iPhone 16 Pro vs. 15 Pro vs. 14 Pro vs. 13 Pro: Should You Upgrade This Year? [CNET]

How the iPhone 16 Pro compares with its predecessors in terms of design, cameras and features.

A new iPhone Pro series often includes a number of additional perks to justify a premium price over the entry-level iPhone. These perks usually include a third telephoto camera — which has remained exclusive to the Pro series — and other newer features that debut on a Pro model and roll out to the standard iPhone a year later. For instance, the Action button debuted on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, but now it’s also available on the iPhone 16.

But while Apple keeps its base level iPhone on sale typically for two years after its initial launch, the Pro model usually gets discontinued after one year. That doesn’t mean you can’t find last year’s iPhone 15 Pro — it’s likely still in stock at physical stories while supplies last or available as a refurbished model — but the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will otherwise displace last year’s 15 Pro and Pro Max.

The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max each offer a slightly new design over last year’s Pro phones that could make a noticeable difference in how you use the phone. Both of this year’s Pro devices are shipping with larger screens, with the smaller Pro getting a larger 6.3-inch display (up from 6.1 inches on the 15 Pro) and the Pro Max getting even bigger with a 6.9-inch display (up from last year’s 6.7-inch display). 

The 16 Pro now has an identical camera to its corresponding Pro Max model, whereas typically the Pro Max would get a smaller enhancement. This includes a 5x optical zoom, which wasn’t available on last year’s 15 Pro but was on the Pro Max. All of the iPhone 16 devices, including the base and Plus models, get a new Camera Control button that provides quick access to photo and video modes. 

The iPhone 16 Pro will gain access to various AI features from Apple Intelligence, including a Visual Intelligence feature, which uses the camera and AI to identify objects and places around you. While the iPhone 15 Pro will also gain access to these features, the iPhone 14 Pro and earlier Pro models will not. These features will also include note summarization, an enhanced Siri assistant and Genmoji — a method of generating new emoji using a prompt.   

Apart from AI-enabled hardware, iPhone 16 Pro also shares features with the iPhone 15 Pro that aren’t available on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro. Those premium iPhones have a titanium finish introduced last year, which helps make the phones lighter than most earlier models despite their larger screen size. Both the 15 Pro and 16 Pro have USB-C ports instead of Lightning connectors, and both can record spatial video, which is a type of 3D video that you can watch on the Apple Vision Pro headset. An always-on display, Dynamic Island camera cutout and satellite connectivity for Emergency SOS are features available across all of these Pro models apart from the iPhone 13 Pro. 

We’ve outlined in the below specs chart all of the other differences between each of these iPhone Pro models, so you can see how the phone has evolved over the years. In recent years, upgrading year over year typically offers small differences, but jumping from an iPhone 13 Pro or earlier to the iPhone 16 Pro would be an impactful change.

iPhone 13 Pro vs. 14 Pro vs. 15 Pro vs. 16 Pro

	iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 14 Pro	iPhone 15 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels	6.1-inch OLED; 120Hz ; 2,556×1,179 pixels	6.1-inch OLED; 2,556×1,179 pixels; 120Hz adaptive	6.3-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display; 2,622 x 1,206 pixel resolution
Pixel density	460 ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	5.78 x 2.82 x 0.3 in	5.81 x 2.81 x 0.31 in.	2.78 x 5.77 x 0.32 in	5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches
Dimensions (millimeters)	147 x 72 x 7.65 mm	147.5 x 71.5 x 7.85mm	70.6 x 146.6 x 8.25 mm	149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	7.19 oz; 204g	206g (7.27 oz)	187g (6.6 oz)	199 g, 7.03oz
Mobile software	iOS 15	iOS 16	iOS 17	iOS 18
Camera	12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)	48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)	48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (3x telephoto)	48-megapixel (fusion), 48-megapixel (ultrawide) 5x telephoto
Front-facing camera	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel
Video capture	ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage)*	4K at 60 fps	4K	4K up to 120fps; spatial video at 1080p at 30fps
Processor	Apple A15 Bionic	Apple A16 Bionic	A17 Pro	A18 Pro
RAM/storage	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	RAM NA; 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Expandable storage	Undisclosed	None	None	No
Battery	No	Undisclosed; Apple claims 23 hours of video playback	Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 23 hours of video playback (20 hours streamed)	Up to 27 hours video playback; up to 22 hours video playback (streamed). 20W wired charging. MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W with 30W adapter or higher; Qi2 up to 15W
Fingerprint sensor	Undisclosed; Apple lists 22 hours of video playback	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)
Connector	Lightning	Lightning	USB-C (USB 3.0)	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None	None
Special features	ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz; lidar scanner; 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)	Dynamic Island; Always-On display; 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (e-SIM)	5G (mmw/Sub6), Action Button, Always-On display, IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent), satellite connectivity, eSIM, Thread networking technology	Apple Intelligence, Action button, Camera Control button, 4x audio mics, Dynamic Island, 1 to 2,000 nits display brightness range, IP68 resistance. Colors: black titanium, white titantium, natural titanium, desert titanium.
US price starts at	$999 (128GB), $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB), $1,499 (1TB)	$999 (128GB), $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB), $1,499 (1TB)	$999 (128GB, $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB), $1,499 (1TB)	$999 (128GB), $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB), $1,499 (1TB)