The iPhone 15 just scored a massive 5G speed advantage

(Image credit: Apple)

Not sure whether to scoop up a cut-price iPhone 14 or a brand-new iPhone 15 in the Black Friday sales? Well, a new comparison has pitted two of Apple’s best iPhone ranges against each other, and the iPhone 15 line-up has come out ahead in one key way.

The important difference between the two? That would be 5G download speed, at least according to a study by Ookla, developer of the popular Speedtest website. Ookla pitted every model from the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series together in a large test, and threw in a number of Samsung phones for good measure, including the Galaxy Z Flip5 and the Galaxy Z Fold5.

When looking at the United States, devices from Apple’s iPhone 15 line-up were up to up 54% faster when it came to 5G speeds compared to the iPhone 14 range. That suggests that if it’s vital that you get zippy internet speeds, an upgraded iPhone is the way to go.

A timely upgrade

iPhone 15 Plus review front angled — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

In terms of raw numbers, the iPhone 15 Pro Max was the fastest Apple phone, with median download speeds of 285.02Mbps in the United States. The slowest iPhone from the latest range was the iPhone 15, which hit median speeds of 249.3Mbps. Yet that was still faster than Samsung’s best effort – the Galaxy Z Fold5 – which achieved median speeds of 231.56Mbps.

The results show that every model in the iPhone 15 range saw an improvement of at least 25%, which itself could feel significant in day-to-day use. But the 54% jump for the iPhone 15 Plus is truly noticeable.

As well as that, there are a lot of variables that come into play, such as the level of 5G infrastructure in a nation and a user’s individual cell plan. Ookla carried out the test across 13 countries, with the U.S. showing the second largest difference between the two phone ranges (behind only Spain). If you live in the United States, then, the upgrade could be well worth it.

So, if you’re considering whether to shell out on something in the iPhone 15 roster and place a lot of importance on the internet speeds you’ll be getting, the iPhone 15 range seems to be the way to go.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.