Apple's Custom N1 Chip in iPhone 17 Delivers Massive 40% Wi-Fi Speed Boost [Report]

Apple's push into custom wireless silicon is already showing results. New data from Ookla's crowdsourced Speedtest database shows that the in-house N1 chip in the iPhone 17 lineup delivers a clear jump in real-world Wi-Fi speeds compared to the previous generation.

According to the analysis, the N1 represents a substantial upgrade over the Broadcom-based components used in last year's iPhone 16. Global median download and upload speeds were up to 40 percent higher for the iPhone 17 family, with improvements seen across every region studied—an early sign that Apple's first custom Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module is paying off.



While the N1 doesn't support the wider 320 MHz Wi-Fi 7 channels found on some Android flagships—a limitation noted when executives first outlined the new silicon—it appears to make up for it with tighter hardware–software integration. Ookla's report shows the iPhone 17 family achieving the highest "worst-case" (10th-percentile) download speeds globally, suggesting the N1 lifts the performance floor by handling difficult Wi-Fi conditions better than competing radios.


In raw download speed, Apple trades places with Google for the top spot. The Pixel 10 Pro posted a global median download of 335.33 Mbps, just ahead of the iPhone 17 family at 329.56 Mbps. Apple pulled ahead at the lower percentiles, while MediaTek-powered devices such as the Xiaomi 15T Pro dominated upload performance and delivered the lowest latency measurements.

The gains were particularly notable in North America, where greater use of 6 GHz Wi-Fi helped the iPhone 17 post the highest median and 90th-percentile download speeds of any device in Ookla's testing. For Apple, the results support its broader push to bring connectivity in-house alongside its A-series processors and custom 5G modems.

More details in the full report linked below...


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