By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

VARYING smartphone brands barely affect the mobile network experience of phone users in the Philippines, but high-tier units beat mid- and low-tier ones in terms of network speed.

A new report by Opensignal found that Apple and Samsung users in the country experience the same range of download speed at around 11-12 megabits per second (Mbps). This puts Huawei users approximately 1.5 Mbps behind at 10 Mbps.

However, when classified based on high, mid- and low-tier handsets, smartphone owners in the Philippines see a declining download speed at 18.3 Mbps, 10.1 Mbps and 7.6 Mbps respectively.

“Because high-tier smartphone users have models with more mobile network capabilities such as the ability to combine five or more radio carriers…this class of users is more sensitive to mobile network improvements deployed by the world’s mobile operators,” it said.

“As they add new network technologies, these users will be the first to experience the benefits,” the report added.

The Opensignal study looked at 23 million devices from Apr. 1 to Jun. 30 focusing on Apple, Samsung and Huawei, as these three smartphone brands have the biggest shipment volume.

Despite the stark differences in network experience based on a smartphone’s tier, the report noted that Apple, Samsung and Huawei handsets each lead a tier in terms of network speed.

In the high-tier category, Samsung phones record the best download speed at 26.6 Mbps. Apple phones lead the mid-tier at 16.5 Mbps, while Huawei handsets trump the two for low-tier phones at 12.1 Mbps.

Classified under Samsung’s high-tier phones are Samsung Galaxy S8, S9, S10, Note 8, Note 9; which beat Huawei P20 Pro, P30 Pro, Mate 10, 20 and iPhone Xs.

In the mid-tier for Apple are iPhone XR, X, 8, 7 and 6s, which Opensignal noted are around the same price range of Samsung’s and Huawei’s high-tier phones. Competing against these on this level are Samsung M40, A80 and A6s, and Huawei P30 Lite, Enjoy 9e, and Y6.

Huawei’s primary low-tier handset is the Huawei Nova 2, which beat Samsung’s A2 Core and J4 Core and Apple’s iPhone SE and 6.

Opensignal noted Apple’s recent focus on facial recognition, camera innovation, long battery life and fast application processors and graphics may leave it behind in terms of network capability.

“While all Samsung and Huawei flagship models for the last couple of years have featured so-called “gigabit” capable modem designs…only the iPhone XS and XS Max have such capability. Even the current iPhone XR includes a less-capable LTE Category 12 modem…,” it said.

It noted high-tier smartphones represent the kind of mobile network experience that could be reached by a country, and in the Philippines, high-tier smartphones are 2.4 times faster than low-tier ones.

“[H]igh-tier smartphone users are a leading indicator of what level of mobile network experience is currently possible in a country. And, as mobile network capabilities trickle down to mid-and low-tier handset models over time, the current experience of high-tier users’ also indicates the direction for the overall future mobile network experience for the population of a country,” Opensignal said.

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