iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are Apple’s newest, high-end smartphones. But how much have they improved over the last two years when it comes to ports, charging, wireless, and more? Here’s a detailed look at iPhone 16 Pro vs 14 Pro I/O for everything new and a buyer’s guide.
Table of contents
For iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro or 16 vs 15, and more check out these guides, otherwise, read on 😁:
- iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro: What comes with a 3-year leap?
- iPhone 16 Pro vs 15 Pro
- iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 vs 15
iPhone 16 Pro vs 14 Pro I/O
Compared to the iPhone 14 Pro/Max, 16 Pro/Max feature USB-C ports instead of Lightning with up to 10 Gbps transfer speeds. That’s 20x faster than the 480 Mbps of Lightning.
Beyond just the benefit of faster performance, USB-C brings upgraded capabilities like shooting video and photos directly to external storage and more universal connectivity.
For the camera system I/O, Camera Control is the major new feature.
And iPhone 16 Pro/Max also bring further upgrades like WiFi 7, MagSafe supporting up to 25W of wireless power, Thread, and UWB gen 2.
| iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 14 Pro | iPhone 16 Pro Max | iPhone 14 Pro Max | |
| USB-C | ✅ – USB 3 up to 10 Gbps | ❌ | ✅ – USB 3 up to 10 Gbps | ❌ |
| Lightning | – | ✅ – up to 480 Mbps | – | ✅ – up to 480 Mbps |
| WiFi | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| 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 | Dual eSIM in US | Dual eSIM in US | Dual eSIM in US |
| MagSafe | ✅ with 25W charging | ✅ with 15W charging | ✅ with 25W charging | ✅ with 15W charging |
| Qi and Qi2 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
For a detailed look at the cameras systems between these devices, check out our comparison:
And here’s an overview of what you can do with Camera Control:
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 14 Pro: Buyer’s guide
If you’re curious whether it’s worth upgrading overall, here is a broader summary of 16 Pro vs 14 Pro.
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/Pro Max
- 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 chip, most powerful GPU for video and mobile gaming
Reasons to buy iPhone 15 Pro or keep what you have
- If the features above aren’t deal breakers 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 or keeping an iPhone 15 Pro if you’d like the USB-C upgrade and Apple Intelligence support but don’t want/need the latest 16/16 Pro features.
You can order 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 14 Pro I/O!
Images via Apple
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