iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro: 4-year evolution

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are Apple’s newest and most powerful smartphones. So how much have they improved since 2020? Here’s our full comparison of iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro for everything new and a buyer’s guide.

For various other iPhone face-offs check out these guides, otherwise, read on 😁:

• iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro vs 14 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro vs 15 Pro
• iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 vs 15

iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro

Screens

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have larger 6.3 and 6.9-inch displays compared to the 6.1 and 6.7-inch screens on the 12 Pro and Pro Max.

Screen brightness is higher for typical, HDR content, and outdoor use with the 16 Pro/Max and you also get the Dynamic Island, always-on display, and ProMotion (up to 120Hz refresh rates).

For those counting pixels, you get 199,692 more with the 16 Pro over the 12 Pro and 218,808 more pixels with the 16 Pro Max compared to the 12 Pro Max.

Size, weight, design

The design of the iPhone 16 Pro remains almost the same as its predecessors (outside of size), but Apple has included a new physical Camera Control button/sensor.

Apple is using titanium for the 16 Pro and Pro Max like the 15 Pro and Pro Max.

For those coming from a 12 Pro – titanium will be an upgrade (lighter and stronger than steel).

To fit the larger displays, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are slightly larger than iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max but thanks to the titanium builds, they weigh nearly the same.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Height	5.89-inches (149.6 mm)	5.78 inches (146.7 mm	6.42-inches (163 mm)	6.33 inches (160.8 mm)
Width	2.81-inches (71.5 mm)	2.82 inches (71.5 mm)	3.06-inches (77.6 mm)	3.07 inches (78.1 mm)
Thickness	0.32-inches (8.25 mm)	0.29 inch (7.4 mm)	0.32-inches (8.25 mm)	0.29 inch (7.4 mm)
Weight	7.03-ounces (199 grams)	6.66 ounces (189 grams)	7.99-ounces (227 grams)	8.03 ounces (228 grams)
Durability	IP68 (splash, dust, 6 meters of water up to 30 minutes	IP68 (splash, dust, 6 meters of water up to 30 minutes	IP68 (splash, dust, 6 meters of water up to 30 minutes	IP68 (splash, dust, 6 meters of water up to 30 minutes
Ceramic Shield front	✅	✅	✅	✅
Back material	Textured matte glass	Textured matte glass	Textured matte glass	Textured matte glass
Frame/edges	Grade 5 titanium	Stainless steel	Grade 5 titanium	Stainless steel

Performance – A18 Pro vs A14 Bionic

A18 Pro is the next-generation chip for Apple’s high-end smartphones. It’s more powerful and capable, but whether that’s important for you will depend on what you’re doing with your phone.

iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max don’t get Apple Intelligence support with the older A14 chip. And iPhone 16 Pro/Max also has 2GB more RAM than 12 Pro/Max.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
SoC	A18 Pro	A14 Bionic	A18 Pro	A14 Bionic
CPU	6-core: 2 performance + 4 efficiency	6-core: 2 performance + 4 efficiency	6-core: 2 performance + 4 efficiency	6-core: 2 performance + 4 efficiency
GPU	6-core	5-core	6-core	5-core
Neural Engine	16-core	16-core	16-core	16-core
RAM	8GB	6GB	8GB	6GB
Apple Intelligence support	✅	❌	✅	❌

The A18 Pro is powerful enough for anyone. But here are some stats from Apple:

• A18 Pro CPU is up to 15% faster than A17 Pro
• A18 Pro GPU is up to 20% faster than A17 Pro
• A18 Pro CPU uses up to 20% less power than A17 Pro
• 2x faster ray tracing than A17 Pro

And the A18 Pro CPU is up to ~50% faster than A14 Bionic in Geekbench scores for single-core performance and about 60% faster for multi-core performance.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Single-core score CPU	~3200	~2100	~3200	~2100
Multi-core score CPU	~7800	~4900	~7800	~4900

There’s also a much more powerful GPU with the A18 Pro chip and features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing for better gaming performance.

iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro battery life

For battery life, the iPhone 16 Pro has received a big improvement over the iPhone 12 Pro. This may be reason enough for some to upgrade.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Video playback	Up to 27 hours	Up to 17 hours	Up to 33 hours	Up to 20 hours
Audio playback	Up to 85 hours	Up to 65 hours	Up to 105 hours	Up to 80 hours

For how that compares to iPhone 15, 14, and 13, check out this post on iPhone 16 battery life:

• iPhone 16 battery life: How much better is it?

Cameras

Rear cameras

Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max devices have new 48MP main rear cameras. And there’s a new 48MP ultra wide lens, 12MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, the all-new Camera Control button/sensor, and the latest-gen Photographic Styles.

That’s a serious jump up from the 12MP main lens and the rest of the 12 Pro/Max camera system.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Camera Control	✅	❌	✅	❌
Main lens	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.6 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.6 aperture
Main lens sensor	2.44 µm quad pixel	1.4 µm pixels	2.44 µm quad pixel	1.4 µm pixels
Main lens focal length	24 mm	26 mm	24 mm	26 mm
Ultra Wide lens	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture
Telephoto lens	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.0 aperture (up to 2x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.0 aperture (up to 2.5x zoom)
Stabilization	2nd gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	2nd gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
Optical zoom	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2.5x
Digital zoom	Up to 25x	Up to 10x	Up to 25x	Up to 12x
Flash	Adaptive True Tone Flash	True Tone Flash with Slow Sync	Adaptive True Tone Flash	True Tone Flash with Slow Sync
Photonic Engine	✅	❌	✅	❌
Deep Fusion	✅	✅	✅	✅
Smart HDR 3	–	✅	–	✅
Smart HDR 5	✅	❌	✅	❌
Next-gen portraits with Focus and Depth Control	✅	❌	✅	❌
Portrait Lighting with six effects	✅	✅	✅	✅
Night mode	✅	✅	✅	✅
Night mode portraits	✅	✅	✅	✅
Latest-gen Photographic Styles	✅	❌	✅	❌
Spatial photos	✅	❌	✅	❌
Macro photography	✅	❌	✅	❌
Apple ProRAW	✅	✅	✅	✅

Video recording

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max step up video recording with 4K Dolby Vision/HDR video recording at up to 120 fps.

You can also record at up to 120 fps for 1080p and ProRes recordings with 16 Pro/Max. Other new features are wind noise reduction and Audio Mix.

And compared to 12 Pro/Max, the 16 Pro/Max deliver ProRes, Action mode, Cinematic mode, ACES, macro video, spatial video, and log recording.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
4K Dolby Vision/HDR recording	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100, or 120 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100, or 120 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps
1080p recording	✅ – at 25, 30, 60, or 120 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, 60, or 120 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps
Cinematic mode	✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps	❌	✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps	❌
Action mode	✅ – up to 2.8K at 60 fps	❌	✅ – up to 2.8K at 60 fps	❌
ProRes recording	✅ – up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording	❌	✅ – up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording	❌
Log video recording	✅	❌	✅	❌
Academy Color Encoding System	✅	❌	✅	❌
Macro video recording	✅	❌	✅	❌
Spatial video recording	✅ – at 1080p at 30 fps	❌	✅ – at 1080p at 30 fps	❌
Slo-mo recording	✅ – 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps	✅ – 1080p up to 240 fps	✅ – 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps	✅ – 1080p up to 240 fps
Time-lapse with stabilization	✅	✅	✅	✅
Night mode Time-lapse	✅	✅	✅	✅
QuickTake video	✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision	✅	✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision	✅
Stabilization	2nd-gen sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video (Wide) Optical image stabilization for video (Wide)	2nd-gen sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video (Wide) Optical image stabilization for video (Wide)
Cinematic video stabilization	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, and 720p	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, and 720p	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, and 720p	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, and 720p
Audio zoom	✅	✅	✅	✅
Stereo recording	✅	✅	✅	✅
4 studio quality mics	✅	❌	✅	❌
True tone flash	✅	✅	✅	✅
Wind noise reduction	✅	❌	✅	❌
Audio Mix	✅	❌	✅	❌
Continuous autofocus video	✅	✅	✅	✅
Playback zoom	✅	✅	✅	✅

Selfie camera

Apple’s TrueDepth front camera is upgraded on iPhone 16 Pro/Max vs 12 Pro/Max with the latest-gen Photographic Styles, Smart HDR 5 for photos, ProRAW, log video recording, and more.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
TrueDepth front camera	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Autofocus with Focus Pixels	✅	❌	✅	❌
Retina Flash	✅	✅	✅	✅
Photonic Engine	✅	❌	✅	❌
Deep Fusion	✅	✅	✅	✅
Smart HDR 3 for photos	–	✅	–	✅
Smart HDR 5 for photos	✅	❌	✅	❌
Next-gen portraits with Focus and Depth Control	✅	❌	✅	❌
Portrait Lighting with six effects	✅	✅	✅	✅
Animoji and Memoji	✅	✅	✅	✅
Night mode	✅	✅	✅	✅
Night mode time-lapse	✅	✅	✅	✅
Latest-gen Photographic Styles	✅	❌	✅	❌
Lens correction	✅	✅	✅	✅
Auto image stabilization	✅	✅	✅	✅
Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos	✅	✅	✅	✅
4K Dolby Vision/HDR recording	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps (only up to 30 fps for HDR/Dolby)	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps (only up to 30 fps for HDR/Dolby)
1080p Dolby Vision recording	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps
Cinematic mode	✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps	❌	✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps	❌
Apple ProRAW	✅	❌	✅	❌
ProRes recording	✅ – up to 4K HDR at 60 fps with external recording	❌	✅ – up to 4K HDR at 60 fps with external recording	❌
Log video recording	✅	❌	✅	❌
Slo-mo recording	✅ – 1080p at 120 fps	✅ – 1080p at 120 fps	✅ – 1080p at 120 fps	✅ – 1080p at 120 fps
QuickTake video	✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision	✅	✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision	✅
Cinematic video stabilization	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, 720p	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, 720p	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, 720p	✅ – for 4K, 1080p, 720p
Spatial Audio and stereo recording	✅	❌	✅	❌

iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro I/O

Compared to the iPhone 12 Pro/Max, 16 Pro/Max have a USB-C port instead of Lightning with up to 10 Gbps transfer speeds and new capabilities like shooting video and photos directly to external storage.

The other big I/O update is the new Camera Control, but there are some other upgrades like WiFi 7 support, MagSafe supporting up to 25W or wireless power, and more.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro Max
USB-C	✅ – USB 3 up to 10Gbps	❌	✅ – USB 3 up to 10Gbps	❌
Lightning	–	✅ – Up to 480Mbps	–	✅ – Up to 480Mbps
WiFi	7	6	7	6
Bluetooth	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.0
UWB	✅ – Gen 2	✅ – Gen 1	✅ – Gen 2	✅ – Gen 1
NFC with reader mode	✅	✅	✅	✅
Thread	✅	❌	✅	❌
Cellular	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA
5G	Sub‑6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO	Sub‑6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO	Sub‑6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO	Sub‑6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO
4G	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA
GPS	Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavIC)	Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)	Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavIC)	Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)
Audio playback	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos
Video playback	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG
SIM	Dual eSIM in US	eSIM and nanoSIM	Dual eSIM in US	eSIM and nanoSIM
MagSafe	✅ with 25W charging	✅ with 15W charging	✅ with 25W charging	✅ with 15W charging
Qi and Qi2	✅	Qi, but no Qi2	✅	Qi, but no Qi2

iPhone 16 Pro colors

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are available in:

• Black titanium
• White titanium
• Natural titanium
• Desert titanium

Storage and pricing

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max come in:

• 128GB – $999 (only 16 Pro available in 128GB)
• 256GB – $1,099 / $1,199
• 512GB – $1,299 / $1,399
• 1TB – $1,499 / $1,599

What’s in the box?

All of the iPhone 16 devices just come with the iPhone and a USB-C cable in the box.

If you need a power adapter, go with at least a 20W so you get fast charging for your iPhone. Good options include:

• Anker 20W Nano Pro (super compact)
• Nomad 20W power adapter (black finish and compact)
• Apple’s official 20W adapter

iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro: Buyer’s guide

All of the recent iPhones are very powerful and capable devices, but which is best for you (or whether it’s time to upgrade) will come down to how you want to use your iPhone and what features you value most.

Keep in mind both iPhone 16 and 16 Pro feature Apple Intelligence support and have the new Camera Control button/sensor.

Reasons to buy iPhone 16 Pro/Max

• Larger, higher-res display with ProMotion, Dynamic Island, and always-on
• Most powerful and capable cameras for both photos and video
• Titanium build with very slim bezels
• USB-C with 10Gbps speeds, WiFi 7 support
• Fastest and most powerful chip
• Best battery life in an iPhone

Reasons to buy iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, or keep what you have

• If the features above aren’t a big deal for you, save your money and grab the iPhone 16 which includes most of the other new features this year or keep your older iPhone 😁
• You could also consider grabbing an iPhone 15 Pro if you’d like Apple Intelligence support but don’t want/need the latest 16/16 Pro features

You can buy iPhone 16 and 16 Pro from Apple, your carrier, and more.

What are you thinking? Upgrade? Keep your current iPhone? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for reading our guide on iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro!