Apple was one of the latecomer to the 5G market and its first 5G iPhone, the iPhone 12 series came a year after the commercialization of the 5G network in 2019. However, the company has since released three series of iPhones and they all support the 5G network.
Since the iPhone 12 series, Apple has improved the 5G speed of its iPhones. The iPhone 13 5G speed was pretty average but that of the iPhone 14 is far better.
At some point, the iPhone 14 Pro held the title of the “fastest 5G mobile phone” in the U.S. However, due to software updates and optimizations, the competition is catching up.
Ookla recently released its mobile performance report for the fourth quarter of 2022. In the US market, the iPhone 14 Pro lost its title as the “fastest 5G mobile phone”. This device is now replaced by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 as well as the Google Pixel 7 Pro.
Galaxy Z Fold4 Dethrones iPhone 14 Pro Max
According to the mobile speed test report for the fourth quarter, the median download of the iPhone 14 Pro Max was 133.84 Mbps. In addition, the median download speed of the iPhone 14 Pro was 130.14 Mbps. These mobile phones now rank third and fourth respectively. In the fourth quarter, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 won the throne with 147.25 Mbps.
Google’s latest Pixel phone, the Google Pixel 7 Pro claims second position with a download speed of 137.11 Mbps. In the fifth position is another Samsung mobile phone, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with a download speed of 124.83 Mbps.
From the chart, the upload speed and delay of the above five models are relatively close. In terms of upload, the Google Pixel 7 Pro has the fastest upload speed and the lowest delay. If the network speed is ranked according to mobile phone brands, Samsung’s download median is 79.43Mbps, and its upload is 9.88Mbps. In this regard, Apple will lag behind as it has a median download speed of 72.62Mbps, and upload is 8.69Mbps.
Before the release of the latest fourth-quarter result, Ookla released a third-quarter report. The company is behind the popular speed measurement software, SpeedTest service. The third quarter report reveals the list of the top five fastest 5G mobile phones in the U.S. In Q3 2022, all the mobile phones in the top 5 are from Samsung and Apple.
Apparently, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro were the fastest 5G devices in the US market, beating out Samsung devices at the time. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 was Samsung’s fastest 5G device in the US, followed by the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S22 Ultra.
In Q3 2022, the download speed of Apple’s high-end iPhone models was quite impressive. The iPhone 14 Pro Max recorded an average download speed of 177Mbps. It beats the Samsung phone, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 which achieves an average download speed of 162Mbps in the US.
However, when it comes to the upload speeds, the difference between high-end iPhone models and Samsung Galaxy devices is huge. Samsung’s average upload speeds were terrible, with the fastest medians under 20Mbps.
Internet Speed Varies By Network
Ookla notes that 5G speeds will vary by the network because the list does not differentiate data by the network. When it comes to internet speed, Brazil and China show double the download and upload speed compared to the US.
Comparing the speeds of the devices from Q3 and Q4, there is a general drop in the download speed across devices. Also, Apple’s devices appear to now have a much lower upload speed in Q4 compared to Q3. Since Ookla does not reveal the network for the testing, it is possible that there is a change of network in the tests.
