On paper, the N1 chip’s Wi-Fi capabilities in the iPhone 16 appear “virtually identical to its Broadcom-based predecessor,” according to Ookla. The N1 is also limited to 160MHz channels and doesn’t take full advantage of Wi-Fi 7’s faster 320MHz channels, but that limitation doesn’t have a significant impact for real-world users.
Using Speedtest Intelligence data collected during a six-week period after the release of Apple’s latest smartphones, Ookla found that the average download and upload speeds of the iPhone 17 family were 40 percent faster than the iPhone 16 family worldwide. The N1’s 10th-percent speed was 60 percent faster than the iPhone 16, meaning the new chip’s performance improvements are even more noticeable in “challenging Wi-Fi conditions.”
The iPhone 17 family outperformed flagship Android devices like the Pixel 10 family and the Galaxy S25 family in North America, where Wi-Fi 7 devices can use up to three 320 MHz channels, and the N1 should suffer. The iPhone 17 family’s highest average and 90th percentile Wi-Fi download speeds were 416.14 Mbps and 976.39 Mbps, respectively. This may change as the number of 320 MHz-capable Wi-Fi 7 routers in North America increases, but it reinforces the conclusion that the N1 can “provide more consistent performance in non-ideal Wi-Fi conditions.”