Apple's C1 Modem Put Through New Speed Test Ahead of iPhone 17 Air - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple's C1 Modem Put Through New Speed Test Ahead of iPhone 17 Air

by

Ookla, the network intelligence company known for its Speedtest tool, today published the results of its second iPhone 16e cellular speed test.

Apple iPhone 16e C1 Feature
In short, Ookla found that the iPhone 16e with Apple's custom-designed C1 modem "performs similarly" to the standard iPhone 16 with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem in the "vast majority of markets" that it examined.

However, results sometimes varied considerably based on carrier and country.

Ookla said the median 5G download speed for the standard iPhone 16 on T-Mobile's network in the U.S. was 317 Mbps, compared to 252 Mbps on the iPhone 16e. However, on an unspecified Spanish network, it said the iPhone 16e achieved a median 5G download speed of 139 Mbps, topping the iPhone 16 at 110 Mbps.

All in all, Ookla said the iPhone 16e performs "comparatively" to the iPhone 16 for 5G connectivity, which reinforces its earlier March findings.

iPhone 16e users can rest assured that Apple's first 5G modem is no slouch, which is good news ahead of Apple's special event tomorrow, as the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air is also expected to be equipped with the C1 modem.

Head to Ookla's website for the in-depth results.

Tags: C1, Ookla
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple 2026 Back to School Graphic

Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer Just Went Live in Select Countries

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:48 am PDT by
Apple's annual Back to School promotion is now live in select countries in Asia, including China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The offer provides college students and educational staff with a free item with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad model. The exact offer varies by country, with options including a pack of four AirTags, AirPods 4,...
Read Full Article • 19 comments
iphone 17 cyber

Apple Closes Unlocked iPhone Loophole for T-Mobile and Verizon Financing

Wednesday July 15, 2026 3:20 pm PDT by
Carrier-financed iPhones purchased from Apple will soon be locked to the carrier, ending a workaround customers used to purchase an unlocked iPhone on a payment plan. Until the rule change, buying an iPhone from Apple and opting for financing through Verizon or T-Mobile meant you would get an iPhone not locked to either carrier's network. That's no longer the case, and now iPhones financed...
Read Full Article • 137 comments
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 17, 2026 10:39 am PDT by
It is now mid-July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, ...
Read Full Article • 24 comments

Top Rated Comments

Cristim74 Avatar
Cristim74
11 months ago
Considering this is a 1st gen product it's a good achievement.
Looking forward to the C2 and C3 performance ...
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
O
orev
11 months ago
Does it ever matter if a 5G modem is slightly faster than another? Other than marketing or bragging rights, nobody will notice in real world usage.

No doubt this is part of generating some hype around the launch tomorrow.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CalMin Avatar
CalMin
11 months ago
Truth is that these benchmark type tests don't matter to most people as long as their phone "just works". With cellular there are just so many variables e.g., phone, location, provider, signal strength, network conditions (congestion etc.) that sometimes my phone is fast, sometimes it's slow and I live with that when not on wifi.

What I hear from this is that Apple's modem is 'decent enough' in most situations such that it won't be a factor in my purchasing decision. For me - I just want to get email, texts, post on Macrumors, look at some Instagram, and FaceTime with friends when out of the house.

While this doesn't hold true for many folks who need optimal connectivity or who just want the very best - I expect that most consumers will be just fine with an Apple modem.

Now if this means that Apple doesn't have to pay Qualcomm tax then we should get cheaper phones right? Right Apple? Right...???
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProbablyDylan Avatar
ProbablyDylan
11 months ago
I wonder how many end users are drag racing cell modems and making their purchasing decisions based on that.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
jntdroid
11 months ago
Great, so they both perform well in strong signal areas. What's more important is how well it can perform in weak signal areas. I know that's hard to test, but that's the most important factor at the end of the day.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
justanotherdave
11 months ago

Is it made up drivel though if it's true that the X80 is noticeably faster than the X71? Those with a Galaxy S25 series phone can compare their speeds to a iPhone 16 series phone or a Galaxy S24 and see what the results are.
I guess. If you think that download speeds are the ONLY metric used to compare modems while ignoring the 100 other tests that cellular engineers perform.

People said 5G was supposed to be revolutionary. It barely made any difference to users over 4G/LTE. Mainly because your performance is dictated by the server sending you content and whatever load-balancing they do, not because of the speed of your modem.

It’s also why my 1Gbps Internet service didn’t make browsing or other activities any faster than my previous 250Mbps service. All it did was make very specific downloads (large files) faster. And even then it rarely ever hit full speed.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments