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Unique T-Mobile edge over AT&T and Verizon discovered

It pays to buy a flagship.

By Anam Hamid

Published: Aug 20, 2026, 9:19 PM

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On T-Mobile, the performance gap between device tiers hardly matters. | Image by PhoneArena

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are all leading in network performance in their own right. According to Ookla and Opensignal, T-Mobile has a lead, while RootMetrics believes AT&T and Verizon are outpacing it. Suffice it to say, the performance gap has narrowed enough that most users wouldn't notice a difference day-to-day. What will impact your speed, however, is the device in your hand.

Budget phones suffer more on AT&T and Verizon

Speed gap isn't uniform across carriers. | Image by Roger Entner

Recon Analytics founder Roger Entner recently conducted roughly 4,300 speed tests to see how device tiers impact network performance. He compared Apple devices against Android phones with both high-end and budget Qualcomm chips.

On T-Mobile, premium Android handsets averaged 161 Mbps, while budget devices managed 156 Mbps, so the difference is a negligible 5 Mbps. The gap is much larger on the other two networks.

On AT&T, Apple devices led at 153 Mbps, with high-end Android phones not much behind at 152 Mbps. On budget devices, the speed dropped by 20 Mbps to 133 Mbps. The difference was even starker on Verizon.

Qualcomm flagships on Verizon hit 124 Mbps, Apple devices reached 119 Mbps, but budget devices tumbled 35 Mbps to 89 Mbps.

Entner is going to dig deeper to find out the exact cause, but one thing is clear: premium devices behave differently from low-end devices on cellular networks.

How is this going to impact which device you buy?

What might be happening

The most straightforward explanation is that high-end devices have more advanced modems that can tap into the highest available speeds, resulting in better network performance. T-Mobile's network is almost fully 5G Standalone, and backed by a deep reservoir of midband spectrum and advanced carrier aggregation.

What's less clear is why the speed drop-off on budget devices isn't uniform across all three carriers.

Is T-Mobile leading all across?

Other considerations

Jason Livingood, Comcast's Vice President, was quick to note that latency and internet hardware also impact the user experience.

Besides, while faster speeds give bragging rights to a carrier, the average user doesn't use the maximum speed available. Still, for customers looking for the best possible experience, Entner's research is a reminder that flagship devices are expensive for a reason.

The research comes at an important time

With smartphone prices soaring, this is probably not a good year to buy high-end devices. However, the penalty of going with a cheaper device or sticking with your current device would mean settling for slower speeds.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.

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