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

Monday September 8, 2025 8:26 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

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

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Top Rated Comments

Cristim74

15 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)

orev

15 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

15 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

15 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)

jntdroid

15 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)

justanotherdave

15 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)

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

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