Qualcomm study confirms Apple’s 5G chip is slower than its own

A few months after releasing the iPhone 16e with Apple’s first 5G modem, the C1 chip, Qualcomm commissioned an independent study that revealed, to no one’s surprise, that its chips outperform Apple’s in virtually every circumstance.

While this is not the first time Qualcomm has made that claim, it reassures investors that its business is solid and that iPhone users might lose important features with Apple’s solution.

Some of the highlights of the report can be found below:

• Consistent Performance Gap: Qualcomm-powered Android devices were 34.3% to 35.2% faster in download speeds and 81.4% to 91.0% faster in upload speeds than the iPhone 16e.
• Real-world User Experience Impact: Qualcomm chips demonstrate more efficient spectrum utilization and better performance.
• Thermal Management Issues: The iPhone 16e suffers from some thermal management issues under load, occasionally narrowing the performance gap under ideal near-cell conditions.
• Better Features: Qualcomm-powered Android devices had sub-6 GHz and other 5G features that were unavailable in the first generation of Apple’s 5G chip.

Still, Apple is aware that its chip isn’t as powerful as the ones available on an iPhone 16 Pro, for example. This is why rumors also suggest the company isn’t using a variation of the C1 chip on the iPhone 17 lineup (except for the Air model), but MediaTek’s.

That said, Apple is confident that a C2 chip could power the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. While Qualcomm’s chips will possibly outperform Apple’s, the company is aiming for other upgrades, including better battery performance and management and improved connectivity features related to AirDrop and Bluetooth.

With that in mind, Apple is aiming for an M1-like situation, where the company’s previous partner can outperform its processor in some scenarios, but the benefits for users are greater than having a slightly faster machine or marginally faster download speeds.

If Apple is able to transition to its own connectivity chips, Qualcomm will lose a significant source of revenue. Below, you can learn more about Apple’s plans for its own 5G modems.