Apple’s iPhones currently do not support gigabit download speeds, or rather to ensure a uniform experience across iPhones, Apple has capped the speeds on iPhones using Qualcomm’s modems to match those of Intel’s. For those who are wondering what’s the difference, a video uploaded by Booredatwork.com on YouTube demonstrates the differences.
As you can see in the video above, it compares the LTE speeds between that of the iPhone X and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. It is pretty obvious from the video that the Note 8 is much faster, thanks to it being equipped with a gigabit LTE modem. While the Note 8 couldn’t hit the 1Gbps speeds (there are many reasons why, such as coverage, how many people in the area are using the network, and so on), it is still much faster than that of the iPhone X which topped out at 600Mbps.
Whether or not these differences in speed can be felt by users is a different story. If you’re just doing some light work like checking emails, surfing the web, sending instant messages, then chances are the differences might not be so obvious. However if you’re watching movies, playing games, or downloading larger files, then perhaps it will be.
That being said, last we heard Apple’s 2018 iPhones are expected to feature faster baseband chips, but whether or not this will allow the iPhones to achieve gigabit speeds remains to be seen.