The iPhone 16 Pro is here, and you may be an iPhone 15 Pro owner wondering if it’s time for an upgrade. The answer to that question depends greatly on a few factors. How much can you sell your old iPhone for? What kind of trade-in deal can you get? How important are the hardware improvements to you? It’s that last question that is arguably the most important.
The great thing about iPhones is they basically last forever. They are fast and powerful, and Apple is known for releasing software updates for years. But a software update can’t get you a bigger screen, better processor or any of the physical upgrades you get with Apple’s latest phone. So here’s our breakdown of the key differences between last year’s pro model and the one you’ll get this year.
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro at a glance
The iPhone 15 Pro came out in 2023 as the flagship of the iPhone lineup. A new titanium build, an action button, and USB-C were the highlights of the phone, along with a super-fast A17 Pro processor.
The iPhone 16 Pro gets even faster with the Apple A18 Pro processor, along with a new Desert Titanium colorway, bigger screen, better battery, Camera Control, and a little later, Apple Intelligence.
Quick Comparison
| Display | 6.1-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED (1179 x 2556 pixels, up to 120Hz) |
|---|---|
| Processor | Apple A17 Pro |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Memory | 8GB |
| Cameras | 48 MP main, 12 MP 120-degree Ultrawide, 12 MP 3x Telephoto |
| Selfie camera | 12 MP |
| Size and weight | 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.3 mm, 187g |
| Colors | Black Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium |
| Geekbench (single-core) | 2,915 |
| Geekbench (multicore) | 7,213 |
| Display | 6.3-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED (1179 x 2556 pixels, up to 120Hz) |
|---|---|
| Processor | Apple A18 Pro |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Memory | 8GB |
| Cameras | 50 MP Main, 50MP 2x Telephoto |
| Selfie camera | 12 MP |
| Size and weight | 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.3 mm, 199g |
| Colors | Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium |
| Geekbench (single-core) | 3,380 |
| Geekbench (multicore) | 4,787 |
Same footprint, bigger screen, more power
This year, Apple improved the screen size of the Pro models by narrowing the bezels even further, allowing the iPhone 16 Pro to gain .2 inches more screen in what amounts to almost the same footprint. The phone is physically larger by a mere three millimeters in height and one millimeter in width. Despite that, you get more screen to play with. Personally, I’m a fan of the 6.1-inch screen that has adorned the iPhone Pro models of old, but I’m on board with this change. It wasn’t the screen I liked as much as the chassis.
The new pro model also gets a bigger battery over last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. It’s 3,582 mAh compared to the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3,274 mAh. Both batteries are considered Lilliputian by today’s standards, but Apple is able to go a long way with smaller batteries due to owning the entire phone from soup to nuts. Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro should be good for 27 hours of video streaming, though our own video streaming test clocked about 10 hours less. All the same, you’re getting a bigger battery and a more efficient processor. Apple also says you can get to a 50% charge in 30 minutes. Overall, it’s safe to say Apple upgraded the phone without sacrificing size.
The other significant difference between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro comes in the processor. The Apple A18 Pro is the fastest processor in an iPhone yet, as demonstrated by the increase in benchmark scores. The short version of it is, the new processor is faster and more power efficient — as it is every year. In terms of actual numbers, Apple had a lot to share.
The A18 Pro CPU is 15% faster than 17 pro, while the GPU is 20% faster over the processor last year. Ray tracing is two times faster, and the processor uses 20% less power to accomplish the same tasks. All of that is to say you’ll have a much better experience — particularly for creative tasks and gaming — and you’ll open apps a bit faster than before.
New camera hardware
Apple added a button to all four iPhone models this year — the Camera Control. This is a touch-sensitive button that allows you to control multiple aspects of your camera. Most notably, you can just press the Camera Control button to launch the camera, which is a feature that has been conspicuously absent in most iPhones to date. A half-press of the button brings up the interface, and you can swipe across the button to change those controls. You can change zoom, switch between cameras, adjust depth of field and more all through this button.
In practice, it takes time to get used to half presses, double half presses (to switch between controls manipulated by the button) and a full press to actually take the photo. Once you get used to it, you can quickly switch between cameras, or adjust photo styles through that one button. It’s pretty nifty, but you’ll want to practice with it before you try to capture your kid’s soccer game.
This year, Apple also upgraded the ultrawide camera to a 48-megapixel sensor which improves not only ultrawide photography, but also drastically improves macro capture. The new sensor brings a bit more parity to two of the three sensors meaning you can capture higher resolution photos with the main camera or the Ultrawide camera.
Adding to that, Apple increased the optical zoom on the smaller pro model to match the 5x optical zoom on the Pro Max. Last year, you had to compromise if you were like me and preferred the smaller-sized iPhone Pro. This year, it’s dealer’s choice.
Big video and audio upgrades
Apple added native 4K/120 frame-per-second capture to the camera’s arsenal this year. That allows you to capture slo-mo videos in 4K and also allows you to adjust the speed of video playback after the fact. That’s no small feat.
Speaking of adjusting things on the fly, Audio mix is a new feature that’s on the entire iPhone 16 range. Audio mix allows you to change the audio of a video captured in order to better focus what the mics are picking up. There are three new audio mix options called in-frame, studio and cinematic. In-frame emphasizes the audio that is within the captured frame, drowning out peripheral noises. Studio focuses only on the speaker in the shot, which cinematic still boosts the speaker, while bringing in other peripheral noises, so you can hear the speaker in context.
Price and availability
One of the biggest differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro is that you can still buy the 16 Pro. The iPhone 15 Pro might be a little tricky to track down. Carriers will still sell out their current inventory, but Apple is no longer producing the iPhone 15 Pro. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus is still available from Apple’s website, but not the 15 Pro nor the 15 Pro Max.
The good news is, the iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t cost any more than the iPhone 15 Pro. It still starts at $999. If you don’t own either one of the phones, you might be able to save a bit by picking up a renewed or used iPhone 15 Pro, but if your carrier no longer stocks it, you might otherwise be out of luck.
Bottom line
All told, the iPhone 16 Pro is a pretty incremental upgrade from the iPhone 15 Pro. There’s a new button, and new camera sensors, but a lot of what makes the iPhone 16 Pro attractive is keeping the same price point as its predecessor. You’re still getting all the benefits from the iPhone 15 Pro — including the titanium design and the action button — plus all of the new features for the same price as last year’s model.
Where it gets tricky is if you already have the iPhone 15 Pro and you’re looking to get in on that sweet Camera Control action. It’s pretty cool, there’s no doubt. In the hands of a shutterbug, camera control can be game changing. There’s also the upgraded camera sensors to consider.
As for the speed, sure it’s faster. It will last longer during sustained gaming. If you’re a gamer, this is a much easier choice to upgrade. But if you’re not, will opening an app a half-second earlier be all that life altering? Probably not. So in the case of current iPhone 15 Pro owners, it all depends on the trade-in deal you’re getting. If that’s amazing, then go for it — you won’t be disappointed. If not, then you’ll be ok to skip a year.
iPhone essentials we've tested and love
Keep your iPhone 15 or 16 charged up on the go with this excellent power bank that we still use daily.
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Whether you're keeping your iPhone 15 Pro or upgrading to a 16 Pro, Apple's own clear case is reliable and works with all MagSafe add-ons.