A new technical analysis from Ookla confirms that Apple’s move to in-house cellular technology has reached a major milestone.
The study, which evaluated the real-world performance of the new C1X modem found in the iPhone Air, reveals that Apple has effectively closed the connectivity gap with industry leader Qualcomm.
The data indicates that the C1X represents a generational leap over the previous C1 model (still being used in the new iPhone 17e). In median download speeds, the C1X outperformed its predecessor in nearly every market studied, with the most significant gains appearing in the United States, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, and Japan.
While the modem saw little improvement in Brazil, it achieved functional parity with the Qualcomm X80 (found in the iPhone 17 Pro Max) across numerous global networks, proving that Apple’s custom silicon is no longer a compromise for users.
The most striking takeaway from the report involves network responsiveness. The iPhone Air, and the C1X, outperformed the Qualcomm-based iPhone 17 Pro Max in latency metrics across 19 of the 22 markets analyzed.
This advantage is due to tighter integration between the modem and Apple’s main processor. As mobile experiences shift toward real-time generative AI and cloud computing, these saved milliseconds could become a primary differentiator for Apple devices.
The report also highlights the commercial success of Apple’s decision to kill the Plus model in favour of the super thin iPhone Air. In the United States, this saw its market share jump from 2.9% to 6.8% in just one year. Globally, the iPhone Air has largely marginalized its direct competitors, out-sampling the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 3-to-1 in the U.S. based on Speedtest data.
Despite these gains, Qualcomm still has technical edge in specific prosumer categories. The X80-equipped iPhone 17 Pro Max held a 32% lead in upload speeds, thanks to Qualcomm’s mature implementation of Uplink Carrier Aggregation (UL-CA). This remains the industry benchmark for tasks like high-res video streaming and large file uploads.
However, the C1X consistently pushed more upload bandwidth than the C1, especially in optimal conditions. The report suggests that for the average consumer, the iPhone Air now offers a best-case experience that is pretty much indistinguishable from the industry leader, setting a strong foundation for future Apple-made modems in devices like the MacBook, says Ookla.
Apple continues to become more vertically integrated, now with its custom modems matching and exceeding industry leaders like Qualcomm. Now, please just give us a fresh new iPhone design for once.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
