iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 16 Pro Buyer’s Guide: All Differences Compared

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are Apple’s newest iPhones and follow last year’s iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, but how different are the two latest models, and what exactly does a “Pro” device offer?

Last year, the biggest new differences between the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro were the titanium frame, A17 Pro chip, and Action button. With ‌iPhone 16‌ and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌, both devices share new features like the A18 chip with support for Apple Intelligence, faster charging, stronger Ceramic Shield front glass, revamped Photographic Styles, the Camera Control, and Wi-Fi 7, but Apple’s “Pro” and non-Pro iPhone models are still fairly different devices.

Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two ‌iPhone‌ models is best for you, and serves as a way to clearly see what additional features and upgrades the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ brings to the table.

‌iPhone 16‌

‌iPhone 16 Pro‌

Anodized aluminum frame with color-infused glass

Blasted titanium frame

iPhone 16: 6.1-inch display

iPhone 16 Plus: 6.7-inch display

iPhone 16 Pro: 6.3-inch display

iPhone 16 Pro Max: 6.9-inch display

Thinner borders around the display

ProMotion with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz

Always-on display

More power efficient display

Available in Black, White, Pink, Teal, and Ultramarine finishes

Available in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium finishes

A18 chip

A18 Pro chip

“Advanced” dual-camera system

“Pro” triple camera system

48-megapixel Fusion main camera with ƒ/1.6 aperture

48-megapixel Fusion main camera with ƒ/1.78 aperture and larger sensor

12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture

48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture

Macro photography

48-megapixel macro photography

Support for new JPEG-XL format

Depth mapping for AR and portrait photography, allowing for more accurate background and subject separation, more realistic bokeh, and better AR experiences.

4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps, with playback speed controls

4K Dolby Vision video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps, 100 fps (Fusion) or 120 fps (Fusion)

1080p Dolby Vision video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps

1080p Dolby Vision video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps, or 120 fps (Fusion)

ProRes video recording up to 4K at up to 120 fps with external recording

Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps

Slo-mo video support for 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps (Fusion)

Studio-quality four-mic array

12-megapixel Telephoto camera with ƒ/2.8 aperture

0.5x, 1x, and 2x optical zoom

0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x optical zoom

Sensor-shift optical image stabilization

Second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization

True Tone flash

Adaptive True Tone flash

LiDAR scanner

Night mode portraits

Apple ProRAW

Shoot and instantly transfer 48-megapixel ProRAW images to Mac via USB 3

Record video directly to an external drive

ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (60 fps with external recording)

Log video recording

Academy Color Encoding System

USB 2 transfer speeds (up to 480Mb/s)

USB 3 transfer speeds (up to 10Gb/s, 20x faster)

DisplayPort support for up to 4K HDR video output

iPhone 16: Up to 22 hours of battery life

iPhone 16 Plus: Up to 27 hours of battery life

iPhone 16 Pro: Up to 27 hours of battery life

iPhone 16 Pro Max: Up to 33 hours of battery life

128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options (no 128GB on Pro Max)

iPhone 16: Starts at $799

iPhone 16 Plus: Starts at $899

iPhone 16 Pro: Starts at $999

iPhone 16 Pro Max: Starts at $1,199

The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ offers a large number of upgrades over the standard ‌iPhone 16‌. With just $200 difference to obtain a display with ProMotion and always-on functionality, a telephoto camera, and longer battery life, many customers will be able to justify getting the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ over the ‌iPhone 16‌. Other differences, such as a titanium frame, slightly larger display sizes, the A18 Pro chip, and a 1TB storage option are notable, but most significant are perhaps the devices’ fundamentally different rear camera setups. The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ unlocks many additional camera features, such as ProRAW and 48-megapixel macro photography, and benefits from an entire additional camera in the form of the 5x telephoto for a additional optical focal length option. Due to the scale and breadth of the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌’s improvements and features, many customers will be happy to opt for the high-end model.

The standard ‌iPhone 16‌ still offers many of the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌’s most compelling capabilities, such as Apple Intelligence support, the Camera Control, USB-C, Dynamic Island, and a 48-megapixel Fusion camera, at a lower price point. With a generous roster of advanced features, most customers will be happy with the ‌iPhone 16‌ or ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus, especially those who want a lighter device, do not care for the “Pro” rear camera setup or features like ProMotion and the always-on display, or cannot justify the $200 to upgrade to the high-end model. The ‌iPhone 16‌ is a very well designed and balanced device, especially for average customers and those coming from a much older model.

This article, “iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 16 Pro Buyer’s Guide: All Differences Compared” first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums