A brand new Qualcomm research suggests the corporate’s modems outperform Apple’s first in-house modem chip, the C1 — notably in difficult city community circumstances.
The analysis from Mobile Insights, funded by Qualcomm, examined the iPhone 16e — Apple’s first system to function the corporate’s homegrown C1 modem — in opposition to Android smartphones powered by Qualcomm chips on T-Cell’s 5G community in New York Metropolis.
Qualcomm modem research: Efficiency gaps emerge in dense city environments
The C1 is Cupertino’s first in-house modem chip mannequin, deployed within the glossy and inexpensive iPhone 16e as a part of the iPhone big’s broader technique to scale back dependence on suppliers, giving it larger management over options, prices and product roadmaps. Upon its launch, Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner touted it because the most energy-efficient modem ever in an iPhone, not the most effective ever.
The C1 seemed good in opposition to iPhone 16’s Qualcomm chip in early impartial testing. As extra superior fashions observe, efficiency (and possibly market dominance) ought to enhance, Apple-style.
Based on the brand new Qualcomm modem research outcomes, iPhone 16e confirmed vital efficiency deficits in comparison with equally priced Android gadgets utilizing Qualcomm modems, Bloomberg reported. The Android telephones demonstrated obtain speeds as much as 35% sooner and add speeds as much as 91% sooner than Apple’s system.
The research confirmed the efficiency hole turned extra pronounced in situations that usually problem mobile connections: busy networks, indoor environments and places farther from cell towers. These are exactly the circumstances the place customers most want dependable, quick connectivity for streaming, video calls and data-intensive purposes.
“For customers working in dense city, indoor or uplink-intensive environments, the advantages of higher 5G efficiency within the Android smartphones is not only theoretical — it’s quantifiable, repeatable and operationally vital,” the report mentioned.
Warmth and throttling issues
Past velocity variations, the research raised issues concerning the iPhone 16e‘s thermal administration. Researchers famous that the system turned “noticeably scorching to the touch and exhibited aggressive display screen dimming inside simply two-minute take a look at intervals” throughout testing.
If true and replicated in different research, this means the C1 modem could also be much less energy-efficient than Apple initially claimed, probably impacting each efficiency and person expertise.
Excessive stakes for each corporations
This technological rivalry carries vital monetary implications. Qualcomm has traditionally derived roughly 20% of its income from Apple, serving because the unique modem provider for iPhone fashions previous to the iPhone 16e launch earlier this yr. The chipmaker expects this income stream to ultimately disappear as Apple expands its in-house modem deployment throughout extra gadgets.
Apple has not but responded to requests for remark relating to the research’s findings. Whereas the analysis supplies helpful efficiency information, iPhone customers ought to think about that Qualcomm funded the research, probably introducing bias in methodology or interpretation.
As Apple continues creating its modem know-how, future iterations might tackle the efficiency gaps recognized on this evaluation.
