Definitive Qualcomm (A1660/A1661) v. Intel (A1778/A1784) iPhone 7/7 Plus Thread

[airjay75]

Also ask yourself this, why did Apple this year choose to use different modem chips in the ATT/TMobile
phones? The 6S all the phones had the Qualcomm. Its all about profit, they put the cheaper chip where they could get away with it.

CC

I know this may be something you can't comprehend, but cheaper prices don't always mean you're buying something of lower quality. Granted, the Qualcomm phone has more functionality working on CDMA networks, but some of us don't care because we don't ever plan on using a CDMA network.

I know, I know. I just don't understand that the Qualcomm version of the iPhone 7 is the "world" phone, has exceptionally better reception and battery life than the Intel version that you have proved beyond all doubt with your robust scientific tests, and might even cure cancer! And on top of that, 2 years from now, I might get 50 whole dollars more for my used iPhone. I must be an idiot!!!!

 

[onepoint]

...I owe everyone an apology. I didn't realize I was supposed to feel fortunate for saving 2% battery every week in exchange for the "No Service" indicator I've been seeing sporadically since activation.

 

[tekjunkie]

Also ask yourself this, why did Apple this year choose to use different modem chips in the ATT/TMobile
phones? The 6S all the phones had the Qualcomm. Its all about profit, they put the cheaper chip where they could get away with it.

CC

Well Qualcomm owns the rights to CDMA... that's why they used those on that model.
Yes it's about saving money but also about supply constraints.

This is all gonna end up like last years processor debacle. Give it a few firmware updates and you'll never notice a difference.



Here is my personal experience with the 2 modems. My wife and I have the Qualcomm modem and we get very different battery life under the same conditions. A friend of ours is on the same account as us and she has the intel modem. She has never ran into a issue where she didn't have service before and she has been raving about the battery life. Kicker here is she has no clue about which modem her phone has. She also blew through several GB of data get first day and her intel modem didn't blink an eye.
My personal device has been switching to WIFI calling a lot. And in two areas upstairs I barely get service and I haven't got a clue why. Why I've yet to drop a call or drop back to 4G anywhere I've been. I'm overall pleased with both but will be looking more into this as time goes on.

 

[joelp22]

Clearly there is a lot of variability which leads to people getting completely different results. Perhaps it's due to how the different modems handle different local cell signal environments. I live in a pretty weak AT&T signal area and for me the qualcomm seems better based on my tests. For others the intel clearly seems to perform better. And as someone notes a firmware update could change things completely.

And much of the time we'll all be talking to someone who has the other modem on the other end of the conversation, so we're all better off if they both perform at a high level.

As a long time iPhone owner I'd love to see Apple (and the phone reviewer-sphere / commentariat) spend more time thinking and talking about how well the phones work as actual phones and less time obsessing about gaming performance and screen color accuracy.

 

[thadoggfather]

My Intel 7+ has been working out well enough for me that I didnt even think to return it (RF and battery life)

screen is a gem too, one of the biggest hurdles

 

[Elisha]

Also ask yourself this, why did Apple this year choose to use different modem chips in the ATT/TMobile
phones? The 6S all the phones had the Qualcomm. Its all about profit, they put the cheaper chip where they could get away with it.

CC

This is not American carrier specific. Only countries with CDMA networks have the Qualcomm modems. Which means the other 80-90% of the iPhone 7 models all have Intel modems.
Qualcomm is probably ******** their pants about the loss of revenue at this point!

 

[cc999]

This is not American carrier specific. Only countries with CDMA networks have the Qualcomm modems. Which means the other 80-90% of the iPhone 7 models all have Intel modems.
Qualcomm is probably ******** their pants about the loss of revenue at this point!

What are you talking about? Verizon and Sprint only account for 10-20% of the US market? Talk about factless statements, wow. Do you live in the USA? If not then most of this is irrelevant.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/wirel...nt-and-more-stacked-up-q2-2016-top-7-carriers

CC

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

What are you talking about? Verizon and Sprint only account for 10-20% of the US market? Talk about factless statements, wow.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/wirel...nt-and-more-stacked-up-q2-2016-top-7-carriers

CC

Put it this way. Prior to this year... Qualcomm was getting a cut from EVERY iPhone on every carrier. Now they are not... and arguably have lost the most important carrier. Despite the loss of exclusivity, AT&T still sells more iPhones than any other US Carrier.

So yes... I'll bet Qualcomm is worried... especially as Verizon gets closer to shutting down CDMA!

 

[cc999]

Put it this way. Prior to this year... Qualcomm was getting a cut from EVERY iPhone on every carrier. Now they are not... and arguably have lost the most important carrier. Despite the loss of exclusivity, AT&T still sells more iPhones than any other US Carrier.

So yes... I'll bet Qualcomm is worried... especially as Verizon gets closer to shutting down CDMA!

Here is some interesting info:

http://www.androidcentral.com/why-arent-more-oems-using-intel-their-android-phones

CC

 

[T5BRICK]

What are you talking about? Verizon and Sprint only account for 10-20% of the US market? Talk about factless statements, wow. Do you live in the USA? If not then most of this is irrelevant.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/wirel...nt-and-more-stacked-up-q2-2016-top-7-carriers

CC

Pretty sure the person you quoted was pointing out that worldwide, CDMA isn't as widely used as GSM.
[doublepost=1476299755][/doublepost]

Here is some interesting info:

http://www.androidcentral.com/why-arent-more-oems-using-intel-their-android-phones

CC

That doesn't really apply to iPhones since Apple designs the SoC and the modem is a seperate component.

 

[headcase]

I place a very high priority on reception / signal quality so I decided to run some tests on two identical 128gb iPhone 7's to see which is better in my environment (planning to return whichever one is worse). One Verizon / qualcomm model purchased from Apple store (model a1660), and another purchased from an ATT store with the intel modem (a1778). The phones are set up identically as new, and both have 10.0.2. Reset network settings on both phones and used the speed test app for LTE speed tests. All tests run on AT&T's network. I only kept tests where the speed test app connected to the same server/location. I also did a field test prior to each run. Averages below are based on 10 total runs.

Bottom line is I found a significant difference - average downloads of 22 vs 13 mbps down and 3 vs 1 mbps upload speed (qualcomm was the winner). Also lots of variability for the intel modem during the tests, where the qualcomm modem was more steady through each speed test run. And did a bunch of simultaneous page loads of web pages (on LTE). There was little difference in page load speeds.....maybe a very slight advantage to qualcomm. Lastly, after running all these tests I compared battery life. I also set the phones next to each other and did a 2 hour call between them to see if an LTE call used more battery on one of the models. I was careful to make sure the phones were set and charged identically, and ran the same amount of tests / screen brightness on each phone. Battery life at the end of the tests was as follows: Qualcomm - 75% remaining. Intel - 61% remaining. I did not calibrate both batteries beforehand FWIW.

Attached is a txt file with my test data. Hope this is useful to people. I fully realize this is just one data point with only two phones, and I understand there's a need for a more scientific and comprehensive test with many more phones and locations to know for sure. But I thought I'd share what I found in case anyone finds it useful since I rarely if ever contribute to these forums, but frequently get useful info from others' posts.

Thanks for this data, as this approaches what I would characterize as a real world test.

Some people are still incorrectly trying to compare the handsets without duplicating the test environment (e.g. "I used both version for a day and XXXX version worked better"). What folks fail to realize is that unless you use the same test bed for both devices (same network, same cell towers, same times of day, etc.), you aren't really comparing apples to apples.

Ironically, I moved from an AT&T Intel handset to a Verizon Qualcomm handset for an unrelated reason. I was experiencing the ear speaker having a "loud speaker" back-of-phone sound issue when making certain calls. Apparently this has been noticed by others with their handsets. When I went to my local Apple store to exchange the AT&T unit that I had pre-ordered online, they offered me the choice to replace it with either the AT&T or Verizon model. Since then, all good.

 

[FoxD]

Thanks for this data, as this approaches what I would characterize as a real world test.

Some people are still incorrectly trying to compare the handsets without duplicating the test environment (e.g. "I used both version for a day and XXXX version worked better"). What folks fail to realize is that unless you use the same test bed for both devices (same network, same cell towers, same times of day, etc.), you aren't really comparing apples to apples.

Ironically, I moved from an AT&T Intel handset to a Verizon Qualcomm handset for an unrelated reason. I was experiencing the ear speaker having a "loud speaker" back-of-phone sound issue when making certain calls. Apparently this has been noticed by others with their handsets. When I went to my local Apple store to exchange the AT&T unit that I had pre-ordered online, they offered me the choice to replace it with either the AT&T or Verizon model. Since then, all good.

[doublepost=1476422937][/doublepost]I've had two Qualcomm iPhone 7 Plus models. Both had a dimmer screen and weaker signal than my wife's Intel version. My first one was also not getting a signal and dropping calls where my 6 never had an issue.

My second Qualcomm had a very dim screen and going to return it tomorrow. Terrible in comparison to my wife's and especially my 6 Plus.

Hopefully one day I'll get a good one.

 

[RickG]

Clearly Apples decision to make so many variants of the phone is contributing to both the shortage as well as buyer anxiety- back in the good old days we didn't have to make so many decsions- I'm wondering now if the ATT version is a mistake over the sim free- dam

 

[cc999]

Clearly Apples decision to make so many variants of the phone is contributing to both the shortage as well as buyer anxiety- back in the good old days we didn't have to make so many decsions- I'm wondering now if the ATT version is a mistake over the sim free- dam

Get the Verizon version its the exact same phone as the Sim Free. Qualcomm is the modem.

CC

 

[metsjetsfan]

This is a situation where there will be no better phone. It will always vary with your carrier and where you live etc etc.

If you are the type of person that has to get the better phone no matter what that is fine and understandable. But just note it may not have the beat performance depending on you situation

 

[jav6454]

So far, I've read pages and pages of thread without any scientific proof of one being better than the other (modem-wise). All I did see where the real world specs per chip and some speed tests.

Hopefully Anandtech will solve this issue by months end with their battery, camera and modem comparisson review.

 

[airjay75]

If it were the case that, when I ordered my iPhone 7, there was an option to select to the Qualcomm model or the Intel model, yeah, I'd probably pick the Qualcomm model. But, I finance my phone through AT&T Next, and there was a pretty big incentive to do so this year since I got $650 in credits for trading in my old iPhone 6s. Now that the sim-free model is available, if you're paying full price, it probably makes sense to go with the sim-free model (which is a Qualcomm model). But, if you prefer to finance through AT&T Next (or T-Mobile's equivalent), I would just go for the Intel model. This just isn't that big of a deal at the end of the day and no one can point to any credible proof that it is. All we have heard is anecdotal conjecture at best.

 

[metsjetsfan]

So far, I've read pages and pages of thread without any scientific proof of one being better than the other (modem-wise). All I did see where the real world specs per chip and some speed tests.

Hopefully Anandtech will solve this issue by months end with their battery, camera and modem comparisson review.

I doubt they will. This is not like samsung vs TSMC too many variables and one modem might be better for one user based on where they live vs the other one for someone else and their usage. Maybe if they go hardcore and do a map of the world or by zipcode which model suits you better.

 

[Elisha]

I doubt they will. This is not like samsung vs TSMC too many variables and one modem might be better for one user based on where they live vs the other one for someone else and their usage. Maybe if they go hardcore and do a map of the world or by zipcode which model suits you better.

The Samsung vs TSMC was clearly demonstrable. Whether or not it mattered was another issue.
Hopefully the modem difference can be quantitative as well.

 

[jav6454]

I doubt they will. This is not like samsung vs TSMC too many variables and one modem might be better for one user based on where they live vs the other one for someone else and their usage. Maybe if they go hardcore and do a map of the world or by zipcode which model suits you better.

They will. Anandtech has a strong history on this type of reviews. Furthermore, all their writers knows in depth hardware analysis exceedingly well. They were one of the first to debunk that the iPhone 4's modem was the issue when they did lab tests to confirm the reception was way above average. That led them to conclude it was the antenna bands the issue with the iPhone 4.

 

[Thor_1]

They will. Anandtech has a strong history on this type of reviews. Furthermore, all their writers knows in depth hardware analysis exceedingly well. They were one of the first to debunk that the iPhone 4's modem was the issue when they did lab tests to confirm the reception was way above average. That led them to conclude it was the antenna bands the issue with the iPhone 4.

Really though, if there tests do show anything, it may not translate to real life. I feel that my intel modem phone does better than my 6s in areas where I would get 4g or E and now I get LTE.

 

[SystemHasFailed]

It won't work.

According to what? The Verizon model and the SIM Free Model are the same radio chipset, which means they support all the same freqs which means the Verizon one should work fine on T-Mobile..

 

[RickG]

If it were the case that, when I ordered my iPhone 7, there was an option to select to the Qualcomm model or the Intel model, yeah, I'd probably pick the Qualcomm model. But, I finance my phone through AT&T Next, and there was a pretty big incentive to do so this year since I got $650 in credits for trading in my old iPhone 6s. Now that the sim-free model is available, if you're paying full price, it probably makes sense to go with the sim-free model (which is a Qualcomm model). But, if you prefer to finance through AT&T Next (or T-Mobile's equivalent), I would just go for the Intel model. This just isn't that big of a deal at the end of the day and no one can point to any credible proof that it is. All we have heard is anecdotal conjecture at best.

Very well stated - and this is probably the best way to look at it- it will be interesting to see a detailed scientific analysis by anantech if they get around to it.

 

[Low country]

Guy's,
What modem does the new unlocked SIM free iPhone 7/7+ that Apple is now selling have?
Also I heard that LTE band 30 is a big deal for AT&T customers. True? Is band 30 on the SIM free version?

Thanks

 

[Shadowbech]

Guy's,
What modem does the new unlocked SIM free iPhone 7/7+ that Apple is now selling have?
Also I heard that LTE band 30 is a big deal for AT&T customers. True? Is band 30 on the SIM free version?

Thanks

Since the Sim-Free Model is the Sprint/Verizon Model, it's definitely going to have the Qualcomm Chip in it oppose to intel. Sim-Free model has both GSM and CDMA.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/#iphone-7-iphone-7-plus.