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The iPhone 15 models are equipped with Qualcomm's X70 modem chip that promises faster 5G speeds than the X65 in the prior-generation iPhone 14 models, and testing shared by Ookla confirms that download speeds have notably improved.

ookla-5g-iphone-15-speed.jpg

Using data collected from its online Speedtest for measuring connection speeds, Ookla has been able to determine that the iPhone 15 models support download speeds that are up to 54 percent faster than the download speeds available on the iPhone 14 models.

Compared to their equivalent iPhone 14 models, the iPhone 15 Plus saw 54 percent faster download speeds, the iPhone 15 had 45 percent better download speeds, the iPhone 15 Pro Max was 27 percent faster, and the iPhone 15 Pro had a 25 percent better download speed.

The iPhone 15 models had the fastest download speeds out of all the Apple and Samsung devices included on Ookla's results list. Median download speeds on the iPhone 15 Pro Max were at 285Mb/s, and the other iPhones weren't far behind.

The iPhone 15 had the slowest median download speed out of Apple's lineup at 249Mb/s, but it still came out ahead of Samsung's latest smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Fold5 and the Galaxy Z Flip5.

Note that Ookla's data covers median download speeds across the entire United States, and connectivity could vary depending on location, proximity to a major city, location of the closest cellular tower, carrier, and more. Data shared for the iPhone was collected from September 22 to October 30.

5G download speeds also improved in multiple other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, South Korea, Spain, the UK, and the UAE, with full results available on the Ookla website.


Article Link: iPhone 15 Models Have Up to 54% Better 5G Download Speeds Than iPhone 14 Models
 

jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
11,333
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sorta kinda expected, but s stated, it depends heavily on your location ... and I have gotten faster download speed on my 13PM than the median 285, but I was in the "right" location ;)
 

kalafalas

macrumors 6502a
Aug 26, 2008
661
2,047
California
My main issue with these charts is how many of them were connected to low band, or mid/high band? There’s quite a striking difference, and I bet a lot of non-pro iPhone owners at least here in the US on Verizon or ATT do not subscribe to a plan that has access to anything but lowband
 

Michael Scrip

macrumors 604
Mar 4, 2011
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It's great that a phone can get 285mbps in a brief 30-second Speedtest. Hooray!

But I'd love to see 10 people do the same test all hitting the same tower at one time. Or 100 people.

Or 100 people streaming a movie on the same tower at the same time.

That would make difference, right?
 

ericinboston

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2008
2,020
508
All the points so far here are valid. However, why do people need speeds over, say, 100Mbit/sec for iPhone use? Seriously. I'm honestly asking and not trying to be snarky.

I get that people always want faster speeds in general. But what are you using an iPhone for that needs 800Mbit or Gigabit speeds? Maybe uploading a video to Youtube I guess (and if the carrier supports that upstream gigabit speed) but for practically all other apps (email, text, social media, youtube, movie streaming, etc.) you should be more than fine at 100Mbit. If you're using your carrier plan as your home ISP and/or tethering through your iPhone, ok, I get that...but that's not cell phone usage.
 

MacBird

macrumors 65816
Apr 1, 2010
1,315
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Just did a quick test with my 15 Pro Max on T-Mobile. I normally get 3 bars on 5G UC at home. Download is 550 and upload 26. Interestingly, my address is not eligible for their home internet plan yet.
 
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BC2009

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2009
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You know what? So far I have really hated 5G. Ever since carriers began "upgrading" their networks to 5G, voice calling quality has plummeted. It is rare that I can make a phone call for more than 2 minutes without one of the person's voices becoming robotic and garbled. I first experienced this when I opted to switch to T-Mobile and they were the first in my area implementing 5G -- horrible voice calls. We switched back to AT&T which was good for a while, but once they got their 5G network up and running (not their fake 5Ge) the voice call quality fell apart with AT&T too.

In fact, I have found that I can do FaceTime Audio and get better voice quality consistently than I get with cellular voice now. So while the data speeds have increased it would seem at least T-Mobile and AT&T have let their voice quality fall apart.
 

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
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Western US
If, presumably, all iPhone 15 models are using the same chip - why is there such a disparity between speeds across the model range?
Could be many factors, but for one thing the shells and layout of internal components is different. Pros use some titanium instead of aluminum. And maybe the reason the Plus/Max phones are a little faster than their smaller versions is because there's more room to put a little larger antenna?
 
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kalafalas

macrumors 6502a
Aug 26, 2008
661
2,047
California
If, presumably, all iPhone 15 models are using the same chip - why is there such a disparity between speeds across the model range?
People with regular iPhone 15s are probably on basic plans with access to only low band 5G. People with the pro models are more likely to have more expensive plans
 
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shpankey

macrumors regular
Aug 31, 2014
220
318
Oklahoma, USA
All the points so far here are valid. However, why do people need speeds over, say, 100Mbit/sec for iPhone use? Seriously. I'm honestly asking and not trying to be snarky.

I get that people always want faster speeds in general. But what are you using an iPhone for that needs 800Mbit or Gigabit speeds? Maybe uploading a video to Youtube I guess (and if the carrier supports that upstream gigabit speed) but for practically all other apps (email, text, social media, youtube, movie streaming, etc.) you should be more than fine at 100Mbit. If you're using your carrier plan as your home ISP and/or tethering through your iPhone, ok, I get that...but that's not cell phone usage.
Hotspot/Tethering. Some of us use it on the regular. I do this for my kids iPads and for work when traveling or during outages.
 
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