Most contemporary flagship smartphones are equipped with Wi-Fi 7 compatibility; however, the performance levels vary significantly among models.
For example, the Galaxy S26 Ultra outpaces the iPhone 17 Pro Max in download speeds by a substantial margin, but an additional flagship surprisingly emerges as the top performer in this competitive landscape.
Performance Disparity: Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Extra Wi-Fi 7 Channel
It is pertinent to highlight that Apple’s N1 wireless networking chip, integrated within the iPhone 17 Pro Max, lacks support for the critical 320MHz channel.
This omission is foundational to the Wi-Fi 7 standard and is essential for achieving extraordinarily high download speeds.
Consequently, both the Galaxy S26 Ultra and its predecessor, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, exhibit superior speeds over the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
A recent comparison conducted by the YouTube channel Landpet underscores this performance gap, featuring not only the aforementioned models but also the Pixel 10 Pro XL and OnePlus 13—a choice likely made to ensure a balanced representation.
To ensure an equitable evaluation, all devices were tested simultaneously on the same IP address through the high-performance TP-Link Deco BE95 router, with a dedicated computer serving as the testing server.
The results confirm that both the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra significantly outperform the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
In terms of internet speed testing, the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Ultra maintain their dominance over the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Intriguingly, the OnePlus 13 delivers remarkable results as well.
However, despite its impressive Wi-Fi 7 metrics, it recorded the highest ping among all tested flagships. The detailed statistics are delineated below.
Local Speed Test Results (Connected to TP-Link Deco BE95)
- Pixel 10 Pro XL – 2,134Mbps download, 2,035Mbps upload, 10ms
- iPhone 17 Pro Max – 1,971Mbps download, 1,838Mbps upload, 4ms
- Galaxy S25 Ultra – 3,563Mbps download, 3,459Mbps upload, 6ms
- Galaxy S26 Ultra – 3,963Mbps download, 3,651Mbps upload, 6ms
- OnePlus 13 – 4,281Mbps download, 3,785Mbps upload, 11ms
| Galaxy S26 Ultra Wi-Fi 7 Speed Comparison (Local Test) | Upload Speeds | Download Speeds |
|---|---|---|
| vs. Pixel 10 Pro XL | 85.71% faster | 79.41% faster |
| vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max | 101.07% faster | 98.64% faster |
| vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra | 11.23% faster | 5.55% faster |
| vs. OnePlus 13 | 7.43% slower | 3.54% slower |
Internet Speed Test Results
- Pixel 10 Pro XL – 1,568Mbps download, 1,757Mbps upload, 9ms
- iPhone 17 Pro Max – 1,873Mbps download, 1,725Mbps upload, 10ms
- Galaxy S25 Ultra – 3,376Mbps download, 1,561Mbps upload, 7ms
- Galaxy S26 Ultra – 3,368Mbps download, 1,686Mbps upload, 8ms
- OnePlus 13 – 3,612Mbps download, 1,543Mbps upload, 9ms
| Galaxy S26 Ultra Wi-Fi 7 Speed Comparison (Internet Test) | Upload Speeds | Download Speeds |
|---|---|---|
| vs. Pixel 10 Pro XL | 114.80% faster | 4.04% slower |
| vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max | 79.82% faster | 2.26% slower |
| vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra | 0.24% slower | 8.01% faster |
| vs. OnePlus 13 | 6.76% slower | 9.27% faster |
While the Galaxy S26 Ultra demonstrates a notable performance, it is crucial to recognize that such exceptional Wi-Fi 7 speeds may not translate to real-world scenarios.
The OnePlus 13 also achieved speeds exceeding the 4Gbps mark due to proximity to the router and testing computer. Variations would likely emerge with increased distance among all devices.
Source link: Wccftech.com.
