A new report says that the iPhone 12’s 5G is slower than Android

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

If you want the fastest data connection on your smartphone, you might want to pick up a Samsung. That’s according to a new report from Opensignal, who tested most of the 5G smartphones available in the US. The upshot? The iPhone 12 range is lagging behind its Android rivals, even if it has the biggest jump between 4G and 5G.

5G might be the future of smartphone connectivity, but it’s off to a rough start. Slow network build-outs have been compounded by a lack of devices and competing wavelength bands that mean even if your phone says 5G, it might not be much faster than a 4G device.

Opensignal dove deep into the murky waves, comparing the top 5G-enabled smartphone brands in the US, Apple, Google, OnePlus, LG, TCL, Motorola, and Google. The overall speed winner? Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, which had an average download speed of 56 Mbps. That’s almost half the average wired broadband speed in the US, which is an impressive feat.

Overall Samsung devices are the ones to go for 5G speeds, making up 60-percent of the top 25 devices. Even the budget-friendly Samsung A51 5G managed a respectable 38.6 Mbps download speed. The iPhone 12 range lagged behind in top average speeds, not even breaking the top 25, but putting Qualcomm’s 5G modems in the whole range did show an average 2.3x speed boost over their data speed in 4G areas.

That said, this was the first generation of 5G-enabled devices from Apple, so subsequent releases should show an improved download speed. If you actually need 5G right now, get a Samsung device instead.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Leaked Samsung AR glasses show Watch compatibility, AR overlays, and more
• iOS 14.5 could give iPhone users a way to download security updates separate from other updates
• It’s happening, Apple is discontinuing the HomePod to focus on the mini
• T-Mobile’s new unlimited 5G plan is actually unlimited

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.