Over the past year, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has set several average download speed records on a mobile connection. Now the first report from Ookla shows how much faster the iPhone 15 Pro Max is on the cellular network – spoiler alert, it's almost 100% faster.
Today Ookla shared its latest mobile performance report that compares major U.S. carriers on download and upload speeds, consistency, availability, and more.
- Here's how much faster T-Mobile is than Verizon and AT&T. , says the latest study.
The report shows how the most popular smartphones in the US in the third quarter of 2023 fared in terms of download/upload speed and latency.
Back in the fall The 2022 iPhone 14 Pro Max earned the crown, but then lost the title of fastest cellular speeds in the fourth and first quarters of 2023.
Notably, the average iPhone 14 was tested in Ookla's Q2 2023 test. The Pro Max's download speed dropped to 127.83 Mbps. At the time, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ranked first with an average download speed of 161.86 Mbps.
Fastest smartphones by loading speed, Q3 2023
Ookla's first study is currently underway with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and the results are quite impressive.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max outperformed every other device on the list with an average download speed of 251.37 Mbps, which was even about 10% faster than the 15 Pro.
Compared to 127.83 Mbps /sec that the iPhone 14 Pro Max achieved in the second quarter of this year, the 15 Pro Max saw 96.6% faster average download speeds.
Here's a look at the same metric for the second quarter of 2023:
Here's a look at the same metric for Q2 2023:
However, since the iPhone 15 Pro/Max's market share of total iPhones will be relatively low just a month after launch, Samsung still took the crown for faster average loading speed:
9to5Mac's Opinion
It's difficult to say exactly how much of the iPhone 15 Pro Max's performance improvement is due to the device/hardware itself, how much is due to network improvements, and the early adopter effect (those with are more likely to buy the latest high-end iPhone, are more likely to have a better mobile connection).
But last year, just after the launch of the 14 Pro Max, the highest average download speed measured by Ookla was 147 Mbps/With. This figure declined as iPhone 14 Pro Max adoption rose to 127 Mbps by the second quarter of this year.
Best comment by Michael Smith
I'm new to loading speeds and comparisons, so, please forgive my ignorance, but doesn't it also depend on what cellular network you're using? For example, my AT&T network would probably mean these results would be worse than, say, the results you could get through Verizon or even T-Mobile, right? I'm guessing these are the results using Wi-Fi.
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If the same holds true this time, we'll see what the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers Average download speeds of ~230Mbps in the long term, potentially around 100+ Mbps faster than the previous generation, which would be impressive.
Another proof that the iPhone 15 Pro Max has The biggest difference is that average cellular performance in the US has improved. compared to last year, but not by 100 Mbps.
Curiously, the Qualcomm X70 modem that the 15 Pro and Pro Max (and 15 and 15 Plus) use is generally advertised as providing up to 24 % faster 5G data transfer. speed, but it seems that much greater gains can be achieved.
It's also interesting that the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus didn't make Ookla's list for fastest download speeds because they use the same Qualcomm X70 modem as the 15 Pro/Max. But there may be something to do with modem integration with the A16 Bionic and A17 Pro chipsets and/or other factors that create this difference.
