4th gen iPad 35MB, iPhone 6 105MB?

[thale58]

Placing them side by side, running on the same wifi via AirPort Extreme on Comcast 105MB, iPad simply refuses to go any faster. Tested on different days and at different times, results are consistently the same. Any suggestions? I can't believe the processor in the iPad is that much slower.

[Pgoodwin1]

Well. The A8 processor in the 6 Plus can be "up to" 2.5x as fast as the A6X in the 4th gen iPad. The 6 Plus also has ac WiFi vs n for the iPad. Not sure if your wifi router is ac capable, but if it is, the ac speeds can be 3x the n speeds. The 6 Plus is a 64 bit machine where the iPad 4Th gen is a 32 bit. I don't know whether Apple uses a 64 bit data path between the processor and the WiFi I/O though.

It does seem like a big difference though. My 5S is way faster at everything than my iPad 2 and like yours, the 5S processor is two generations newer. But both my machines run wireless right up to my 50 Mbps plan limit, so I can't compare like you're doing.

[Christian]

It's because of the different wireless adapters.

The iPad 4th generation has less bands while the iPhone 6 has more. This allows the iPhone to take advantage of more bands resulting in faster data speeds.

Only a certain amount of the extra speed is because of the processing speed boost between the two. The iPhone 6 and iPad 4th generation are pretty close in speed anyways. It's the wireless card, or adapter, causing the speed difference.

Hope this helped.

I may be a little wrong, but I'm almost positive I'm right.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Christian

[Pgoodwin1]

I saw one review of the 4g iPad and they got 37 Mbps. Another review of the iPhone 6 got 103 Mbps. Pretty close to what you got. So I'd say it's real. What's your plan max?

[thale58]

Really starting to think that's all I can get out of the iPad. It's not horrible after all, it just doesn't scream like the iPhone 6. May very well be the wireless bands as previously posted. I'm going to see what Apple has to say next.

[thale58]

Sorry. To answer your question, my plan max is 105MB.

[Pgoodwin1]

Pretty much all of the hardware in the iPhone 6 having to do with speed is 1 or 2 generations advanced over the 4th gen iPad. Assuming your AirPort Extreme is a newer ac model, with the data processing and wifi input/output processing capability the phone has, when you test your phone while in close proximity to your AEBS, you may be hitting your ISP plan max speed. I read another article that said that their device was twice as fast an 802.11ac as it was at the same distance on 802.11n. So that, combined with the improved processors and memory speeds of the IP6, it's not surprising that there's a significant difference.

However, I get about 37-40 Mbps on my iPad 2 with an older "n" AEBS, but only when the iPad is sitting right next to the base station. I get 45-53on my 5S (virtually the same as my iMac over Ethernet, When I move 30ft away and through a wall and some kitchen cabinets, it's only a little over 20 Mbps on the iPad.. So there's a lot of factors. Again, my ISP plan max is 50 down.