The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus offer significantly faster downloads than their biggest rivals, according to a new study using data from Speedtest creator Ookla.
The South Korean firm’s flagships have download speeds that are 37% faster than those offered by the Apple iPhone X, 17% faster than the Google Pixel 2, and 38% faster than the Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung has announced.
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The company says these findings are based on speed tests conducted “on major nationwide carriers’ 4G LTE networks” in the US between February and April 2018.
“Wireless carriers’ data services are made up of multiple networks—some fast lanes, and some slow lanes—that phones are constantly switching between,” said Samsung, hailing the findings.
“To get into those fast lanes, and to get the most out of the wireless service they’re already paying for, consumers need phones with the most innovative technology, like the Galaxy S9 and S9+’s CAT 18 LTE modem, which supports network speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps.”
While the S9 and S9+ have CAT 18 LTE modem built into them, the iPhone X supports Cat 12 (up to 600 Mbit/s), the Pixel 2 supports Cat 15 (800 Mbit/s), and the S7 supports Cat 9 (up to 450 Mbit/s).
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However, everything’s not quite as clear cut as it would appear.
As Android Central points out, real-world variables, such as your network and location, and even the specific file you’re downloading can have a huge say in how long it takes to complete a download.
All things considered, it’s still good news for Samsung, though we wouldn’t base our entire buying decision on the findings.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
