Wi-Fi has become the new hotspot for performance in 2025 and it’s no secret that Apple has been on the forefront of the movement. The key? A brand new wireless silicon solution they’ve dubbed the N1. Apple in- house N1 chip is at the heart of every single iPhone 17 device iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Demonstrating Performance in the Real World

Ookla’s researchers pulled from anonymized, real-world data from speed tests conducted on a global scale during the first six weeks following the launch of the iPhone 17 family. Ookla test results iPhone 17 speak for themselves:

Apple N1 chip performance: Across major geographic regions, the new iPhones with the N1 chip have seen download and upload speed improvements of up to 40 percent over the iPhone 16 family of devices.

Wi-Fi 7: a Case of Paradox?

A notable point to consider is the iPhone 17 Wi-Fi speed improvements are being seen without many of the latest Wi-Fi 7 capabilities being utilized. For reference, the N1 chip does not support the 320 MHz channels that are one of Wi-Fi 7’s primary features.

That said, as those 320 MHz channels can only be used on specific, premium-class routers that aren’t currently prevalent in either consumer or enterprise Wi-Fi settings, this has not proven to be a limiting factor.

iPhone 17 vs Android Wi-Fi Flagships

For the most part, the iPhone 17’s wireless performance remained on top. There were a few select areas where Android devices made their presence felt:

The Xiaomi 15T Pro (MediaTek Wi-Fi) absolutely crushed the competition in the upload speed and latency category

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 line showed solid performance across the board and recorded the lowest latency in key regions