Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone X Models With Qualcomm Modem Still Have Faster LTE Speeds Than Those With Intel Modems
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not true. I just bought a Verizon iPhone at BB. Paid in Full. Then walked out the door. Took it to AT&T and added to my account. It had no sim in it.
Only if you're in a weak signal area frequently. CDMA used to have an advantage for those working within office buildings. However, today most large buildings are full of repeaters.
I've been in a couple rural areas and have not had issues with calls even down to 1 bar GSM LTE on my Intel 8 Plus. Intel will be up to speed by this time next year. Besides, next years phones will have either Intel, or Broadcom Modems.
I BET I COULD HAVE GOTTEN 381/367 Mbps ON A QUALCOMM MODEM.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
Sorry about the voice issues. But, I had Androids for years. TMO and AT&T. They never sounded that good. All my iPhones on AT&T have sounded crystal clear. Especially since VoLTE.
I got an unlocked 256gb model from Apple.com/no how do I find out what model I have?
Why? You paid full for your device! Can they lock it ? I mean it is your device, you paid in full. I always purchase apple sim free phone and use it with my family share plan on ATT.
This. I wasnt sure who to go with (was with Sprint). Was advised by someone at Apple to reserve the Sprint model... but not to power it up. Verizon, T-Mobil, and AT&T were all confident i could pop their sim card in and work. I ended up choosing At&T to try out (but am on prepaid plan so can change if i want). Works fine. Qualcomm modem.
My current S8+ has a lot of static for some reason. My HTC 10 was crystal clear. My S7 was pretty good.
I remember those benchmark results showing how the "Intel" outperformed the Qualcomm, which did not match up with my testing. Looks like they were wrong and must have been paid by Intel or something. This is why I did my own tests shortly after the phone was released. Would have been nice to see this article posted early on so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle testing on my own.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...mm-iphone-x-benchmarks-for-gsm-users.2084875/
I am glad those who stumbled across my post benefited from my testing however.
"Cellular Insights said the difference is most noticeable in very weak signal conditions, in which the iPhone X with a Qualcomm modem experienced 67 percent faster LTE download speeds on average compared to the Intel model."
I had been mislead prior to buying, and thought the Intel was superior. Fortunately i had no clue which carriers models had which, and i ended up buying a Sprint (which i took to AT&T to activate). So luckily i got the Qualcomm. I dont care about the top end... but i live in a weak signal area and having better low signal speed is huge.
Click Settings > General > About > Legal > Regulatory > You will see "Model"
I hate to agree with this!
I have a X with the Intel modem on T-Mobile. It’s worse than my 6S that had the Qualcomm chip. It’s most obvious on the NYC subway where the X drops to 4G a lot. T-Mobile’s 4G in NYC is a joke: they should’ve called it Edge or GPRS lol
Subjectively, the X has a weaker signal too and I blame it on the Intel modem!
That is not correct.
The reason China gets the Qualcomm model is because China Mobile’s 3G network is a proprietary TD-SCDMA technology that is only available in the Qualcomm chips.
Australia and New Zealand are one of the only GSM only countries that import the Qualcomm modem because we can take advantage of the higher LTE speeds offered.
I agree with both comments as I have a X and I used to have an 8 Plus. The difference is definently there! My 6S with Qualcomm performed better than both! In low signal areas it’s very apparent!
I wish I had waited and bought a Verizon X instead.
Ive got a iPhone X 256GB (UK) with model A1901 (Intel XMM 7480 modem)...
I'm trying to figure out how to return (A1901) for Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 modem (A1865), my 14-days return policy is expired.
I will have to figure out how to get the replacement somehow - if you got any loopholes please do share with us
I'm trying to figure out how to return (A1901) for Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 modem (A1865),
my 14-days return policy is expired. I will have to figure out how to get the replacement somehow - if you got any loopholes please do share with us
Yeah but you won’t. We all know it.
The two are rated equally in real world tests, whether that’s natural or capped it doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t even know there was this thing if you hadn’t seen the story — because it simply doesn’t matter to anyone but the very angry.
China Unicom is a GSM carrier just like AT&T.
Apple could sell separate models for China Mobile and China Unicom. But they don’t.
Consumers in Asia are more sensitive to specs and performance than in the U.S. It makes sense for Apple to use cheaper Intel modems as long as consumers don’t care about the performance.
Put some walls in between the signal too.
Two iPhone 7 and two iPhone X devices (phones for both my wife and I) with Intel modems simply get no signal at all in ANY large building where I had a signal in all iPhones previous. Multiple Target stores, multiple Wal-Marts, multiple grocery stores. Any store that is the size of a grocery store or larger, loses all service completely. I have to rely on the store’s WiFi, which is usually congested.
As far as cellular signal goes, these are the worst phones I’ve ever owned, going all the way back to flip phone days. It’s crazy, I’ll have no signal in the center of a store and 3 bars LTE right outside the front door.
I’ve got this $1400 phone and I have to stand in front of a store to finish a phone call when I could be shopping at the same time. I’m a food photographer so I’m on the phone with clients and shopping for ingredients all the time.
Two iPhone 7 and two iPhone X devices (phones for both my wife and I) with Intel modems simply get no signal at all in ANY large building where I had a signal in all iPhones previous. Multiple Target stores, multiple Wal-Marts, multiple grocery stores. Any store that is the size of a grocery store or larger, loses all service completely. I have to rely on the store’s WiFi, which is usually congested.
As far as cellular signal goes, these are the worst phones I’ve ever owned, going all the way back to flip phone days. It’s crazy, I’ll have no signal in the center of a store and 3 bars LTE right outside the front door.
I’ve got this $1400 phone and I have to stand in front of a store to finish a phone call when I could be shopping at the same time. I’m a food photographer so I’m on the phone with clients and shopping for ingredients all the time.
They picked one band out of many the devices support. And they did a single static test. Hardly scientific at all.
I hear ya!
I wish I had realized it when I was still within my 14-return window. I have an X with the Intel modem on T-Mobile and the performance is much worse than my previous 6S Plus that had the Qualcomm chip. I’ve never had anything remotely like that with the 6S Plus. In my office building I walk to the kitchen, which is in the back of the building, where my 6S Plus didn’t have a single hiccup, but the X can barely maintain 1-2 bars and the download speeds drop like crazy!
Do you have proof of this claim?
They didn't buy the equipment. Rohde & Schwarz loans it to them in return for being mentioned.
Last edited:
If you look at all other countries, we all get one model of iPhone designed to take best advantage of all the networks on offer. For example, Japan only has one CDMA network (KDDI) but they sell the Qualcomm model regardless on which carrier.
This is more of stock control and reducing SKUs rather than people’s demand for faster devices.