With the launch of the new iPhone 16 family just a few weeks away, the Apple faithful will soon have to decide which model they will upgrade to. The smartphones will be closer than ever, but there are still some notable differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 pro.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (C-L) during an iPhone launch (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Apple will be releasing four models in the iPhone 16 family this year. The reality is that the two lines—the standard vanilla line and the professional line—each come with the base phone and a model with a larger display. I’m looking at the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus together, and the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max together, as our two comparisons.
Why The Choice Is Closer
Unlike previous years, when Apple worked hard to create a difference between the vanilla iPhone and the professional iPhone Pro models, 2024 will see far more commonality between the two handsets. Both will ship with the latest Apple Silicon A18 chipset and have more RAM. The increased power and working space these offer is needed to run the generative AI software (backronymed to Apple intelligence).
Of course, Apple Intelligence will not be available at launch on any of the iPhone 16 family; a limited set of features will be available through an iOS update in October, with the full suite not expected until late Q1 2025. You’ll have to wait for Apple’s iteration on the revolution.
It’s unlikely that Apple will completely sync the two models, it still needs to encourage and upsell to the Pro level, so expect the iPhone 16 Pro chipset to pick up the A18 pro branding and offer more cores (especially graphics cores) and more memory. As always, don’t expect Apple to list the memory in the technical specifications.
While the base model of the iPhone 16 should start with 128 GB of storage and step up to 256 GB or 512 GB, expect the iPhone 16 Pro models to start at 256 GB and step up to 512 GB or 1 TB.
The Camera Will Be The Big Difference
There’s an obvious difference between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, and that’s the camera. The iPhone 16 will pick up a new camera lens orientation to facilitate stereoscopic video recording. Still, it will remain a two-lens affair compared to the iPhone 16 Pro’s three-lens setup. That third lens will be a telephoto lens that should allow the iPhone 16 Pro to offer x5 optical zoom. It’s the same tetraprism periscope lens seen in the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year… whether the iPhone 156 Pro Max gets its own optical zoom upgrade remains to be seen.
No Difference In The New External Buttons
Last year, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max debuted the action button that allowed users to elect one of several actions or app launches that could be triggered. It was a key difference last year as it was only available on the Pro models. This year, it will be available across the full range, as will the new capture button tied to the camera functions. No difference there.
Faster And Larger Displays
Apple has not changed the iPhone or iPhone Pro display size since the iPhone 12 family. The iPhone 16 is not expected to have anything other than the same 6.1-inch display as previous models, while the iPhone 16 pro should see a slight size increase up to a 6.3-inch display.
The refresh rate on the two phones will remain the same, with the iPhone 16 running a slower 60hz refresh rate than the 16 Pro’s 120hz.
Battery And Charging
The iPhone 15 family currently offers wired charging at 27W and wireless charging at 15W. There are reports that Apple is looking to increase these numbers, but all of the signs point to the new power solutions only being applied to the Pro models. In this case, wired charging could rise to 40W while wireless charging moves to 20W.
Price
Apple has maintained the price bands on the iPhone family for the last few years. It could maintain the same prices this year or risk moving prices up $100 across the board. With flat year-on-year sales figures, the latter could be a gamble Apple may not be willing to take. Whether they do or not, the price gap between the vanilla and Pro models has been even more consistent. Expect the iPhone 16 Pro to be $200 more expensive than the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus to sit in the middle of those two, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max another $200 on top of the base iPhone 16 Pro.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 16 family on Tuesday, September 10, with US sales starting on Friday, September 20.