Apple has introduced its new iPhone 16e, featuring the Apple-designed C1 modem. Early adopters have shown mixed results in terms of performance, with some users experiencing slower speeds than their iPhone 16 counterparts. However, others are seeing improved upload speeds and longer battery life.
According to Speedtest Intelligence data, users of the iPhone 16e tend to perform better at the lower end of the speed spectrum, while those at the top end struggle to match the iPhone 16’s performance. Specifically, T-Mobile users in the bottom 10th percentile are experiencing download speeds of 57.34 Mbps compared to just 27.27 Mbps on the iPhone 16.
On the other hand, upload speeds are showing promise, with users of the iPhone 16e achieving median speeds of 14.63 Mbps, a significant increase over the iPhone 16’s 8.60 Mbps. This improvement is attributed in part to the C1 modem’s power efficiency and new internal design.
However, it’s worth noting that the C1 modem lacks some capabilities available on Qualcomm modems, including uplink carrier aggregation and uplink MIMO. This may contribute to some performance differences between the iPhone 16e and other devices.
As more users adopt the iPhone 16e, Ookla plans to publish a more comprehensive comparison across the entire iPhone 16 portfolio of devices. For now, it’s clear that Apple has made strides in improving performance and power efficiency with its new modem design.
Source: https://www.ookla.com/articles/apples-c1-modem-early-adopters