iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: What are the differences?
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Intro
In the past few years, Pro iPhones were available in two sizes: a small 6.1-inch Pro model and a large, 6.7-inch Pro Max version. But not anymore. The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max both come with larger screens, in line with our increased smartphone use.
The iPhone 16 Pro features a slightly bigger, 6.3-inch screen. However, thanks to smaller borders around the screen, it is not much larger physically – it is only very slightly bigger than the 15 Pro.
This slight size increase, however, allows Apple to make some important changes. The iPhone 16 Pro is the first compact iPhone to get a 5X tetraprism zoom camera, and it also gets a bigger battery. Other highlights include a revamped ultrawide camera, faster MagSafe charging and a useful new Camera Control button.
Apple first rolled out iOS 18.1 on October 28th, 2024, adding the first Apple Intelligence features like notification summaries, writing tools and the Clean Up tool in Photos.
In December, Apple released iOS 18.2 adding even more AI features. After the update, Siri can now directly show you ChatGPT responses. You also have Visual Intelligence, and fun features like Genmoji and the Image Playground app for AI picture generation.
The last stage of iOS 18Apple Intelligence upgrades is expected to arrive in early 2025 with iOS 18.3 and iOS 18.4. These new versions will bring the fully revamped and much smarter Siri assistant. We expect Apple to unveil even more AI features in iOS 19 next year and chances are that both the iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro will support them.
iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro differences:
| iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro |
|---|---|
| Larger, 6.3-inch screen size | 6.1-inch screen |
| 1.2mm screen bezel size | 1.71mm bezel size |
| Slightly heavier at 199 grams | 187 grams weight |
| Faster A18 Pro chipset | Apple A17 Pro |
| New modem for improved connectivity | Older modem model |
| New 5X telephoto camera | 3X telephoto camera |
| New 48MP ultra-wide camera | 12MP ultra-wide camera |
| New physical Camera Control | No physical camera button |
| 4K120 slow motion video | Only 4K60 video |
| Larger battery size 27 hours of video playback | 3,274 mAh battery 20 hours of video playback |
| Faster MagSafe | 25W wired charge |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
Slightly bigger size and a cool new Camera Control
iPhone 16 Pro in Natural Titanium (gray) and 15 Pro on the right in blue (Image by PhoneArena)
The big design change in the iPhone 16 Pro is the larger 6.3-inch screen size and the reduced bezel around that screen.
All of that makes for a more futuristic look for the new model, while staying in line with the mostly compact dimensions these iPhones are known for. However, in terms of overall styling, the 16 Pro looks a lot like the iPhone 15 Pro.
The 16 Pro (on the bottom) is slightly taller and has the Camera Control (Image by PhoneArena)
Here is the size of the new model vs the old one:
| iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 149.6 mm | 146.6 mm |
| Width | 71.5 mm | 70.6 mm |
| Thickness | 8.25 mm | 8.25 mm |
| Weight | 199 g | 187 g |
| Bezel size | 1.2 mm | 1.71 mm |
In summary, if you really value a smaller phone, you might notice the slightly smaller size of the iPhone 15 Pro, but for most people it is not a big difference.
Materials are the same: both models have that fancy titanium frame with a new and what Apple calls a twice as durable "Ceramic Shield" front glass cover for the 16 Pro.
iPhone 16 Pro colors
You still get four color options with a darker black model, a white model, a natural (Gray) model and a Desert (gold) version.
Read more: iPhone 16 colors
The other exciting design change is the new camera Camera Control button (available on all four iPhone 16 models).
It is tied exclusively to camera features, but not just to the Apple-made camera app – you can also start a third-party camera app with it.
Since it has a capacitive surface, it also acts like a trackpad, so sliding your finger across it is used to zoom in and out, or to quickly cycle through photo filters, or various other functions. This is a cool gimmick, but usually we found it was easier to control those features on the larger screen.
As for the rest of the design details, they remain the same. This means you get an IP68 water and dust protection, USB-C port for charging (USB 3 speeds for data transfer), and the Dynamic Island with Face ID in it. The unboxing experience changes a bit with a slimmer box made entirely of recycled materials, but you still don't get a charger in the box, in case you were wondering.
The 16 Pro (on the left) has slimmer borders around the screen (Image by PhoneArena)
A 6.3-inch screen size is probably the sweet middle ground for many people, and we are glad that Apple has recognized that and is moving to a slightly larger form factor.
In our benchmark tests, both devices feature very similar display properties, with little to no difference outside the statistic error. Peak brightness at both regular and HDR modes, as well as the color accuracy and gamma are similar. It's noteworthy to say that the iPhone 16 Pro has a display that goes lower in terms of minimum brightness, and it has slightly better white balance right out of the box.
One feature that is NOT present, but we think Apple should seriously consider for the future, is a type of coating that would reduce the reflectivity of the screen outdoors. Samsung uses this in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it's been a revelation, but so far, there are no rumors about it, so it's probably not happening. You could achieve a similar effect with a screen protector, though.
Performance and Software
New A18 Pro chipset is a big deal
This new chipset is more efficient (Image by PhoneArena)
Apple has done impressive things with its A series iPhone processors and the M series chips in MacBooks, but new Qualcomm Snapdragon chips have caught up recently.
Last year's Apple A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro could not overpower its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 rival in gaming performance, and its power use could be better. So, the new A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro has something to prove. Luckily, Apple makes the jump to second-gen 3nm tech with the A18 Pro. It delivers significant improvements to CPU and GPU performance, and the chip is built with AI in mind.
As per our benchmark tests, it's naturally the newer iPhone that pulls ahead. It achieves higher scores in both the single- and multi-core Geekbench 6 tests, as well as higher in the 3DMark test. However, it's also quicker to throttle down, giving an advantage to the iPhone 15 Pro in terms of gaming stability in the long run.
Apple also has better thermal management with 20% improved heat dissipation, great for gaming and other demanding tasks. Both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro have the same 8GB of RAM, which is also the minimum requirement for Apple Intelligence (AI). Apple's AI rollout is staggered, but thankfully most features are already here.
iOS 18.1 was the first wave. It arrived in late October, nearly a month after the launch of the iPhone 16 series. It brought features like notification summaries, writing tools and the Clean Up tool in Photos.
The more impressive features arrived with iOS 18.2 in December. This version brought us the ChatGPT Siri integration, Visual Intelligence, as well as Image Playground, Genmoji and the Image Wand features.
There are a few remaining AI featurse that will arrive in iOS 18.3 and iOS 18.4 next year. We expect to see an all-new and much smarter Siri, and various smaller additions.
Also read: iPhone 16 AI features
There is one more upgrade that might go a bit under the radar, and that is a new modem (the Qualcomm Snapdragon X71), which should help with connectivity and ensuring you have better signal in more places.
Along with this modem, the iPhone 16 Pro also supports Wi-Fi 7 compared to Wi-Fi 6E on the iPhone 15 Pro, which is particularly helpful on crowded networks. The benefits are theoretically 2.4X faster speeds and lower latency, if you have an ideal connection.
Camera
A new zoom camera and impressive 4K120 slow motion
The 16 Pro is the first Pro model with a 5X zoom lens (Image by PhoneArena)
The iPhone 16 Pro has three cameras on the back, similar to the iPhone 15 Pro. For the most part, the two camera setups are mostly identical, but there are two big upgrades.
First is the switch to a longer, 5X telephoto camera, a change from the 3X zoom on the 15 Pro. And second, is the new 48MP sensor for the ultra-wide camera. The obvious benefit of a longer zoom is you get improved detail at 5X, 10X and further, great if you film concerts or anything far away really.
One of the big changes comes to the way you edit the look of your photos with improved Photographic Styles. These are Apple's advanced filters, and they debuted a long time ago, but previously, you had to select a Style when you take a photo, and you could not change it afterward.
With the 16 Pro, you can now change the look of a photo with a style after it's captured, which makes this feature much more useful. The Styles themselves now offer more controls, and you can get just the right look for a photo easier.
With the 16 Pro, you can now change the look of a photo with a style after it's captured, which makes this feature much more useful. The Styles themselves now offer more controls, and you can get just the right look for a photo easier.
In our dedicated camera test, the overall performance of either phone is pretty similar, but the iPhone 16 Pro pulls a little ahead thanks to a stronger telephoto performance.
Now let's take a gander at some samples, shall we?
Main camera
There seem to be no big hardware changes to the 48MP main camera. Both phones take virtually the same photos, so no upgrades here. Did we need major changes here? Probably not, but still, an improvement across the board would have been nice.
Zoom Quality
However, you are also losing a useful 3X optical zoom option, great for portrait mode shots. A 5X portrait is essentially a face shot and not quite as versatile or useful in real life, so we have mixed feelings about this.
Ultrawide camera
However, we have a new 48MP ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro, and that change is absolutely welcome. Expect improved low-light performance and better detail.
Selfie camera
Selfie shots look identical, and pretty good! The newer iPhone tends to give a slightly more exposure to the face, while the older iPhone goes for a more averaged exposure.
iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro camera samples
On the video front, we have a major new feature: 4K120 slow motion.
Previous iPhone models could only record 120fps at 1080p quality, not nearly as sharp as 4K. This is great news for creators. Apple paired the announcement with a music video for The Weeknd shot entirely on an iPhone in 4K120, and this just goes to show how impressive the quality is. 4K120 looks very cinematic and we cannot wait to test this more.
Also read: iPhone 16 camera
The 16 Pro also gets four studio quality mics for the first time and this helps not only with audio quality during calls, but also while recording video. Additionally, Apple has baked in improved wind noise reduction.
When you edit videos, you will notice a new Audio Mix feature, which allows you to isolate voices better from the background noise.
Finally, you have something called Visual Intelligence, which you bring up by long pressing on the Camera Control. This acts in many ways like Google Lens, so it can recognize an object in the frame and tell you more about it, or give you the opening hours of a restaurant and contacts to make a reservation.
The difference in the way Apple approaches this compared to Google Lens is just how easy it is to bring up this feature with the Camera Control.
Battery Life and Charging
A significant battery life improvement and faster MagSafe
Charging speeds are the same via wire, but the 16 Pro supports faster wireless charging (Image by PhoneArena)
A physically larger iPhone such as the iPhone 16 Pro sounds like the perfect opportunity to make a leap in battery life, and we get that indeed. Apple rates the iPhone 16 Pro for 27 hours of video playback, a big improvement from the 20 hours that the previous model is rated for.
The iPhone 16 Pro has a 3,582mAh battery, nearly 10% bigger than the previous model, which had a 3,274mAh battery.
We run our in-house battery tests on the iPhone 16 Pro and here is what we found.
PhoneArena Battery Test Results:
Also read: iPhone 16 Battery and charging
We had big hopes for faster charging on the 16 Pro, and we kind of get some of that, but not everything.
Wired charging remains disappointingly the same at around 20 watts. The iPhone 16 Pro, however, has one new trick: if you play a graphically-intense game while charging, you will notice that charging does not slow down, like it used to do before.
Apple can detect that and if you have a powerful enough charger, the iPhone will draw up to 40W of power, but only when you game, so that this does not slow your charging process. However, if you just leave your phone on the charger, the charging speeds are the same as before.
The iPhone 16 Pro also has much faster MagSafe at 25W, up from 15W on the 15 Pro.
Specs Comparison
And here is an overview of the iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro specs in a table:
| Specs | iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25mm | 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25mm |
| Weight | 199 g | 187 g |
| Screen | 6.3-inch OLED 120Hz | 6.1-inch OLED 120Hz |
| Processor | Apple A18 Pro New 3nm tech | Apple A17 Pro 3nm |
| RAM, Storage *Price expectations | 8/128GB for $1,000 8/256GB for $1,100 8/512GB for $1,300 8/1TB for $1,500 | 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB 8/1TB |
| Cameras | 48MP main 48MP ultra-wide 12MP 5X zoom 12MP front | 48MP main 12MP ultra-wide 12MP 3X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery Size | 3,582 mAh +9% | 3,274 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 20W wired 25W MagSafe | 20W wired 15W MagSafe |
- You can also use PhoneArena's tool to compare iPhone models.
Summary
The iPhone 16 Pro is a quite significant upgrade, probably the biggest in the iPhone 16 series.
It has a bigger screen and slightly longer battery life. You get a new 5X zoom camera and a new Camera Control button, plus a new and faster chipset. And of course, it supports all the new Apple Intelligence features.
With better sustained performance, it's a better phone for gaming as well.
Is it a game-changer compared to the iPhone 15 Pro? Not really. But it might just tickle the right places for those eager to get the latest and greatest. Don't feel obliged to upgrade, though, if you own the iPhone 15 Pro. However, those on an older model should consider getting the iPhone 16 Pro.
Next year, Apple is expected to introduce an all-new design to the iPhone 17 series, so keep that in mind.
Also read: iPhone 16 deals
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