iPhone 16 Pro vs 15 Pro cameras: How have photo and video evolved?

Michael Potuck | Sep 30 2024 - 11:38 am PT

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are Apple’s newest smartphones packed with the most capable cameras. But how much have they improved over their predecessors? Here’s a detailed look at iPhone 16 Pro vs 15 Pro camera systems.

For our full iPhone comparisons, check out these guides, otherwise, read on for all the camera details 😁:

iPhone 16 Pro vs 15 Pro cameras

Rear cameras

After giving the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera system more features than the iPhone 15 Pro, the 16 Pro and Pro Max are designed with the same camera systems and capabilities.

Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max devices have the same 48MP main rear camera, 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.

Here are all the specs for the rear 16 Pro vs 15 Pro cameras compared:

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 15 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 15 Pro Max
Camera Control	✅	❌	✅	❌
Main lens	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture
Main lens sensor	2.44 µm quad pixel	2.44 µm quad pixel	2.44 µm quad pixel	2.44 µm quad pixel
Main lens focal length	24 mm	24 mm	24 mm	24 mm
Ultra Wide lens	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Telephoto lens	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 3x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)
Stabilization	2nd gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	2nd gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	2nd gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	2nd gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
Optical zoom	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x
Digital zoom	Up to 25x	Up to 15x	Up to 25x	Up to 25x
Flash	Adaptive True Tone Flash	Adaptive True Tone Flash	Adaptive True Tone Flash	Adaptive True Tone Flash
Photonic Engine	✅	✅	✅	✅
Deep Fusion	✅	✅	✅	✅
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 with 4K Dolby Vision/HDR recording at up to 120 fps.

You can also record at up to 120 fps for 1080p and ProRes recordings with 16 Pro/Max.

More new features are wind noise reduction, Audio Mix, and 4 studio-quality mics, making the iPhone 16 Pro Max a more capable pocket-sized studio.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 15 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 15 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	✅ – 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	✅ – 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 60 fps with external recording	✅ – up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording	✅ – up to 4K at 60 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	✅ – 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 and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps	✅ – 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps	✅ – 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 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)	2nd-gen sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)	2nd-gen sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)	2nd-gen sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor‑shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)
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 mostly the same with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max but you do get the latest-gen Photographic Styles.

Two more capabilities are spatial audio and stereo recording when using the TrueDepth camera.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 15 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 15 Pro Max
TrueDepth front camera	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture
Autofocus with Focus Pixels	✅	✅	✅	✅
Retina Flash	✅	✅	✅	✅
Photonic Engine	✅	✅	✅	✅
Deep Fusion	✅	✅	✅	✅
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	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps
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	✅ – 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	✅ – 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 15 Pro: Buyer’s guide

If you’re curious whether it’s worth upgrading overall, here is a broader summary of 16 Pro vs 15 Pro.

And 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/Pro Max

Most powerful and capable cameras for both photo and video
Camera Control
Longer battery life
Fastest chip, most powerful GPU for video and mobile gaming

Reasons to buy iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, 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 Apple Intelligence support but don’t want/need the latest 16/16 Pro features.

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

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

Thanks for reading our guide on iPhone 16 Pro vs 15 Pro cameras!

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Michael Potuck michaelpotuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.

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