Surprise! Report shows Pixel 7 Pro achieved faster median data speeds than iPhone 14 Pro Max in Q1

Earlier today we passed along the results of Ookla's first quarter U.S. survey that showed T-Mobile on top in wireless performance among the three major U.S. wireless providers. The Un-carrier turned in a dominating first quarter. But what about the phones and the chips? Which phones delivered the fastest data speeds in Q1? Which chips did likewise? Thanks to Ookla, we have the answers to these questions.

With a leading median download speed of 161.86 Mbps and a median upload speed of 16.19 Mbps, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was the fastest phone in the U.S. during the first quarter, according to the report. That beat out the 143.57 Mbps median download speed and the 13.59 Mbps median upload speed for the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Surprise! The Pixel 7 Pro was third with a median download score of 132.57 Mbps (it also had a 15.31 Mbps upload speed). That topped the iPhone 14 Pro Max's median scores of 130.99 Mbps down and 14.47 Mbps up during Q1.

Wrapping up the top five, the Galaxy S22 Ultra delivered a median download data speed of 127.35 Mbps and a median upload speed of 12.56 Mbps. You might notice how Samsung dominated the league tables. During the January-March period, Samsung phones had a median download data speed of 91.57, a 15.3% increase from the manufacturer's U.S. download data speed of 79.43 Mbps during Q4 of last year. Samsung's Q1 2023 median upload speed was 10.79 Mbps.

Apple trailed its rival badly during the first quarter with the iPhone delivering a median download speed of 76.92 Mbps and a median upload speed of 8.93 in the states.

Sure, you are dying to know which chipsets provided the fastest data speeds in the U.S. last quarter. Heck, if you own a phone that uses one of these SoCs, you might brag about it all night. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 delivered a leading median download data speed of 157.18 Mbps and a median upload score of 15.52 Mbps in the first quarter. An overclocked version of this chip powers the Galaxy S23 line.

With median download and upload scores of 137.39 Mbps and 13.19 Mbps respectively, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 was next. In third place was the Google Tensor 2, the chip that powers the Pixel 7 series, with a median download score of 128.78 Mbps and a median upload score of 14.66 Mbps. Rounding out the top five chips were the Snapdragon X65 5G modem chip (128.19 Mbps down, 14.12 Mbps up), and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC (122.61 Mbps down, 12.30 Mbps up).

Which state has the fastest wireless service? Minnesota's median download data speed of 111.67 Mbps edged out Rhode Island's 109.30 Mbps. The U.S. city with the fastest wireless data speeds is Glendale, Arizona with a median download speed of 176.79 Mbps and a median upload speed of 15.76 Mbps.