iPhones use specially designed mobile CPUs and GPUs, making them faster and smoother than most Android phones.
But what about the Wi-Fi adapters on iPhones? Do iPhones also have faster Wi-Fi than Android phones?
Is iPhone Wi-Fi better than Wi-Fi on other devices?
iPhone Wi-Fi is not necessarily better or worse than Wi-Fi on other devices. Which devices have better Wi-Fi depends on the Wi-Fi adapter on the iPhone and on other devices you compare.
The recent iPhones support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands. 5GHz band is faster, but 2.4GHz band has a higher range.
Therefore, an iPhone with a 5GHz band can be faster than a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi on older phones and older laptops.
Newer iPhones also support Wi-Fi 6. So iPhones with Wi-Fi 6 can be significantly faster than devices with older Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 4 adapters.
Is iPhone Wi-Fi better than Android Wi-Fi?
iPhones don’t necessarily have better or worse Wi-Fi than Android phones. Which devices have better Wi-Fi depends on specific iPhones and Android phones in question.
Recent iPhones and flagship Android phones both support 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands. They both also support Wi-Fi 6 standards. As a result, recent iPhones and flagship Android phones have comparable Wi-Fi speeds.
On the other hand, older iPhones and Android phones only support 2.4GHz band and Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 4 standards. Therefore, such older devices are usually slower than newer devices.
Is iPhone Wi-Fi better than iPad Wi-Fi?
iPhone Wi-Fi is not necessarily better or worse than iPad Wi-Fi. Which device has better Wi-Fi depends on the iPhone and iPad models you compare.
All recent iPhones and iPads support dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz). They also have Wi-Fi 6 adapters. As a result, recent iPhones and iPads have comparable Wi-Fi speeds.
On the other hand, older iPhones and iPads only support single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. They also have slower Wi-Fi standards like Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 4. As a result, their Wi-Fi speeds are significantly slower than newer iPhones and iPads.
Is iPhone Wi-Fi better than MacBook Wi-Fi?
Just like with all other devices, iPhone Wi-Fi is not necessarily better or worse than Macbook Wi-Fi. Which device has better Wi-Fi depends on the iPhone and MacBook models in question.
All recent iPhones and MacBooks support dual-band Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi 6 standard. Therefore, all recent iPhone and MacBook models have comparable Wi-Fi speeds.
On the other hand, older iPhones and MacBooks only support single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi with slower Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 4 standards. Therefore, such older iPhones and MacBooks have significantly slower Wi-Fi speeds than newer devices.
Why do two iPhones have different Wi-Fi speeds on the same network?
Two iPhones can have different Wi-Fi speeds on the same network for many possible reasons.
The two iPhones might have different distances to the Wi-Fi router. Wi-Fi signal strength degrades as you move away from your Wi-Fi router. Therefore, the phone that is far away from the Wi-Fi router will have a slower Wi-Fi speed than the one closer to the router.
Obstacles like walls also reduce the Wi-Fi signal strength. Therefore, one phone might receive significantly poor signal strength due to obstacles, while the other won’t suffer that kind of signal loss, causing them to have different Wi-Fi speeds on the same network.
The two iPhones you compare can also have different Wi-Fi adapters with different Wi-Fi standards. If one iPhone, for example, supports Wi-Fi 6 while the other only supports Wi-Fi 5, the iPhone with the Wi-Fi 6 standard will have faster data rates in the same Wi-Fi network.
Similarly, one iPhone might support dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz), while the other only support 2.4GHz single-band Wi-Fi, making it slower than the dual-band phone.
The two iPhones might also be connected to two different Wi-Fi channels. Different Wi-Fi channels can have different data rates due to interference, causing the two iPhones to have different data rates on the same Wi-Fi network.
Does iPhone Wi-Fi slower than mobile data?
iPhone Wi-Fi can be faster or slower than mobile data depending on several different factors.
First of all, the cellular modem and Wi-Fi modem in an iPhone determine the maximum data rates for mobile data and Wi-Fi data.
For example, iPhones with Wi-Fi 6 support can have significantly faster Wi-Fi data rates than slower 4G cellular connections.
On the other hand, newer 5G iPhones can sometimes provide faster mobile data rates than Wi-Fi.
Cellular signal strength and Wi-Fi signal strength your iPhone receives also affect which one is faster.
Wi-Fi signals get weaker as you move away from your router. So if you are far away from the Wi-Fi router, you will get much slower data rates.
Similarly, if you are far away from a cellular tower, your mobile data rates will be lower than when you are closer to a cell tower.
Conclusion
iPhone Wi-Fi is not necessarily better or worse than Wi-Fi on other devices. Which device has better Wi-Fi depends on the Wi-Fi adapter each device has.
Newer iPhones as well as Android phones support dual-band Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi 6 support. So newer iPhones and Androids have comparable Wi-Fi speeds.
Similarly, iPhones can have faster or slower Wi-Fi than iPads and MacBooks depending on the Wi-Fi adapter on each device.
