Phone vs "High-Speed" Internet Gateway

The comparison is more like apples and oranges. Phone brands/models can have differences to the wireless modules and drivers depending upon OS and release level. The gateway radio for the 4G LTE and 5G NR may latch onto different bands/frequencies than the phone and as noted phones tend to get priority over the fixed wireless gateways. Traffic volume can change and impact testing. The routing of the traffic to target test servers can change due to traffic handling. There are just many variables that have to be considered. It is hard to really verify results. Multiple tests for each would be necessary to get an average for comparison would maybe provide a more realistic reflection for comparison. 

When I do run testing here with my gateway I commonly use a wired vs a wireless client off the gateway and I use the same reference server as a target. I can do the same test with my iPhone but still each will use the connections they have available to reach the same server and there is no control over how the traffic is routed so I tend to run multiple tests and look at the average. Still I know it is not an apples for apples comparison but I still find it useful and interesting. 

If the T-Mobile 5G solution provides the capabilities required and does it with a high degree of reliability that is really important to me. I know it will not be perfect, it never has been, but for the price per month and the terms T-Mobile has put forth for the service it is a really good deal here. It will never be the perfect solution in ALL places. Some locations are just not going to be serviced well due to multiple factors so results do vary quite a bit for some users. Hopefully it continues to improve and continue to be a really good experience for the majority of users. Enjoy the holiday and have a great New Year!