Two years of evolution have resulted in a new Pro iPhone that has a bigger screen, improved battery life and a faster chip. This is also the first smaller iPhone with a 5X zoom camera.
iOS 18.2 update: But the big news is that the iPhone 16 Pro supports Apple Intelligence, while the iPhone 14 Pro does not.
In late October, Apple pushed the iOS 18.1 update, bringing the first batch of Apple Intelligence features like notification summaries, writing tools and the Clean Up tool in Photos.
More recently, in December, the iOS 18.2 update delivered a much bigger chunk of AI features. You now have the following: ChatGPT support in Siri, Visual Intelligence with a long press on the Camera Control, the Image Playground app for AI image generation, the fun Genmoji, as well as Image Wand.
Some Apple Intelligence features have not arrived yet. We expect iOS 18.3 and iOS 18.4 in early 2025, and that is when we will get the all-new Siri with contextual awareness.
Get the iPhone 16 Pro at Amazon with Boost Mobile
The latest AI-enhanced iPhone 16 Pro is available for purchase at Amazon with Boost Mobile. The smartphone arrives for less than $1, provided that you pick a wireless service plan by Boost Mobile ($65/mo) and activate your device.
Go Pro Max without breaking the bank this year! The iPhone 16 Pro Max is currently available at the official Apple Store for up to $650 off with eligible trade-ins.
iPhone 16 Pro (on the left) has a similar size to the 14 Pro, but a bigger screen (Image by PhoneArena)
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro look very much alike, with flat sides and the familiar triple camera system on the back.
However, they are not exactly the same. The iPhone 16 Pro comes with a 6.3-inch screen, a bit larger than the 6.1-inch display on the 14 Pro. The bezels around that screen are now slimmer too, which looks cooler.
Here are the exact physical dimensions of these two:
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro
Height 149.6 mm
Height 147.5 mm
Width 71.4 mm
Width 71.5 mm
Thickness 8.25 mm
Thickness 7.9 mm
Weight 194 g
Weight 206 g
Screen Borders 1.2 mm
Screen Borders 2.2 mm
In summary, the iPhone 16 Pro is a tiny bit taller but has the same width. It also uses fancier and lighter titanium material for the frame compared to stainless steel on the 14 Pro, and because of that it weighs a bit less than the 14 Pro, but otherwise – it's very similar.
You also get two new physical buttons. In place of the mute switch, the iPhone 16 Pro has the Action Button, which you can customize to pretty much everything with a few select presets and the endless possibilities of the Shortcuts app.
The Camera Control on the 16 Pro (Image by PhoneArena)
There is also a new Camera Control dedicated to camera features only. It is positioned below the power key on the right side of the phone. It's a real button, which works with both the stock camera app and third-party camera apps as well. How does it work? A click takes a photo, and if you long press it, it will start recording a video. But that's not all – it also doubles as a miniature trackpad which you can swipe and tap. A double tap enters a menu where you can select between different adjustments and then you swipe left and right for things like zooming in and out, or changing between cameras. This second tapping and swiping part is a bit fiddly and it might just be easier doing those adjustments on the bigger screen. But the ease of having a button to start the camera, we like that.
And did we mention the iPhone 16 Pro has a USB-C port, while the 14 Pro uses the older, proprietary Apple Lightning port? The USB-C port also supports fast USB 3 transfer speeds at up to 10Gbps, so you can easily work with an external drive.
As for the rest, it remains the same: IP68 water and dust protection, and the Dynamic Island with Face ID on the front.
The unboxing experience is changing a tiny bit as Apple is using a slimmer box, but what is not changing is the minimal contents of the box. You only get a cable and some user manual with your new iPhone, no charger, cases or a screen protector.
Display Differences
6.3-inch screen on the 16 Pro and it has very slim borders (Image by PhoneArena)
We already mentioned the difference in screen size – 6.3 inches on the 16 Pro vs 6.1 inches on the 14 Pro, and the slimmer borders around the screen on the 16 Pro.
On papere, the 14 Pro reaches around 1,000 nits of typical max brightness, while the 16 Pro can output 1,200 nits, so it is easier to use outdoors. We, however, got similar max brightness numbers in our lab tests.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
What we loved way more is the minimum brightness on the 16 Pro, which can drop to just 1 nit. That is noticeably dimmer than the 14 Pro and makes it easier to use the phone in bed.
Another improvement is in the Ceramic Shield cover glass. On the 16 Pro, it's now 2X better at resisting cracks when you drop the phone, or at least that's the official claim, we did not test that. We don't think there is a change to scratch resistance, and we still got a few tiny scuffs after just a few days of use.
Performance and Software
New A18 Pro chip comes with lots of promise... and Apple Intelligence
A18 Pro chip is faster and more efficient (Image by PhoneArena)
Apple has a new chipset ready for the iPhone 16 Pro, and it runs both faster and a bit cooler. The name is Apple A18 Pro vs the A16 Bionic chip on the 14 Pro.
With it, Apple is making the jump to a new manufacturing technology, using the next-gen 3nm process at chip maker TSMC.
Benchmarks show a solid improvement, and apps open just a bit zippier.
The more important upgrade, however, might just be the humble upgrade to 8GB of RAM, up from 6GB RAM on the 14 Pro.
This is crucial for Apple Intelligence, which only works on iPhones with 8GB of RAM, so the iPhone 16 Pro supports Apple Intelligence and the 14 Pro does not.
Apple has pushed iOS 18.1 in late October bringing the first AI features to the iPhone 16 series, and they work well (notification summaries, writing tools, Clean Up in Photos).
But the big chunk of Apple Intelligence arrived with iOS 18.2 in December, bringing the ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence, Image Playground, Genmoji and Image Wand.
Finally, the third stage will be iOS 18.3 around March 2025 which should end with a bang and a fully revamped, smarter Siri.
Gamers will be happy to see new heat dissipation solution on the 16 Pro, which helps with overheating problems. However, we have to say that if you want a phone that runs cooler, you'd better look at the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It throttles much less because of its bigger body.
The 16 Pro also gets Wi-Fi 7 compared to Wi-Fi 6 on the iPhone 14 Pro, and some of the benefits of Wi-Fi 7 are up to 2.4X faster speeds and lower latency in ideal conditions.
Camera
Crisper ultra-wide camera and longer zoom on the 16 Pro
The 16 Pro camera is more powerful (Image by PhoneArena)
Both the 16 Pro and 14 Pro have a triple camera system on the back, but with a few significant differences.
The main camera remains a 48-megapixel sensor on both phones, but the iPhone 16 Pro benefits from better processing of photos.
PhoneArena Camera Score
Photo
Video
Phone
Camera Score
Photo Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
154
158
82
24
28
25
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
148
146
78
22
26
20
Phone
Camera Score
Video Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
154
150
76
23
27
24
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
148
150
79
23
27
21
Find out more details about photo and video scores for all phones we have tested on our PhoneArena Camera Score page
Main Camera
< iPhone 16 ProiPhone 14 Pro >
Daytime photos look very similar on the 16 Pro and 14 Pro. You have to pixel peep to notice the difference in detail, where the 16 Pro is a bit better.
Ultra-wide Camera
< iPhone 16 ProiPhone 14 Pro >
You also get a notable upgrade for the ultra-wide camera. The 12MP ultra-wide snapper on the 14 Pro is getting replaced by a new 48MP one on the 16 Pro, and that one performs better at night and gives you the option for high-res capture.
But if you just use the default 12MP photo settings, it is not the big difference you might expect.
You would need to use that full resolution to notice the change in detail on the 16 Pro.
Finally, the 3X zoom camera is replaced by a 5X tetraprism zoom lens. This is great if you want to film your kid's concert or something far away, but it also means you will no longer have the native 3X zoom option (we loved that for portrait snaps).
We also love the new Photographic Styles on the 16 Pro. Styles have been available on iPhones for a while now, but on the 16 Pro Apple is making them way more powerful with more controls. Best of all, you no longer need to select a Style before taking a photo, you can apply and change styles after you capture a photo.
For video, the big new feature is the long anticipated high quality, 4K120 slow motion.
The iPhone 14 Pro maxes out at 1080p slow motion, and the 16 Pro looks crisper. This is a feature so advanced that many high-end cameras don't support it yet, and it will transform creative video capture on the iPhone. Most Android phones lack this feature, except for one – the Sony Xperia 1 flagship series.
When you edit a video on the newer model, you can also use Audio Mix, which lets you cut out background noise and isolate voices better. All of this should work great with the new studio quality mics in the 16 Pro, which promise improved clarity for audio.
We should also mention that the iPhone 16 Pro will support Apple's new Visual Intelligence, which in many ways is similar to Google Lens. That feature is coming by the end of 2024. With it, you can point your camera towards objects in the real world to get information about them, but it's even more convenient as you can quickly fire it up with the Camera Control.
Battery Life and Charging
Longer battery life and faster MagSafe
The iPhone 16 Pro comes with a 3,582 mAh battery, is nearly 10% bigger than the 14 Pro and its 3,200 mAh battery. That is no small change.
Apple rates the iPhone 16 Pro for 27 hours of video playback, longer than the 23 hours for the 14 Pro. And the 16 Pro gets 85 hours of audio playback compared to 75 hours on the 14 Pro.
But we had to verify those numbers and for that we turned to our trusty in-house battery tests.
Interestingly, in our lightest web browsing battery test, the 16 Pro scores only slightly higher than the 14 Pro. And for YouTube video streaming, the 14 Pro actually scores a bit higher than the 16 Pro.
The new model, however, seems to have a more efficient processor and lasts way longer in our 3D gaming test.
Overall, we estimate real-life screen time of 6 hours and 35 minutes on the 16 Pro, a bit higher than the 6 hours and 16 minutes on the 14 Pro, but not by much.
For wired charging we get the same 20W speeds for both the 16 Pro and 14 Pro.
You get around 60% top-up in half an hour on both and a full charge takes around 1 hour and a half.
However, MagSafe wireless charging now reaches 25W vs 15W previously. You would need a new MagSafe charger (the 16 Pro is also Qi2 compatible), and you will need to pair that with a powerful charging brick that delivers at least 30W to get the full benefit.
When you have all of that in place, we measured that the 16 Pro can get 50% top up in 30 minutes with MagSafe, while the 14 Pro only gets around 32%. A full wireless charge now takes 1 hour and 44 minutes on the 16 Pro, faster than the 2 hours and 20 minutes we measured for the 14 Pro.
So, should iPhone 14 Pro owners upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro?
We say: it depends on how much you value Apple Intelligence, but generally, there aren't that many ground-breaking changes.
The iPhone 16 Pro is advertized with Apple Intelligence of course, but that will only arrive fully around the spring of 2025.
All the other changes are nice to have, but probably not convincing enough for the average user. The slightly improved cameras, the longer battery life, the faster MagSafe, cooler design with slim borders, USB-C and a lighter weight are the ones that stand out.
So for those who are not in a rush, rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Pro next year will bring the first major redesign in years and that might be worth waiting for.
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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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