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                   Apple's N1 Chip Improves Wi-Fi Performance

   Adam Engst

   Reporting on data gleaned from Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence, [1]Luke
   Kehoe writes:

     Apple's N1 chipset is a substantial upgrade. The iPhone 17 family
     delivers a clear step-change in Wi-Fi performance vs. the
     Broadcom-based iPhone 16 lineup, with faster download and upload
     speeds across every region. Globally, median download and upload
     speeds on the N1 were each up to 40% higher than on its predecessor.

   Introduced in the iPhone 17 lineup, Apple's custom N1 wireless
   networking chip combines Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread radios. Apple has
   said very little about the N1, with the most loquacious statement
   appearing on the [2]M5 iPad Pro product page:

     The new iPad Pro also features N1, a new Apple-designed wireless
     networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. N1
     brings better performance when connected to 5GHz networks, and
     improves the overall performance and reliability of features like
     Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.

   Other descriptions, such as on the iPhone 17 press release, say only
   that it 'improves the overall performance and reliability of features
   like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.'

   Ookla's data, however, shows that the N1 provides up to 40% better
   Wi-Fi performance than the Broadcom-supplied Wi-Fi radio in the iPhone
   16 lineup. More importantly, the N1's biggest wins occur when Wi-Fi
   connectivity is poor: download speeds at the 10th percentile improve by
   roughly 60%, while the 90th percentile sees a bit over 20%.

   [3]Read original article

References

   1. https://www.ookla.com/articles/apple-n1-2025
   2. https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/
   3. https://www.ookla.com/articles/apple-n1-2025

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