Got a need for speed? New report claims iPhone 12's 5G performance lags behind that of rival Android models

5G performance on the iPhone 12 range trails that of competing Android devices, according to a report from OpenSignal. The study, which contrasted 5G performance between Apple handsets and phones from the likes of Samsung, OnePlus, and Google, showed the iPhone 12 series with the lowest average 5G download speed of 44.5Mbps. …

[katrinab]

I get 55Mbps on my iPhone 8 via 4G, so what is the point of 5G right now?

I guess like with the previous Gs, you need to wait for later revisions to get the speed increases.

[Jason Hindle]

It's all a bit random and where you happen to be at the time of the test, what time of the day, wind speed, whatever and so on. I have BT double speed 4G (plus 5G where available). With 4G I would sometimes get 200Mbps at 6:30am, dropping to between 30-40 in busy hour. With 5G I've had up to 300 down/30 up in the spot where I'm sat (indoors). I've just done a quick 5G test and it provided me with a respectable 87 down/18 up (BT Mobile/EE).

https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/7144611308

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Ha.

</schadenfreude>

[Anonymous Coward]

Breakdown of data

Could there be an effect related to where the devices are used (i.e., are there more Apple devices in regions with worse availability/performance)? Is there anything to show device by region?

[shakermakr]

Never mind the bollocks...

Similarly on my iPhone 12 and my old X got LTE at around 50Mbps and entering some rare 5G get 300Mbps. So maybe it's in low signal areas? Basic antenna strength given the design?

[Anonymous Coward]

What you have to remember...

...is that every word an iPhone owner says is worth listening to whereas android owners literally spend all day waffling on: “blah blah blah!” they go, look at them. It’s disgusting! And they smell!

So they waste all that extra speed whereas Apple carefully curates each and every bit so the pure and sensible, yet beautiful conversations that iPhone owners enjoy fly across the airwaves like soaring, clever birds.

I can put this powerful and resonant argument into an article if you wish. I am an iPhone owner and I think you can all tell.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What you have to remember...

Every word of this is true because shiny.

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

The hidden difference

The 5G speed on my Android phone was really lagging until I got my Coronavirus shot. Inexplicably, the 5G speed on my phone radically improved the same day, which I can only attribute to the vaccine turning my body into one giant 5G antenna.

[Piro]

Re: The hidden difference

Damn you, I'd almost forgotten about that stupid conspiracy theory.

There are people that actually believe it, too. It's alarming to think we share the same planet as those people...

[AlanSh]

Not sure where they get the numbers from in the report

What are those numbers? They don't say. So, it could be Mbits/sec, Mbytes/sec or indeed shoesteps per kilometre. Who knows.

What it means is that I have no way of knowing if the number for MY phone (a OnePlus 8) bears any relation to the numbers they are showing.

So, for me, a useless report as I cannot put it into any sort of context apart from being relative to another phone.

Alan

[Cuddles]

Re: Not sure where they get the numbers from in the report

"What are those numbers? They don't say. So, it could be Mbits/sec, Mbytes/sec or indeed shoesteps per kilometre. Who knows."

Both the article and the report say Mbps many times. Which is the abbreviation for megabits per second. I'm not sure I understand where your confusion is coming from.

[batfink]

Damn

I'm going to have to put up with only downloading 44Mb of crap to my phone every second, as opposed to 55Mb worth of crap if I had some other phone.

What the fuck for???? Who actually needs this?