iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: What are the differences?

Intro

Previously few years, Professional iPhones had been out there in two sizes: a small 6.1-inch Professional mannequin and a big, 6.7-inch Professional Max model. However not anymore. The iPhone 16 Professional and 16 Professional Max each include bigger screens, in step with our elevated smartphone use.

However don’t be concerned about it getting a lot bigger bodily – with smaller borders across the display screen, it is just very barely greater than the 15 Professional.

This slight shift, nevertheless, has opened up new potentialities for Apple, and the 16 Professional is the primary compact iPhone to get a 5X tetraprism zoom digital camera, in addition to a big enhance in battery life. The checklist of recent options is lengthy, however different highlights embrace a revamped ultrawide digital camera, quicker MagSafe charging and one helpful new bodily button.

So let’s dive deeper and discover all of the variations between the iPhone 16 Professional and the present iPhone 15 Professional.

Design and Measurement

Barely greater measurement and a cool new Digital camera Management

The large design change within the iPhone 16 Professional is the bigger 6.3-inch display screen measurement and the diminished bezel round that display screen.

All of that makes for a extra futuristic search for the brand new mannequin, whereas staying in step with the principally compact dimensions these iPhones are recognized for. Nonetheless, by way of total styling, the 16 Professional seems to be quite a bit just like the 15 Professional.

Right here is the dimensions of the brand new mannequin vs the outdated one:

In abstract, in case you actually worth a smaller cellphone, you may discover the marginally smaller measurement of the iPhone 15 Professional, however for most individuals it isn’t a giant distinction.

Supplies are the identical: each fashions have that fancy titanium body with a brand new and what Apple calls a twice as sturdy “Ceramic Protect” entrance glass cowl for the 16 Professional.

iPhone 16 Professional colours

You continue to get 4 colour choices with a darker black mannequin, a white mannequin, a pure (Grey) mannequin and a Desert (gold) model.

It is a capacitive key, so you can not set off it unintentionally in your pocket. And it’s tied solely to digital camera options, however not simply to the Apple-made digital camera app – you also needs to have the ability to begin a third-party digital camera app with it.

As soon as within the digital camera app, you’ve gotten a half-press performance (say, to lock focus or publicity), after which a full press for capturing a photograph or recording a video.

And since it is a capacitive button, it additionally acts like a trackpad, so sliding your finger throughout it’s used to zoom out and in, or to rapidly cycle via picture filters, or varied different features. Actually cool!

As for the remainder of the design particulars, they continue to be the identical. This implies you get an IP68 water and dirt safety, USB-C port for charging (USB 3 speeds for knowledge switch), and the Dynamic Island with Face ID in it. The unboxing expertise adjustments a bit with a slimmer field made totally of recycled supplies, however you continue to do not get a charger within the field, in case you had been questioning.

Show Variations

A 6.3-inch display screen measurement might be the candy center floor for many individuals, and we’re glad that Apple has acknowledged that and is transferring to a barely bigger kind issue.

We even have slimmer display screen borders, however the most display screen brightness stays the identical. Curiously, the minimal brightness can now drop decrease than earlier than to only 1 nit, nice for bedtime use at night time.

There aren’t any main adjustments to Face ID both. Apple is claimed to be engaged on an invisible entrance digital camera and which may arrive in the future within the distant future, nevertheless it additionally could not, so do not maintain your breath for that. 

Efficiency and Software program

New A18 Professional chipset is a giant deal

Apple has performed spectacular issues with its A sequence iPhone processors and the M sequence chips in MacBooks, however new Qualcomm Snapdragon chips have caught up lately.

So the brand new A18 Professional chip within the iPhone 16 Professional has one thing to show. Fortunately, Apple makes the leap to second-gen 3nm tech with the A18 Professional. It delivers important enhancements to CPU and GPU efficiency, and the chip is constructed with AI in thoughts.

Apple additionally has higher thermal administration with 20% improved warmth dissipation, nice for gaming and different demanding duties.

Each the iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional appear to have the identical 8GB of RAM, which can also be the minimal requirement for Apple Intelligence (AI).

Apple’s AI rollout is staggered, so maintain in thoughts that for a number of the coolest options just like the ChatGPT integration, that you must wait till the top of the 12 months somewhat than have them the second you purchase your cellphone. Others, just like the all-new Siri, are anticipated to reach even later, within the first half of 2025.

There’s yet another improve which may go a bit below the radar, and that could be a new modem (the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75), which ought to assist with connectivity and making certain you’ve gotten higher sign in additional locations.

Together with this modem, the iPhone 16 Professional additionally helps Wi-Fi 7 in comparison with Wi-Fi 6E on the iPhone 15 Professional, which is especially useful on crowded networks. The advantages are theoretically 2.4X quicker speeds and decrease latency, when you’ve got a great connection.

Digital camera

A brand new zoom digital camera and spectacular 4K120 sluggish movement

The iPhone 16 Professional has three cameras on the again, much like the iPhone 15 Professional. However these will not be the identical cameras, and there are two large upgrades.

First is the change to an extended, 5X telephoto digital camera, a change from the 3X zoom on the 15 Professional. And second, is the brand new 48MP sensor for the ultra-wide digital camera.

The plain advantage of an extended zoom is you get improved element at 5X, 10X and additional, nice in case you movie live shows or something distant actually.

Nonetheless, you might be additionally shedding a helpful 3X optical zoom possibility, nice for portrait mode pictures. A 5X portrait is basically a face shot and never fairly as versatile or helpful in actual life, so we  have combined emotions about this.

There appear to be no large {hardware} adjustments to the 48MP principal digital camera.

Nonetheless, we’ve got a brand new 48MP ultra-wide digital camera on the iPhone 16 Professional, and that change is completely welcome. Anticipate improved low-light efficiency and higher element.

One of many large adjustments involves the way in which you edit the look of your pictures with improved Photographic Types. These are Apple’s superior filters they usually debuted a very long time in the past, however beforehand, you needed to choose a Type while you take a photograph and you possibly can not change it afterwards. With the 16 Professional now you can change the look of a photograph with a method after it is captured, which makes this characteristic way more helpful. The Types themselves now provide extra controls and you will get simply the correct look to a photograph simpler.

On the video entrance, we’ve got a significant new characteristic: 4K120 sluggish movement.

Earlier iPhone fashions may solely report 120fps at 1080p high quality, not almost as sharp as 4K. That is nice information for creators. Apple paired the announcement with a music video for The Weeknd shot totally on an iPhone in 4K120, and this simply goes to indicate how spectacular the standard is. 4K120 seems to be very cinematic and we can not wait to check this extra.

The 16 Professional additionally will get 4 studio high quality mics for the primary time and this helps not solely with audio high quality throughout calls, but additionally whereas recording video. Moreover, Apple has baked in improved wind noise discount.

If you edit movies, you’ll discover a brand new Audio Combine characteristic, which lets you isolate voices higher from the background noise.

Lastly, you’ve gotten one thing known as Visible Intelligence, which you deliver up by lengthy urgent on the Digital camera Management. This acts in some ways like Google Lens, so it will probably acknowledge an object within the body and let you know extra about it, or provide the opening hours of a restaurant and contacts to make a reservation. The distinction in the way in which Apple approaches this in comparison with Google Lens is simply how simple it’s to deliver up this characteristic with the Digital camera Management.

Battery Life and Charging

A major battery life enchancment and quicker MagSafe

A bodily bigger iPhone such because the iPhone 16 Professional feels like the proper alternative to make a leap in battery life, and we get that certainly.

Apple charges the iPhone 16 Professional for 27 hours of video playback, a giant enchancment from the 20 hours that the earlier mannequin is rated for.

Listed here are all of the official battery life numbers by Apple itself.

iPhone 16 Professional vs 15 Professional Battery Life Numbers

We do not know the precise battery measurement but (we’ve got to attend for the teardowns for that), however rumors predicted a 3,577mAh battery, almost 10% greater than the earlier mannequin, which had a 3,274mAh battery.

We had large hopes for quicker charging on the 16 Professional, and we type of get a few of that, however not all the pieces.

Wired charging stays disappointingly the identical at 20W (formally).

Nonetheless, the iPhone 16 Professional can have a lot quicker MagSafe at 25W, up from 15W on the 15 Professional.

Specs Comparability

And right here is an summary of the iPhone 16 Professional vs iPhone 15 Professional specs in a desk:

Abstract

The iPhone 16 Professional is a big improve, most likely the most important within the iPhone 16 sequence.

It has an even bigger display screen and noticeably longer battery life. You get a brand new 5X zoom digital camera and a brand new Digital camera Management, plus a brand new and quicker chipset.  And naturally, it helps all the brand new Apple Intelligence options.

With higher sustained efficiency, it is an ideal cellphone for gaming as properly.

The iPhone 16 Professional goes on pre-order on Friday, September thirteenth, and it’ll hit retailer cabinets the next week, on September twentieth.