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

[SactoGuy18]

I really have to ask this question: does the C1 radio modem chip support T-Mobile USA's 5G UC mode using mid-band frequencies? I've seen 1,600 mbps download speeds on my iPhone 16 Plus in 5G UC mode with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 radio modem chip, so the C1 should be capable of something close if it supports this mode.

 

[Tagbert]

Anyone know why is a 5g Modem chip such a big deal? Surely it’s a simple well known technology? Why has it taken so long to implement?

Because modem chips are fiendishly complicated. More so than CPU chips. The chip designs that Apple bought from Intel were for 4G modems. They had to develop designs for 5G themselves.

 

[KnowsHowItWorks]

Always a pleasant surprise when the first iteration of the device doesn’t suck.

 

[nsayer]

Apple has a history of NIH behavior. Perhaps now the prospects are slightly better for Apple to offer cellular connectivity in MacBooks.

 

[Biro]

I really have to ask this question: does the C1 radio modem chip support T-Mobile USA's 5G UC mode using mid-band frequencies? I've seen 1,600 mbps download speeds on my iPhone 16 Plus in 5G UC mode with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 radio modem chip, so the C1 should be capable of something close if it supports this mode.

Reviews going forward will have to confirm the answer. But Apple’s own specs page indicates the C1 at least works on all those frequencies. My gut tells me the answer to your question is yes.

Cellular and Wireless
Model A3212*

• 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n75, n76, n77, n78, n79)
• FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71)
• TD‑LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53)
• UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

All models

• 5G (sub-6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO11
• Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO11
• Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO
• Bluetooth 5.3
• NFC with reader mode
• Express Cards with power reserve

 

[akbarali.ch]

This is quite surprising for first attempt.

 

[name99]

"The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected."

Expected by whom?
Expected by WHOM?
EXPECTED BY WHOM?

There was one contingent (the same crowd who, knowing nothing about GPUs expected the Apple GPU to be useless, and who knowing nothing about NPUs insisted the ANE is useless).
And there was a different crowd with rather different predictions.

It tells you everything you need to know about Journalism in The West in 2025 that one of these groups was treated as definitive, while the other is not even acknowledged...

 

[mathiasinthe314]

Just picked up an iPhone 16e for my mom. Did side by side speed tests on it and my 16PM both on T-Mobile. 270 down and 30 up on my 16PM and 272 down and 28 up on the 16e. Pretty solid performance based on that test.

 

[FlyingDutch]

This is quite surprising for first attempt.

Was Apple A4 (first Apple silicon) any different? Was Apple M1 (first Apple silicon used also on computers) any different? Why the surprise ?
Apple engineering is good.

 

[KPOM]

This is quite surprising for first attempt.

It’s the first one that Apple released. Not their first attempt. My guess is that they didn’t want to release their own modem until it was at least comparable to the Qualcomm design (apart from the lack of mmWave which is not as important for most users).

 

[splifingate]

I wonder how much of this development occurred with on-site work as opposed to working from home

I find it difficult to imagine that such things could actually be accomplished without hands-on, face-to-face interaction.

 

[baconcat_8964]

I think that matches what they got from Intel. XMM 8060 was planed to be released in mid-2019.

 

[Abazigal]

This is quite surprising for first attempt.

Maybe that's the point. This C1 modem does not need to be better than Qualcomm's offerings in every area. It's just needs to be better at the areas that matter in a smartphone (eg: power efficiency). Theoretical max speed may not matter as much if most users don't get anywhere near that much speed anyways.

It's kinda the case with Apple Silicon. There are no doubt processors that beat it in terms of raw power, but those tend to be desktop CPUs that consume a lot more power, and produce a lot more heat (meaning they throttle quickly without adequate cooling). In contrast, apple silicon in laptops allow for far longer battery life and better sustained performance when not plugged in to power. This is a value proposition the competition finds hard pressed to beat. The trade-off is that Mac desktops don't always win in terms of sheer power, but it also allows Apple to place them in more compact form factors like the Mac mini and Mac Studio and still offer excellent performance while not needing as much cooling.

That's how Apple wins. Not in terms of sheer numbers, but by integrating hardware and software together to form a unique package.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have seen 16e speeds commiserate with my 16, which doesn't surprise me.

 

[JohnC1959]

I wonder how much of this development occurred with on-site work as opposed to working from home

I find it difficult to imagine that such things could actually be accomplished without hands-on, face-to-face interaction.

It's rarely an either/or situation. It's not uncommon to work from home a couple days or so a week then on site the other days. When done right it can aid productivity.

 

[Hyperchaotic]

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.

What drivel, perhaps it’s useless where you are but 5G is much better at handling congestion which is a bigger and bigger problem, also where I live we get not only faster bands (sub-6) but all the way down to 600MHz which gives better range on the countryside and better building penetration.

So, never mind speeds people generally don’t need, it’s all about reliability and capacity once rolled out on several channels with different characteristics.

 

[Bodhitree]

I must admit I haven’t noticed any benefit from 5G. The jump from 3G to 4G was noticeable, but 4G seems to be fast enough to be near-instaneous for day to day usage where I am.

Pleasantly surprised by these early reports on Apple’s C1 modem.

 

[Thehangmn]

You know… you can please some people some of the time…

Anyone that doesn’t see this as a huge positive is crazy. Under most circumstances c1 can match x71, that’s huge. There are areas for improvement, but overall this does not appear to be a repeat of the intel vs QCOM modems.
We already know that C2 is coming, and that will build on the success.

 

[FlyingDutch]

It’s the first one that Apple released. Not their first attempt. My guess is that they didn’t want to release their own modem until it was at least comparable to the Qualcomm design (apart from the lack of mmWave which is not as important for most users).

Lack of mmWave could be a deliberate choice. There is C2 for that. C1 was intended for lower cost devices like iPhone 16e.

I think that matches what they got from Intel. XMM 8060 was planed to be released in mid-2019.

I don’t think so. From intel they are using the patents portfolio. Everything else has been designed from scratch

 

[akbarali.ch]

It’s the first one that Apple released. Not their first attempt. My guess is that they didn’t want to release their own modem until it was at least comparable to the Qualcomm design (apart from the lack of mmWave which is not as important for most users).

Exactly, i meant first release. Obviously it has been in development for several years.

 

[akbarali.ch]

Was Apple A4 (first Apple silicon) any different? Was Apple M1 (first Apple silicon used also on computers) any different? Why the surprise ?
Apple engineering is good.

CPU are different as it was not their total design, its based on ARM instructions. but modem was going to be tough nut, thats the reason not so many companies make modem, majorly due to age old patents i guess.

 

[killhippie]

5G speeds in the UK on O2 are awful but on EE I get 280Mbps down and about 60Mbps up and standalone 5G so no dropping down to 4G for calls, does the C1 support that?

I think my fears are its ability to hold signals, I was burned by the intel modems and tbh the X80 looks a great new modem, no way Apple is as good as Qualcomm out the gate, real world tests over months will really show how it behaves and if Apple were not afraid of issues the iPhone 16's would have gotten the. X75.

 

[User 7654321]

Just got an iPhone 16e for a family member. We are both on T-Mobile in the Chicago suburbs. I did a quick test. We both had 3 bars of signal strength. The iPhone 16e download speed was 263 Mbps. My iPhone 16 Pro was 444 Mbps. So Qualcomm unsurprisingly performed better, though I think the Apple performance is adequate for a low(-ish) cost phone.

 

[KPOM]

Just got an iPhone 16e for a family member. We are both on T-Mobile in the Chicago suburbs. I did a quick test. We both had 3 bars of signal strength. The iPhone 16e download speed was 263 Mbps. My iPhone 16 Pro was 444 Mbps. So Qualcomm unsurprisingly performed better, though I think the Apple performance is adequate for a low(-ish) cost phone.

Particularly if the battery life on the 16e is good.

 

[Bodhitree]

Just got an iPhone 16e for a family member. We are both on T-Mobile in the Chicago suburbs. I did a quick test. We both had 3 bars of signal strength. The iPhone 16e download speed was 263 Mbps. My iPhone 16 Pro was 444 Mbps. So Qualcomm unsurprisingly performed better, though I think the Apple performance is adequate for a low(-ish) cost phone.

The thing is, anything above about 40 Mbps is gravy. That is the threshold for full-screen video playback on a single device. You may notice marginally quicker load times of heavy websites, or shorter download times for large files, but most consumers don’t do a lot of that.

I’d rather have 25% more battery life on my phone than an extra couple hundred Mbps when I’m already well above the common-use threshold. More speed is not necessarily better.