One Plus seems to perform better than Apple in terms of network speed

One of the most undervalued facts of 4G is that E in 4G LTE stands for evolution. Not all 4G devices are the same, though if you compare the network speed on these devices, you will find a surprising fact. Huawei phones are among the slowest available stateside compared to the other LTE enabled devices, with iPhones are underperforming despite of their huge price tag. Network performance depends heavily on the capabilities and and prioritization of the network, though older smartphones and budget-oriented models are less likely to feature Cat16, or gigabit-class, LTE.

According to the Opensignal's Mobile Network Experience report, published Monday OnePlus phones allows you to experience the fastest LTE speeds on US mobile networks among the gigabit-class smartphones. The average speed of OnePlus phones was 35.7 Mbps, while Samsung placed second at 33.9 Mbps, followed by LG in third, at 33.1 Mbps. Razer, Sony, and Google phones averaged around 31 Mbps, while Apple was in seventh at 25.4 Mbps, among models capable of LTE Cat16. Huawei was last, in eleventh, at 22.4 Mbps.

For mid-range smartphones - defined by Opensignal as LTE Cat5 (300 Mbps) to LTE Cat15 (750 Mbps)-the winner was HTC at 31.8 Mbps, with Google in second at 29.1 Mbps, and Samsung in third at 27.5 Mbps. Apple ranked twelfth, at 19.5 Mbps. Huawei followed at 18.5 Mbps. For low-tier smartphones-LTE Cat4 (150 Mbps) or lower-Apple was dead last in 15th, at 12.0 Mbps.

Apple's long-lived support for iPhone models is likely working against them in these statistics, as 2013's iPhone 5S-still supported in iOS 12-enables users to hold on to their phones for far longer than is practicable with Android. Using an iPhone 5S in 2019 is not likely to be the most pleasant experience, granted, though it should still be head and shoulders above using any of the Android phones on ZDNet's Top 10 smartphones of 2013. Huawei's underperformance isn't necessarily related to their hardware. It is most likely because these phones are not sold by any major US carrier so there is less incentive for vendors and US carriers to optimize their network to support Huawei smartphones.