iPhone X Models With Qualcomm Modem Still Have Faster LTE Speeds Than Those With Intel Modems

[grjj]

Dollars to doughnuts the environmental and Internet conditions for any particular data transfer would cause far more variability in speeds that the difference caused by the two differently sourced parts.
Another strike for synthetic benchmarking.

 

[Pipper99]

I had an AT&T iPhone X, but it went to very slow 4G in areas that my sim free 7 Plus stayed in fast LTE. I got the Verzion model of the X at full price and inserted my AT&T sim: the Qualcomm model hasn't dropped to 4G in the affected areas, and it typically shows faster LTE speeds at my home and office than the Intel model.

 

[ssl0408]

This was part of the reason why I switched to Verizon when getting the iPhone X. AT&T's network has gone downhill in recent years. I have much faster speeds now with Verizon. There should only be one iPhone X model.

 

[thadoggfather]

So most of the world is getting ripped on their GSM-only model?

Thats kinda the implication,

And should I be bummed about my A1901? Screen quality more important to me

 

[Zaft]

This was part of the reason why I switched to Verizon when getting the iPhone X. There should only be one iPhone X model.

That would be better but Apple wanted to diversify the supply chain. Good decision considering whats happening with Qualcomm.

 

[jntdroid]

Is there a way to tell which modem you have in your iPhone? Does Lirium provide that information?

A1865 = Qualcomm
A1901 = Intel

You'll receive A1901 if you buy direct from AT&T, T-Mobile, or Apple (while selecting either of those carriers).

You'll also receive A1865 if you buy direct from Verizon, Sprint, or Apple (while selecting Verizon or Sprint).

You'll also receive A1865 if you buy from Best Buy (and some other 3rd party retailers), no matter what carrier you use.

 

[jntdroid]

So most of the world is getting ripped on their GSM-only model?

Thats kinda the implication,

And should I be bummed about my A1901? Screen quality more important to me

Screen quality has nothing to do with the modem or model, it's just luck of the draw. But I can totally understand wanting to hold onto an A1901 model if you got a great piece of OLED screen on it, as you just never know for sure what kind of subtle inconsistencies you'll get with OLED...

 

[thadoggfather]

Screen quality has nothing to do with the modem or model, it's just luck of the draw. But I can totally understand wanting to hold onto an A1901 model if you got a great piece of OLED screen on it, as you just never know for sure what kind of subtle inconsistencies you'll get with OLED...

Thats what i mean of course

Intel or Qualcomm model doesnt play into screen lottery whatsoever,

The good screen one i found was an intel model

 

[kdarling]

That would be better but Apple wanted to diversify the supply chain. Good decision considering whats happening with Qualcomm.

Changing modem chips does not change what Apple has to pay Qualcomm, at least at this time, as the royalty is unrelated to the chip in use.

So since the royalty will stay the same, the only difference to Apple is the raw price of the modem chip. And obviously Apple's likely to try to go with a less expensive one if they can.

 

[magbarn]

I had an AT&T iPhone X, but it went to very slow 4G in areas that my sim free 7 Plus stayed in fast LTE. I got the Verzion model of the X at full price and inserted my AT&T sim: the Qualcomm model hasn't dropped to 4G in the affected areas, and it typically shows faster LTE speeds at my home and office than the Intel model.

I've been saying this for the last several months, the difference is also there with the 8+

 

[calzon65]

So Apple is basically screwing over AT&T and T-Mobile customers, how typical of Apple to keep this quiet.

I would not be surprised if we see a class action suit from this.

 

[jntdroid]

My wife has the Intel iPhone 8 and I have the Qualcomm one. TBH it's been a non-issue so far. Albeit, we live in a strong AT&T area, which helps mitigate the issues. Fortunately we haven't had to test out weak signal areas yet.

 

[adamski23]

My wife and I both have 128gb iPhone 7s on the same carrier. When we receive a group message mine was always a couple of seconds behind. I also noticed that her phone was just a bit faster when browsing on safari. It wasn’t significant but it was noticeable.

I found about the different models of modems used - lo and behold I have an Intel model. Grrr I shouldn’t have checked haha.

 

[OcramSagev]

Yes.

The exception is if you order it online and enter your carriers account info at the time of purchase. If you buy it at the store then just put your AT&T sim card before you start the phone for the first time.

 

[napabar]

This article is pointless. No one in real world situation would notice any difference. Slow news day, Macrumors? Need some clicks?

 

[OcramSagev]

Are the differences that much to choose a different phone?
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I heard that if you do this, AT&T will lock the phone to them. Can anyone confirm this?

I've heard this only happens with phones bought at best buy. If this happens and you paid in full, you can go to the AT&T website and submit an unlock request and they will unlock it automatically for you.

 

[ScubaCinci]

Wohoo A1865! For those that don't know how - on your phone go to Settings -> General -> About then find the "model" row and tap the part #. It should change from the MXXXXX/A value to the A1## value

*edit, I suppose on older iOS versions, this could be not quite the same procedure.

 

[Swampthing]

I would not be surprised if we see a class action suit from this.

omg. GET REAL.

I think you missed the most important part of the article:

“Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 is a gigabit-class modem that supports 4x4 MIMO, for example, but the functionality is disabled in the iPhone X. The result is that both the Qualcomm and Intel versions of the iPhone X have a peak theoretical download speed of 600 Mbps in most countries.”

This is the inherent problem with articles like this. Everyone’s iPhone X was fine until they read this article and discovered they might have an inferior modem. Suddenly there’s nerd outrage as they feel they’ve been cheated and want a lawsuit. Calm down people.

Then we have the others saying “in your face” because they have the QUALCOMM modem.

Real world testing with my 1901 on FiOS wifi just gave me 380/366 Mbps. And this is the “slow” 1901 intel modem.

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/i/2365947377

 

[OcramSagev]

Wohoo A1865! For those that don't know how - on your phone go to Settings -> General -> About then find the "model" row and tap the part #. It should change from the MXXXXX/A value to the A1## value

*edit, I suppose on older iOS versions, this could be not quite the same procedure.

Cool trick, i didn't know about this. It works on the X but not on an iPhone 5C running 10.3.3

 

[michael31986]

im sure the difference isn't even noticable to any user.... why apple doesn't make just one version of the phone is beyond me.

If the verizon one works with all carriers than just make that one the default.

 

[JPack]

Dollars to doughnuts the environmental and Internet conditions for any particular data transfer would cause far more variability in speeds that the difference caused by the two differently sourced parts.
Another strike for synthetic benchmarking.

The test simulated environmental conditions with low dBm.

No matter how you want to spin it, it’s clear the Qualcomm modem is better under marginal signal conditions.

It’s like saying weather makes a bigger difference in driver control rather than the quality of the tires. Of course. But under similar conditions, the better tires simply perform better.

 

[OcramSagev]

Yes, but the only way Verizon will let you do this is to pay 100% for phone (obviously) as well as set up a postpaid account. You then have to cancel the postpaid account. Source: I just got thru doing this since Verizon doesn’t offer a prepaid iPhone X yet.

Apple online store allows you to buy the Verizon phone without entering post-paid account info. (This is a recent change @ Apple store online). So basically purchasing the Verizon phone is like buying the SIM free version of the X

 

[Tokenfreak]

Why doesn't Apple just make one model? Since clearly the A1865 model works on both CDMA and GSM networks. Why make a GSM only model here in the USA?

 

[OcramSagev]

im sure the difference isn't even noticable to any user.... why apple doesn't make just one version of the phone is beyond me.

If the verizon one works with all carriers than just make that one the default.

Its a business decision (1) It is not a good idea to rely on one supplier only (2) Multiple suppliers = better negotiating power (3) Apple and Qualcomm are fighting against each other and Apple have stopped paying some royalties to Qualcomm -- this may not end pretty.

 

[thadoggfather]

/ So do any other people have the ‘dreaded’ Intel model and not care much?