Internet speed tests aren't just for people who obsess over their internet speeds. When my friends or parents are experiencing an inevitable home internet slowdown, I recommend always starting with a speed test. I've tested and used dozens of internet speed tests. The market is pretty saturated with them. Ideally, the best internet speed test diagnoses your bandwidth blues as simply as possible -- no ads, no extra features you can't make sense of, and no slowing down your Wi-Fi.
Speed tests are nothing new in the home internet space, but then again, I've never used a speed test quite like Orb before.
Meet Orb
The creators of the industry’s most popular speed test, Ookla, rolled out Orb at the end of April. (Disclaimer: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) While I was skeptical about what value Orb could bring to the internet speed testing market, I felt differently after I downloaded the app to my iPhone and personal computer for a few weeks.
Locating local internet providers
Orb is a free, sophisticated speed testing application. It doesn’t just test your download and upload speeds; it measures the overall health of your home network holistically, using multiple metrics and continuous speed tests without slowing down your Wi-Fi.
Orb co-founder and CEO Doug Suttles says Orb isn’t really a speed test at all.
Locating local internet providers
“We’re not a speed test, that’s the best way to put it,” Suttles told me. “We have speed testing functionality, but we focus far more on what we call responsiveness.”
What does Orb track?
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