iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are Apple’s newest and most powerful smartphones. So how much have the camera systems improved since 2020? Here’s a detailed look at iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro cameras.
Table of contents
For various other iPhone face-offs check out these guides, otherwise, read on 😁:
- iPhone 16 Pro vs 12 Pro: 4-year evolution
- 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 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. And there are a number of other upgrades like macro photography, spatial photos, and more.
| 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 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
If you haven’t checked out Camera Control in-depth yet, here’s everything you need to know:
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, log recording, 4 studio-quality mics, and more.
| 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.
Beyond the new Camera Control, there are other I/O 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 vs 12 Pro cameras: Buyer’s guide
If you’re curious whether it’s worth upgrading overall, here is a broader summary of 16 Pro vs 12 Pro.
Keep in mind both iPhone 16 and 16 Pro feature the new Camera Control button/sensor (and Apple Intelligence support).
Reasons to buy iPhone 16 Pro/Max
- Most powerful and capable cameras for both photos and video
- Camera Control button/sensor
- Larger, higher-res display with ProMotion, Dynamic Island, and always-on
- Best battery life in an iPhone
- Titanium build with very slim bezels
- USB-C with 10Gbps speeds, WiFi 7 support
- Fastest and most powerful chip
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 cameras!
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