iPhones enjoy faster Wi-Fi than Android in South Africa

Analytico has found that iOS users on the MyBroadband Speedtest app have, on average, had access to significantly faster Wi-Fi than their Android counterparts. More than 26,000 unique mobile devices have done over 233,000 Wi-Fi speed tests using the MyBroadband Speedtest app since the start of 2023. This includes 8,137 iOS devices and 18,573 running Android, confirming that Android devices are more popular in South Africa than iPhones. The iOS devices recorded an average Wi-Fi download speed of 52.49 Mbps, while Android users only averaged 35.48 Mbps. Upload speeds showed a similar difference, with Android users only reaching an average speed of 30.70 Mbps while iOS averaged 42.34 Mbps. The Android users did, however, beat the iOS users when comparing average latency, as they recorded 8 ms less on average at 35 ms. The speeds of both platforms are, on average, fast enough for most mobile tasks, but the latency difference may play a more significant role in applications such as voice over IP, which is often used on smartphones. The target markets for these devices can explain the difference in speeds for the different devices. Although iPhone and Android compete in the high-end flagship smartphone market, Android offers a broad selection of midrange and low-end devices. These devices may have slower Wi-Fi, but the Internet connections the owners have access to could also explain the speed difference. Consumers with a lower budget for smartphones may also have a lower budget for home Internet connections, resulting in a lower average speed.