iPhone 16e opinions at the moment are out, and Apple’s custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the take a look at. The outcomes up to now are fairly shocking, because the C1’s speeds should not as gradual in comparison with Qualcomm modems as initially anticipated.
Whereas the C1 doesn’t help ultra-fast mmWave 5G within the U.S., it seems to supply comparable 5G efficiency to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X71 modem discovered within the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Professional, and iPhone 16 Professional Max.
First, here’s what some reviewers stated.
The Verge‘s Allison Johnson didn’t discover a lot distinction between the C1 and the X71:
A lot of the 16E is acquainted, however there’s one totally new part: Apple’s C1 modem. That is its debut look, and the highway to Apple’s first in-house modem was reportedly stuffed with setbacks and delays. I’ve used it for the previous week to make FaceTime calls, add massive video recordsdata in crowded locations, and stream YouTube on the bus. I examined it alongside an everyday iPhone 16 outfitted with a Qualcomm-made modem — each on Verizon — and I did not see any constant distinction in efficiency between the 2.
Tom’s Information‘s John Velasco did not appear to note any main distinction both:
And eventually, you must know that the iPhone 16e is the primary machine in Apple’s portfolio to function the corporate’s in-house C1 modem. It is a departure from the Qualcomm modem that Apple’s relied on for years now, but it surely’s tough to say if it in the end delivers quicker 5G speeds. I ran velocity exams on each the iPhone 16 and 16e at three totally different areas in New York Metropolis, with just one take a look at exhibiting quicker speeds with the iPhone 16e.
What about precise numbers?
In his iPhone 16e evaluation video, Andru Edwards stated the machine achieved a peak 5G obtain velocity of 673 Mbps in his suburban New York yard, whereas linked to the AT&T community. In the identical location, he stated the iPhone 16 Professional Max achieved as much as a 667 Mbps obtain velocity, so the outcomes appear to be roughly equal.
In the course of New York Metropolis, Edwards stated his iPhone 16e achieved a obtain velocity of 127 Mbps on AT&T, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional Max clocked in at 75 Mbps on the identical community. In that take a look at, the iPhone 16 Professional Max did have a superior add velocity of round 50 Mbps, in comparison with round 30 Mbps for the iPhone 16e.
In one other iPhone 16e evaluation video, shared by Dave Lee of the YouTube channel Dave2D, a velocity take a look at exhibits the machine getting round 30 Mbps to 40 Mbps quicker 5G obtain speeds in comparison with an iPhone 16 Professional Max. Each units had been linked to the Bell community in Toronto, essentially the most populous metropolis in Canada.
And eventually, extra scientific testing was shared on YouTube by the Chinese language channel Geekerwan.
The channel examined 5G efficiency on varied smartphones with a man-made 5G community in a lab atmosphere, and the iPhone 16e had comparable 5G speeds and reliability in comparison with the iPhone 16 and different units.
Apple says the C1 modem is essentially the most power-efficient iPhone modem ever. Extra particularly, Apple appears to have instructed reviewers that the modem is as much as 25% extra energy environment friendly than Qualcomm modems in different iPhones, and that seems to be an correct assertion. Geekerwan’s testing discovered the iPhone 16e had a mean energy draw of 0.67W, versus 0.88W for the iPhone 16, which is certainly round a 25% enchancment in effectivity.
All in all, these outcomes are shocking in comparison with reported expectations, they usually show that the C1 modem works simply nice in each the true world and lab.
