A recent report shows that the iPhone 17's N1 network chip outperformed flagship Android phones in network tests. Apple's N1 chip beat comparable chips from Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Broadcom in the latest Android flagship models.

A new study by network diagnostics company Ookla (also the developer of Speedtest) compared the network speeds of Apple's iPhone 17 and the latest Android flagship models. Ookla compared Apple's custom-designed N1 network chip with chips from competitors such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, and MediaTek. The N1 is Apple's first custom network chip, debuting with the iPhone 17 series and integrating support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The final comparison, based on 

crowdsourced Speedtest data, showed a nearly 40% speed improvement compared to the iPhone 16, which uses a Broadcom chip. The Google Pixel 10 recorded the highest average download speed globally at 335.35 Mbps, slightly higher than the iPhone 17's 329.56 Mbps. In the worst-case scenario, the iPhone 17 achieved the highest speed at 56.08 Mbps, while the Pixel 10's highest speed was 53.25 Mbps. In North America, the iPhone 17 reaches speeds of up to 416.14 Mbps, the Pixel 10 Pro reaches 411.21 Mbps, while the Samsung Galaxy S25 maintains a stable speed of 323.69 Mbps.

Apple's flagship model also achieved the top 10% download speed, reaching 56.08 Mbps, maintaining stable performance even under less-than-ideal Wi-Fi 7 conditions. The study notes that the N1's channel bandwidth is only 160 MHz (compared to Wi-Fi 7's 320 MHz), but this has not yet impacted actual performance. The iPhone 17 achieved the highest 90th percentile speed among all devices in North America, reaching 976.39 Mbps, while the Pixel 10 reached 932.19 Mbps and the Samsung Galaxy S25 reached 815.19 Mbps.

North America had the highest proportion of Wi-Fi 7 users, accounting for 20.62% of the study sample, followed by Northeast Asia (5.38%), Europe (4.95%), Southeast Asia (2.95%), and the Gulf region (1.73%).

Apple's N1 chip

Apple's N1 chip emphasizes tighter hardware and software integration

The release of the N1 marks another ambitious step in Apple's long-term plan to develop the last major component of the iPhone's wireless protocol stack entirely in-house. By eliminating Broadcom's components, Apple gains greater control over key chips, reduces reliance on suppliers and price risks, and creates a scalable radio platform for devices such as iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and Home.

Technically, the N1 is a single chip integrating Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and a Thread radio module. Aside from the upgrade to Bluetooth 6 from 5.3, and Apple's claim that tighter hardware and software integration improves features like AirDrop and Personal Hotspot, the N1's Wi-Fi performance is, on paper, almost identical to its Broadcom-based predecessor.

The continuity of this Wi-Fi specification is noteworthy because it means the N1's channel limit is 160MHz, and it doesn't support the 320MHz band, thus failing to reach the peak link rates (or PHY speeds) offered by flagship chips from manufacturers like Qualcomm and MediaTek.

In practice, this should limit the N1's peak performance in markets that allow the full 6GHz band (such as the US, where up to three non-overlapping 320MHz channels are available). In regions that only allow lower 6GHz bands (such as the EU and UK, where only one non-overlapping 320MHz channel is available), this should also limit its performance (though perhaps to a lesser extent).

Data analysis from Speedtest Intelligence shows that while the Broadcom-based iPhone 16 series and the iPhone 17 with the N1 chip are similar in key specifications, the iPhone 17 achieves a significant leap in actual Wi-Fi performance. New devices tend to perform better in their early days, partly because early adopters often come from areas with wider Wi-Fi coverage and better economic conditions. However, the persistence and magnitude of the iPhone 17's performance advantage indicate that this is not a temporary phenomenon at the beginning of its launch, but a real improvement.

To ensure that the performance improvement was not merely an illusion caused by differences in country/region combinations, we selected the markets with the largest sample sizes for both models during the study period. In all the countries/regions analyzed, including major markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and India, the iPhone 17's download performance was superior to that of the iPhone 16. This pattern held true in both markets with extremely high download speeds (such as France) and more moderately fast markets, indicating that the device's performance itself was indeed improved.

Compared to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 series showed improved Wi-Fi download and upload speeds across all research percentiles (10th, median, and 90th percentile) and in almost all regions. During the study period, the iPhone 17 series achieved a global average download speed of 329.56 Mbps, 40% higher than the iPhone 16 series' 236.46 Mbps. Upload speeds also improved, jumping from 73.68 Mbps to 103.26 Mbps.

It is worth noting that the generational improvement brought by N1 at the 10th percentile is far greater than that at the 90th percentile. This means that Apple's custom chip improves the lower limit rather than the upper limit. We also saw this pattern when analyzing the cellular performance of the self-developed C1 modem.

This means the N1 offers a more stable experience in a wider range of environments, especially performing better in situations with poor Wi-Fi signal. Specifically, the iPhone 17's 10th percentile speed is improved by more than 60%, while the 90th percentile speed is only improved by more than 20%.

Regionally, iPhone 17 users in North America achieved the highest average download speed of 416.14 Mbps (higher than the iPhone 16 series' 323.69 Mbps), primarily due to the widespread availability of the 6 GHz band. Nationally, among all markets where the iPhone 17 is available, Singapore (613.80 Mbps) and France (601.46 Mbps) saw the highest download speeds, reflecting the high penetration rate of gigabit fiber optic networks in these two countries.

Strength of N1 chip

The N1 chip not only surpasses its Broadcom-based predecessor but also gives the iPhone 17 series a strong competitive advantage in Wi-Fi testing metrics across all regions. Notably, Apple's latest iPhone 17 achieved a download speed in the top 10% globally, reaching 56.08 Mbps, further demonstrating the N1 chip's ability to provide more stable performance even in less-than-ideal Wi-Fi environments.

On paper, the N1 chip appears to have a disadvantage—a limited channel bandwidth of 160 MHz, instead of the 320 MHz supported by Wi-Fi 7 in the 6 GHz band—but for most users, this will have virtually no significant performance impact in real-world use. Theoretically, this limitation might halve peak link speeds when used near top-tier routers, but this effect is almost imperceptible outside of controlled testing, highlighting the importance of real-world testing and crowdsourced data in reflecting the actual end-user experience.

This was clearly demonstrated in the North American download speed tests of the iPhone 17 series, where its average download speed (416.14 Mbps) and 90th percentile download speed (976.39 Mbps) were both the highest among all devices in North America, and the advantage of the 320 MHz band should have been most significant in North America. The most likely explanation is that the number of routers supporting the 320 MHz band is still relatively small (and our recent research indicates that Wi-Fi 7 adoption is still limited), so its usage is not yet significant enough to have a substantial impact on the overall test results.

This also explains why Apple did not add this feature to the N1 chip, although as the Wi-Fi ecosystem matures, the performance advantage of chips supporting 320 MHz frequencies may become increasingly significant, making it a future-proof guarantee for Android flagship models that include this feature.

Source: Content compiled from Semiconductor Industry Observer

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