iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: these are the main differences

Curious whether the iPhone 16 Pro is a better fit for you than the iPhone 15 Pro? Check out the key differences here.

iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: these are the differences

The iPhone 16 Pro is now available and has all kinds of new features compared to its predecessor. The question is of course whether those differences are a reason for you to choose the iPhone 16 Pro. That is why we list them for you!

A refined housing

The iPhone 16 Pro builds on the design of the iPhone 15 Pro but introduces some significant improvements, particularly to the display and materials. Both models share a premium titanium frame, but iPhone 16 Pro features a new blasted titanium finish with a more refined texture. Apple also improved thermal management in iPhone 16 Pro, enabling a 20 percent increase in heat dissipation for improved performance when performing demanding tasks.

The iPhone 16 Pro is slightly longer, wider, and heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro. But the changes in size are minimal: the iPhone 16 Pro is 2.05 percent longer and 1.27 percent wider. The biggest change is in weight: the iPhone 16 Pro is 6.42 percent heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro. It’s a difference you’ll definitely notice.

A bigger and stronger screen

The most notable changes are the larger screen (6.3 inches versus 6.1 inches) and the thinner bezels (30 percent thinner). The minimum screen brightness has been improved to just 1 nit, making the display better suited for low-light environments.

The iPhone 16 Pro features a new generation of Ceramic Shield on the front, which is twice as strong as that of iPhone 15 Pro. Additionally, a new Desert Titanium color replaces the Blue Titanium option on iPhone 15 Pro. Other colors have also received minor changes.

A faster and more energy-efficient chip

The iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro chip is a moderate upgrade over the A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro, improving both performance and power efficiency. The A18 Pro is therefore 15 percent faster in CPU performance and 20 percent faster in GPU tasks.

Additionally, hardware-accelerated ray tracing is now 2x faster, enabling more realistic lighting and reflections in games, and the 16-core Neural Engine on iPhone 16 Pro gets 17 percent more memory bandwidth, improving AI tasks.

Improved cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro takes photography to the next level with some key improvements over the iPhone 15 Pro. Both models feature a 48-megapixel main camera, but the iPhone 16 Pro introduces a Fusion camera with a second-generation quad-pixel sensor for faster readout speeds and lower shutter lag.

The biggest leap forward comes to the Ultra Wide camera, which now also has 48 megapixels and offers improved low-light performance, especially for macro shots. iPhone 16 Pro also now has 5x optical zoom and new features that improve image clarity and background separation. Apple also now supports the JPEG-XL format for the first time, which produces higher-quality images with better compression.

The new camera controller

The iPhone 16 Pro has a new button, the camera control. You can find the camera control on the right side, below the lock button. It is not a physical button, but a button that works with Haptic Touch. This allows the control to be operated in different ways. For example, you open the Camera app with one press of the button. If you click again, you immediately take a photo. Are you switching on the video mode? Then a recording starts as soon as you press the camera control. So you no longer have to tap the screen to take photos or videos.

A longer battery life

The iPhone 16 Pro delivers up to 27 hours of battery life, a 17.39 percent improvement over the iPhone 15 Pro (up to 23 hours). In addition to the better battery life, MagSafe wireless charging has been improved from 15W to 25W, for a 66.67 percent faster charging speed when using a 30W or higher adapter.

iPhone 16 Pro Price

Of course, there is a price difference between the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro and that difference is currently more than 200 euros. You can buy the iPhone 16 Pro for an amount of € 1,229. For the iPhone 15 Pro you still have to pay € 1,015.

Conclusion: iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro

The differences between the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro aren’t revolutionary, but for some people they’re still a reason to switch. For example, if longer battery life is important to you. Or a better ultra-wide camera. For the average user, the improvements are nice, but probably not an immediate reason to switch from an iPhone 15 Pro.