Apple’s latest iPhones have introduced a significant shift in wireless connectivity with the debut of the Apple N1 Wi-Fi chip, the company’s first proprietary chip designed for local wireless connections. The N1, supporting Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and the Thread smart home communication protocol, replaces the previously used third-party wireless chips, predominantly from Broadcom.
According to data from Ookla, the company behind the SpeedTest app, the iPhone 17 series, powered by the N1 chip, showcased improved download and upload speeds compared to the iPhone 16 models across various percentiles and regions. The median download speed for the iPhone 17 series reached 329.56Mbps, a significant increase from the iPhone 16’s 236.46Mbps. Similarly, upload speeds saw a boost from 73.68Mbps to 103.26Mbps. Notably, the N1 chip’s performance enhancements were most prominent in the lower 10th percentile, suggesting that Apple’s custom silicon elevates the baseline performance more than the peak performance.
While the iPhone 17 didn’t claim the top spot globally in performance, Ookla reported that devices like the Pixel 10 Pro and Xiaomi 15T Pro with different Wi-Fi chips slightly outperformed it in specific speed metrics. Overall, the N1 chip marks a notable advancement in wireless connectivity for the iPhone lineup.
Source: Ars Technica