5 ways the iPhone 16 series is actually different from the iPhone 15 line

During its “Glowtime” event, Apple revealed its iPhone 16 series of smartphones, including the higher-end iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Promising a collection of upgrades and refinements, the iPhone 16 Pro should be a tantalizing upgrade for new users or those thinking of upgrading from the iPhone 15 Pro.

I’ve been an active user of the iPhone’s higher-end Pro line for a long time. And for the past year, I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro. However, seeing that the iPhone 16 features a slightly larger display, its faster A18 chip, and the improved 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, I’m considering upgrading. Adding to this, the iPhone 16 Pro is launching with a few notable color options that speak to me.

Here’s everything you need to know about what makes the iPhone 16 Pro different from the iPhone 15.

1 iPhone 16 Pro supports a slightly larger 6.3-inch display

The new smartphone’s display is slightly larger than its predecessor’s

Apple

This year, Apple is refining the display size of its base Pro model. The iPhone 16 Pro features a 6.3-inch display, a notable increase from the iPhone 15 Pro’s 6.1-inch screen. To help support this increase, the iPhone 16 Pro is a bit larger than its predecessor at 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.33-inches (8.25 x 149.6 x 71.45mm). While the thickness remains the same, it’s slightly taller and wider than last year’s model.

The 6.3-inch display is coupled with ProMotion and an Always On screen. For someone like myself, who has stopped using the Pro Max models due to the sheer weight of the device, I’m glad that this year’s model is only 8.01oz (227g) versus the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 7.80oz (221g). The bump in display size is a step closer to the Pro Max line without completely committing to the size and scope of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

2 Behold, the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro processor

Building off the bones of the A17, the new chipset is poised to support higher performance

Apple

iPhone 16 Pro introduces a faster A18 Pro chipset. During its Glowtime event, Apple stated that the A18 Pro chip has a six-core CPU that’s 15 percent faster than A17 Pro. The chipset is built on second-generation 3nm technology. Beyond that, the A18 Pro should improve the processing power as well as help power Apple Intelligence and machine learning performance. As Apple is leveraging baked-in Apple Intelligence AI features, the A18 Pro’s 16-core Neural Engine will be crucial to its success.

The iPhone 15 Pro featured the A17 Pro chip, opening up the doors for game developers to port over larger AAA games to the smartphone. As someone who’s been dabbling in the gaming investments between Apple and third-party developers, I’m hopeful the A18 Pro brings more partners on board. The A18 continues to support ray-tracing and up to five times higher frame rates on iPhone 16 Pro. During the keynote, Apple announced Honor of Kings: World will be the latest game optimized for Apple’s silicon.

3 Introducing the iPhone 16 Pro’s Camera Control

Apple is making it easier to take photos and videos with the iPhone 16 Pro

Apple

The iPhone 16 Pro introduces a brand-new button, joining the ranks alongside the power, volume, and Action buttons. Apple explained that the new Camera Control button is designed to make it easier to take photos and videos. Located on the same side as the iPhone’s Power button, the camera button features several uses for content capture.

As explained by Apple, lightly pressing the button activates the autofocus, and swiping the button left or right activates the zoom-in and zoom-out functions. By pressing the Camera Control button, users can snap a simple photo. Earlier this year, I wrote about how I’ve been using the Action button to streamline content capture. The new Camera Control does that for me, so I can use the Action button for voice memos or jotting down a note. This feature is also available with the standard iPhone 15.

4 Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro introduces a 48-megapixel ultra-wide lens

Complimenting the 48-megapixel main camera, the iPhone 16 Pro includes a new ultra-wide lens.

Apple

Unfortunately, the iPhone 16 Pro continues to use the same 48-megapixel main camera with an f/1.78 aperture as the iPhone 15 Pro. That being said, though, shutterbugs can look forward to the new 48-megapixel ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture. In addition to the Ultra-Wide lens, the iPhone 15 Pro will also adopt the Tetraprism Telephoto lens that was exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year.

In addition, Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro is getting various new camera features. This includes the ability to shoot 4K videos at 120fps, which is perfect for slow-motion videos. The iPhone 16 Pro is also getting support for ProRes 4K video when connected to external storage. Plus, there’s built-in software to reduce background noise during video capture.

Related

What did you think of Apple’s latest event?

Another day, another Apple event in the history books. At its ‘Glowtime’ keynote, we saw the tech giant announce the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and Apple Watch Series 10, and if you ask me, the entire thing felt underwhelming. Maybe it was all the time the company spent covering Apple Intelligence, a topic it covered extensively early this year at WWDC 2024, or the fact some devices, such as the Watch Ultra 2 and AirPod Pro, were mentioned but did not get hardware upgrades. One thing I’m glad for are the new health and accessibility features Apple has coming down the pipeline. But what did you think of the event? Are you excited about the company’s new hardware slate? 

5 iPhone 16 Pro features a new selection of colors

While there are several familiar options, the Desert Titanium is a winner in my books

Apple

It wouldn’t be an iPhone launch without a smattering of new colors. In typical Apple fashion, the company is again leveraging familiar color tones across the iPhone 16 Pro lineup. This year, users will find the iPhone 16 Pro available in four colors: natural titanium, white titanium, black titanium, and the new desert titanium.

The iPhone 15 Pro is currently available in natural titanium, blue titanium, white titanium, and black titanium. The iPhone 16 Pro continues to emphasize the use of titanium coating. The titanium colorways are slightly tweaked, with a darker color tone for black titanium and a lighter tone for white titanium. On the iPhone 16 side, this year’s colors include black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine.