iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro: Everything different and buyer’s guide

iPhone 16 and 16 Pro are Apple’s newest and most capable smartphones. While the iPhone 16 Pro is naturally more feature-rich and powerful, the iPhone 16 has gained pro features, closing the gap between the standard and pro models. Read on for a detailed look at iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro for all the differences and advice on which to buy.

iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro

Screens

With the iPhone 14 and 15 lineups, Apple used the same display sizes for all four of the standard and Pro devices.

That changes with the iPhone 16 lineup as the Pro models feature larger 6.3 and 6.9-inch displays and the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have 6.1 and 6.7-inch screens.

Screen brightness remains the same between the 16 Pro and 16 models. However, the 16 Pro and Pro Max are the only devices with Always-On displays and ProMotion (up to 120Hz refresh).

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
Size	6.1-inches	6.7-inches	6.3-inches	6.9-inches
Resolution	2556 x 1179 pixels	2796 x 1290 pixels	2622 x 1206 pixels	2868 x 1320 pixels
PPI	460 ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi
Super Retina XDR OLED	✅	✅	✅	✅
Dynamic Island	✅	✅	✅	✅
ProMotion – adaptive refresh up to 120Hz	❌	❌	✅	✅
Always-On display	❌	❌	✅	✅
Typical max brightness	1000 nits max	1000 nits max	1000 nits max	1000 nits max
HDR max brightness	1600 nits max	1600 nits max	1600 nits max	1600 nits max
Outdoor max brightness	2000 nits max	2000 nits max	2000 nits max	2000 nits max
True Tone	✅	✅	✅	✅
Haptic Touch	✅	✅	✅	✅
Wide color (P3)	✅	✅	✅	✅

While the displays are identical when it comes to features between all the models outside of Always-On and ProMotion, and the new sizes, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have one other upgrade – slimmer bezels.

Size, weight, design

The design of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro remains very similar overall to its recent predecessors, but Apple has included the new physical Camera Control button/sensor in all of the iPhone 16 devices.

Apple is continuing to use titanium for the 16 Pro and Pro Max and aluminum with the 16 and 16 Plus.

Along with the new Camera Control, iPhone 16 gets the physical Action button which was originally launched on iPhone 15 Pro. And the rear camera layout has been updated with the 16 and 16 Plus.

For size, weight, and materials, here’s iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro:

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
Height	5.81-inches (147.6 mm)	6.33-inches (160.9 mm)	5.89-inches (149.6 mm)	6.42-inches (163 mm)
Width	2.82-inches (71.6 mm)	3.06-inches (77.8 mm)	2.81-inches (71.5 mm)	3.06-inches (77.6 mm)
Thickness	0.31-inches (7.80 mm)	0.31-inches (7.80 mm)	0.32-inches (8.25 mm)	0.32-inches (8.25 mm)
Weight	6.00-ounces  (170 grams)	7.03-ounces (199 grams)	7.03-ounces (199 grams)	7.99-ounces (227 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	Color-infused glass	Color-infused glass	Textured matte glass	Textured matte glass
Frame/edges	Aluminum	Aluminum	Grade 5 Titanium	Grade 5 Titanium

With the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max having slimmer bezels, Apple can fit the larger screens in overall dimensions close to the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.

Naturally, the new iPhones also come in new colors, we’ll get into that in detail below.

Performance – A18 vs A18 Pro

With iPhone 14 and 15 devices, Apple used the latest A-series chip in the Pro models and used the previous year’s chip in the standard models.

That changes this year with the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus getting the new A18 chip with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max getting the A18 Pro.

With the only previous iPhones to support Apple Intelligence being the 15 Pro and Pro Max, both the standard and pro models of iPhone 16 support the feature(s).

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
SoC	A18	A18	A18 Pro	A18 Pro
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	5-core	5-core	6-core	6-core
Neural Engine	16-core	16-core	16-core	16-core
RAM	8GB	8GB	8GB	8GB
Apple Intelligence support	✅	✅	✅	✅

Both the A18 and A18 Pro are more than powerful enough for almost everyone. 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

---

• A18 CPU is up to 30% faster than A16 Bionic
• A18 GPU is up to 40% faster than A16 Bionic
• A18 CPU uses up to 30% less power than A16 Bionic
• A18 GPU uses up to 35% less power than A16 Bionic

Also, A18 is the first chip in a non-pro iPhone to offer hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

We’ll update this comparison when we have real-world data on how A18 Pro vs A18 compare directly.

Battery life

For battery life, the iPhone 16 has received a nice improvement over the iPhone 15 devices.

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
Video playback	22 hours	27 hours	27 hours	Up to 33 hours
Audio playback	80 hours	100 hours	85 hours	Up to 105 hours

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

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

Cameras

Rear cameras

All the iPhone 16 devices come with a 48MP main rear camera, the all-new Camera Control button/sensor, latest-gen Photographic Styles, and more.

But the 16 Pro and Pro Max continue to stand apart with the most powerful camera systems.

And after giving the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera system more features than the iPhone 15 Pro, the 16 Pro and Pro Max have the same camera systems and capabilities.

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
Camera Control	✅	✅	✅	✅
Main lens	48MP, ƒ/1.6 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.6 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture
Main lens sensor	2 µm quad pixel	2 µm quad pixel	2.44 µm quad pixel	2.44 µm quad pixel
Main lens focal length	26 mm	26 mm	24 mm	24 mm
Ultra Wide lens	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Telephoto lens	❌ (but main lens can do 2x zoom)	❌ (but main lens can do 2x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)
Stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
Optical zoom	0.5x, 1x, and 2x	0.5x, 1x, and 2x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x
Digital zoom	Up to 10x	Up to 10x	Up to 25x	Up to 25x
Flash	True Tone flash	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	❌	❌	✅	✅

Video recording

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max include new power-user features like 4K Dolby Vision/HDR video recording at up to 120 fps.

But the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus still have fantastic cameras for both photos and video. Here’s how they stack up:

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
4K Dolby Vision/HDR recording	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100, or 120 fps	✅ – at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100, or 120 fps
1080p recording	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60, or 120 fps	✅ – at 25, 30, or 60, or 120 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 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	✅ – at 1080p at 30 fps	✅ – at 1080p at 30 fps
Slo-mo recording	✅ –1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps	✅ –1080p at 120 fps or 240 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	✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision	✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision
Stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video	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 on the iPhone 16 models gets a few upgrades with the 16/Plus having most of the features found with the 16 Pro and Pro Max.

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 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 Dolby Vision 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
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	✅ – 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 vs 16 Pro I/O

After the big switch to USB-C with the iPhone 15 lineup, iPhone 16 devices don’t bring as much of a shift with I/O.

The biggest I/O update may be 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 uses the much slower USB 2 compared to USB 3 with the 16 Pro and Pro Max.

	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Plus	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max
USB-C	✅ – USB 2 up to 480Mbps	✅ – USB 2 up to 480Mbps	✅ – USB 3 up to 10Gbps	✅ – USB 3 up to 10Gbps
WiFi	7	7	7	7
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3
UWB Gen 2	✅	✅	✅	✅
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	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou	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, BeiDou, and NavIC)
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 25W charging	✅ with 25W charging	✅ with 25W charging
Qi and Qi2	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

iPhone 16 vs 16 Pro colors

iPhone 16 and 16 Plus come in these five colors:

• Black
• White
• Pink
• Teal
• Ultramarine

And iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are available in:

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

Storage and pricing

iPhone 16 and 16 Plus come in these storage options:

• 128GB – $799 / $899
• 256GB – $899 / $999
• 512GB – $1,099 / $1,199

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 vs 16 Pro: Which should you buy?

All of the new iPhones are super powerful and capable devices, but which one is best for you will come down to how you want to use your iPhone and what features you value.

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 or 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
• Always-On display and ProMotion refresh rates up to 120Hz
• Storage up to 1TB

Reasons to buy iPhone 16 or 16 Plus

• If the 6 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 an iPhone 15 Pro if you’d like Apple Intelligence support but don’t want/need the latest 16/16 Pro features.

You can pre-order iPhone 16 and 16 Pro from 9/13 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 vs 16 Pro!