According to a recent report from Ookla Speedtest says the LTE download speeds on Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are up to 42% faster than competing handsets. Specifically, Ookla’s numbers show that the Galaxy S9 beats the iPhone X’s download speed by 37 percent. The latest Galaxy phones are 17 percent faster than Google’s Pixel 2.
The report was based on speed tests conducted from February to April of this year on major 4G LTE networks and compiled along weighted averages to take out the outliers.
Samsung credits its edge in download speeds to a Category 18 downlink LTE modem. Specifically, the Galaxy S9 uses Qualcomm’s X20 modem, which is capable of supporting download speeds up to 1.2 Gbps. The X16 modem in the iPhone X we used in our testing has a 1 Gbps cap.
That said, it is worth taking note of the phones Samsung called out when trumpeting its download prowess. Like the iPhone X, the Pixel 2 is equipped with a modem that has a lower maximum throughput.
While the test report is perfectly legitimate and both Samsung and Ookla are honest in their testing, being 37% faster than the iPhone X in average benchmark-like tests is not necessarily representative of real-world performance you would actually experience.
Due to various apps accessing data in the background and your coverage most users may not see any notable speed difference real-world circumstances. Yes, your phone will finish downloading an app or video file a handful of seconds faster than an iPhone X or Pixel 2, but it is not reason enough to ignore the rest of the competition
Unfortunately, Galaxy S9 and S9+ will have a hard time keeping its top spot for long. The just-announced LG G7 ThinQ, Sony’s Xperia XZ2 and the OnePlus 6 all will feature a Snapdragon 845 along with Qualcomm’s X20 modem, which Galaxy S9 and S9+ use. So, it will be interesting to see how those phones compare to the impressive network speeds we have seen on the Galaxy S9.
