OpenSignal Report Highlights 4G Data Speed Difference Between iPhone 5s and iPhone XS


Posted by Rajesh Pandey on Feb 15, 2019 in Apple News

iPhone Xs Max back

A report from OpenSignal highlights the difference between older and newer iPhones in terms of data speeds. The report highlights that while consumers are holding on to their phones for longer, they are missing out on the faster data speeds offered by newer iPhones.

Owners of iPhone 5s or iPhone 6 are not able to enjoy higher data transfer speeds that newer iPhones with more advanced modem are able to reach. In OpenSignal’s test, the iPhone 5s reached speeds of 10.2Mbps, while the iPhone XS Max managed 2x greater speeds of 21.7Mbps. The iPhone XS and iPhone XR also did significantly well than the iPhone 5s with speeds of 20.5Mbps and 17.6Mbps.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus only fared marginally better than the iPhone 5s with speeds of 11.9Mbps and 12.8Mbps, respectively. The iPhone SE performed the worse of the lot and managed speeds of 10.9Mbps.

The iPhone XR did not perform as well as the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max’s in terms of 4G download speeds. That’s because unlike the iPhone XS, the iPhone XR does not feature a gigabit LTE modem so the lower data speeds make sense.

OpenSignal notes that iPhones launched between 2015 to 2017 — that’s iPhone 6s to iPhone 8 Plus — do not offer any noticeable improvement in network speeds. While the newer iPhones do offer high download speeds in OpenSignal’s testing, the difference is not big enough to improve the overall user experience. Unsurprisingly, they also found that ‘Plus’-sized iPhones do not offer faster 4G download speeds. That’s not surprising since they come with the same modem as their smaller brethren.

The results from the report make it clear that users upgrading from older iPhones like the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone SE to newer iPhones like the iPhone X and iPhone XS will see a notable improvement in data transfer speeds.

Most users don’t really take into account the mobile data speeds when they upgrade to a new iPhone or decide to stick to their existing iPhone for another year. So, if you are not satisfied with the 4G data speeds and network performance, you should consider upgrading to a newer iPhone first before thinking about jumping carriers.

[VIa OpenSignal]








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