Ryan Hans / Android Authority
tl; drag
- The Qualcomm Commissioned report found that Apple’s C1 modem was behind the last two flagship modems of Qualcomm.
- The report revealed that two Android phones with Qualcomm modem made the iPhone 16 E and its customs modem permanently improved.
- Android phones opened space for the iPhone 16E when they turned away from the cell towers.
Apple launched the iPhone 16 E earlier this year, and this is an important release because it includes the company’s first cellular modem. We have already seen reports about its performance, and now a Qualcomm commissioned study has revealed some (amazing) results.
Cellular Insight published a report comparing two Qualcomm -powered Android phones with the iPhone 16E and its Apple C1 modem. The company tested these phones in New York City in various real -world environment while T -Mobile is all connected to the 6GHZ network. He added that the tests were done in the “near, far, and mid -cell” conditions.
One of these Android phones was described as a flagship in January 2025 with the Snapdragon X80 modem and a price tag of 9 799. Meanwhile, the second phone was described as a January 2024 flagship, which tiged a slightly old Snapdragon X75 modem and $ 619 tag. We are guessing that the former Samsung Galaxy is S25. Based on the release date, it seems that the latter device is a Galaxy S24.
So which one was better?
The report states that Android phones permanently defeated the iPhone 16E in all circumstances. It has specifically said that Android Phone average was 34.3 % to 35.2 % faster than the Apple device in terms of download speed. On average, there was a huge advantage in terms of uploaded speed, as Android devices claim that 81.4 % is 91 % faster.
Cellular insight reports that the iPhone 16E reduced the gap to Android phones in nearby cell conditions, but that Android devices increased their lead as soon as the middle cell and remote cells moved. It suggested that the disparity is due to the Qualcomm modem, which supports the features of the Downt link carrier aggression and Applinic Career Aggregation (ULCA), while Apple C1 was forced to “down link and lack the ULCA support.”
So what was the key path? What was the company to say here:
Android A and B smartphones, strengthened by Qualcomm Modem, provide higher performance in the real world 5G standstone environment. Although the Apple C1 operated the iPhone 16E is properly performing under maximum RF and network load conditions, it is significantly lagging behind in edge cases. These are the scenes where the next generation modem is expected to perform.
You would like to get these results with a healthy dose of salt as Qualcomm gave this study a commission after all. However, it has been a controversial leader in the cellular modem space for more than a decade, and it is just Apple’s first modem. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Qualcomm modem is looking at the speeding. However, it suggests that if you are better than a permanent premium Android phone in the minimum ideal coverage areas, especially on T -Mobile.
This study also came after Okla reports that the iPhone 16E has offered “the pace of the worst situation” than the iPhone 16, but that the latter offers the high -end speed. It is worth noting that the iPhone 16 uses less capable Snapdragon X72 modem than modern Android phones anyway.
In any case, Apple does not stand on the modem front. A clear Apple Modem Roadmap suggests that the company’s 2026 release will offer MMVO support and better carrier technologies before the potential Qualcomm modem in 2027.
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