iPhone 16 vs iPhone 13: All the upgrades

What are the new features in the iPhone 16 compared to the iPhone 13, released three years prior? And is it finally time for iPhone 13 owners to make the switch?

Despite the three-year difference, the iPhone 16 looks quite similar to the iPhone 13, as both have a 6.1-inch size and similar design.

The iPhone 16, however, adds two new physical buttons, the Action button and the Camera Control, and it brings a higher resolution 48MP main camera compared to the iPhone 13.

Of course, it also has a new and faster processor, and it supports Apple Intelligence, which is not coming to the iPhone 13.

Unfortunately, the one most anticipated features – 120Hz ProMotion for smoother scrolling – is not on the iPhone 16 and will remain exclusive to the Pro versions for at least one more year.

Let's explore all the changes in more detail below.

From afar, the iPhone 16 looks very similar to the iPhone 13. After all, both phones have the same 6.1-inch size, flat sides and an Apple logo on the back. 

But once you take a closer look, you can spot the differences. 

The iPhone 16 gets two new physical keys. First, the Mute switch from the iPhone 13 is replaced by a new, programmable Action button, which you can set to various features and even use the Shortcuts app to expand those options.

Below the power key, you also get a new Camera Control. In many ways, this works like the shutter button on a real camera. It's a two-way key, so you can light-press it to lock focus, or a full click captures a photo or records a video. It is also a capacitive button, so its surface acts as a trackpad. You can swipe to zoom in, or adjust the background blur strength when shooting portraits, for example. Cool!

There are other, smaller changes to the style. The dual camera on the back is now a vertical one, instead of diagonal.

The back glass has a frosted finish, and is not glossy as on the iPhone 13.

And you have a USB-C port on the iPhone 16, a very welcome switch from the Lightning port on the iPhone 13.

Both devices have the same IP68 water and dust protection rating.

Has Apple improved the screen? Both phones have the same size 6.1-inch OLED screen, with the same 1170p resolution, but the iPhone 16 display gets brighter. The older iPhone 13 has a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, while the iPhone 16 hits at least 2,000 nits, which makes it easier to use outdoors. The 16 is not just brighter, it also gets dimmer at night, dropping to just 1 nit, so the light from the screen is not as intense.

And we already mentioned the big letdown – there is not 120Hz ProMotion on the iPhone 16! ProMotion makes for smoother scrolling and these days even dirt cheap Android phones have 120Hz.

Rumors say ProMotion might arrive on the vanilla iPhone 17 model in 2025, but that hardly helps now.

In the three years since the iPhone 13 launch, processor technology has improved and the iPhone 16 is significantly faster.

The iPhone 13 has the A15 Bionic chip built with 5nm technology, while the iPhone 16 is the first non-Pro iPhone to have a 3nm chipset, the Apple A18.

Just remember not to mistake this chip with the faster A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro models.

Even more important is the fact that the iPhone 16 has 8GB of RAM, up from 4GB on the iPhone 13. This allows the iPhone 16 access to all the new Apple Intelligence (AI) features, while the iPhone 13 misses out on AI.

You don't get a bump in storage, though. You still have a 128GB base model, as well as the option to upgrade to 256GB or 512GB.

The iPhone 16 is also likely to use a newer modem (the Snapdragon X70) compared to the iPhone 13 (Snapdragon X60), so signal should be improved in some areas.

We will be testing this with our in-house battery benchmarks very soon, so stay tuned for an update and more detail about the battery life on these two soon.

The iPhone 16 charges at the same 20W speeds via USB-C, but surprisingly, Apple adds much faster MagSafe wireless charging.

MagSafe now goes to 25W (up from 15W), but for that you need a new MagSafe charger and you have to connect it to a charging brick that outputs at least 30W. With those in place, you can get a 50% top-up in 30 minutes with wireless charging, faster than the MagSafe on the iPhone 13 which only tops up to around 35% in the same time frame.

   

Is it time for iPhone 13 owners to make the leap to the iPhone 16?

Our take is this: you could wait another year.

Sure, you get Apple Intelligence with the iPhone 16, but it will be a slow rollout and Apple has not addressed the main complaint for the regular model – there is still no ProMotion.

This leaves you with the new physical buttons, the few camera changes, the faster chip and slightly longer battery life. And we really like having a USB-C port on the iPhone 16, but that's probably not alone a reason to upgrade.

Of course, if you have the money, you will be happy with the iPhone 16 as it is improved all around, but if you really want a huge upgrade, we think it might be wise to hold off for the iPhone 17, or look into buying the much improved iPhone 16 Pro.