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iPhone 17’s N1 Chip Delivers 40% Faster Real-World Wi‑Fi, Ookla Finds

Sparse 320 MHz Wi‑Fi 7 deployments limit any downside from Apple’s 160 MHz cap.

Overview

  • Ookla reports a global median Wi‑Fi download of 329.56 Mbps for the iPhone 17 family versus 236.46 Mbps for iPhone 16, with gains seen across markets.
  • Upload performance rose from 73.68 Mbps on iPhone 16 to 103.26 Mbps on iPhone 17 in Ookla’s measurements.
  • Improvements are largest in weak-signal conditions, with a roughly 60% uplift at the 10th percentile compared with about 20% at the 90th percentile.
  • Although iPhone 17 supports only 160 MHz Wi‑Fi 7 channels, Ookla says real-world impact is small due to limited 320 MHz router availability and distance effects.
  • The N1 chip powers iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and iPhone Air and helped the lineup lead high-end smartphone Wi‑Fi rankings in North America.