With the Apple iPhone 16 range about to go on sale – preorders from tomorrow, in stores from September 20 – one of the reasons you might want to opt for a Pro or Pro Max model is faster 5G speeds, thanks to an upgraded modem.
The team at SpeedSmart (via 9to5Mac) has done some tests on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, finding that 5G download speeds are up to 26.4% higher than on the previous models, depending on the network.
That top improvement over the 2023 iPhones was seen on T-Mobile, with the increase across T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T averaging out at a jump of 23.7%. Both T-Mobile and Verizon were showing download speeds of well over 400Mbps, with AT&T lagging behind around the 270Mbps mark.
Upload speeds saw a noticeable boost as well, though not to the same extent as download speeds. All three networks were consistently showing upload speeds above 30Mbps, which is handy for transferring files and making video calls.
Wi-Fi 7 upgrades too
These new phones use an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem, it's been discovered: the component deploys a variety of tricks to improve speeds and efficiency, as evidenced by the faster download and upload speeds recorded by SpeedSmart.
We're still waiting for confirmation, but the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are thought to be using the older Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 modem for connectivity – that's the same modem that was in all four 2023 iPhone models.
All four iPhone 16 models have been upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 as well: this won't increase your broadband speed, but should mean you get closer to the maximum upload and download rates at home (assuming you've got a Wi-Fi 7 router). These are all small but important details, like improved charging speeds, that Apple didn't explicitly mention at its event.
If you need any more convincing that these are the phones for you, check out our hands-on iPhone 16 Pro review and iPhone 16 Pro Max review. They offer more performance and better cameras than the other two models, as well as faster 5G speeds, it seems.
