, parking garages, elevators, subways, etc.

 

[Dr McKay]

I thought 5G was useless.

I'm considering switching to 5G home internet when my current internet contract runs out, fibre internet where I am tops out at 1Gbps and would be twice as expensive.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

why don't you write that the lack of magsafe is due to interference to this wonderful c1 modem 😂😂😂

Because writing "that the lack of magsafe is due to interference to this wonderful c1 modem" would be a lie.