Apple officially revealed the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max at an Apple event in September, and the great phones will be released as of Sept. 20. While it's fairly easy to mistake the design of the iPhone 16 Pro series for the older iPhone 15 Pro Max, there are a few key changes you should know about. Bigger displays, a new Camera Control button, and the A18 Pro processor highlight this year's upgrades. Like the new Google Pixel 9 Pro, Apple gave the iPhone 16 Pro complete feature parity with the bigger iPhone 16 Pro Max.
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So, is it time to upgrade? That probably depends on what phone you're currently using and whether you're willing to gamble on the unreleased Apple Intelligence features slated to drop later this year. Regardless of whether you're in the market for an upgrade, let's break down all the new features and changes found in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max this year.
Pricing, specs, and availability
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will launch Sept. 20 at retail prices of $1,000 and $1,200, respectively. The smaller phone comes with 128GB of storage, while the larger one has 256GB base storage. Both can be upgraded with up to 1TB at checkout, and come in four colors: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium.
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iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max SoC Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro Display 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR 6.9-inch 1320 X 2868 OLED, LPTO, 1-120Hz, 2000 nits Storage 128GB base, up to 1TB 256GB/512GB/1TB Rear camera 48MP Fusion: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture; 48MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view; 12MP 5x Telephoto: 120 mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture and 20° field of view 48MP, f/1.8, 1/1.3-inch main; 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide; 12MP f/2.8 Prism 5X zoom; LIDAR scanner Front camera 12MP camera ƒ/1.9 aperture 12MP f/1.9 with TrueDepth camera system Battery Up to 27 hours video playback 4,865mAh Charge speed 45W wired, 25W MagSafe Wired: 25W; Wireless: 15W (Qi2); MagSafe: 25W Ports USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) Type-C USB-C Dimensions 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 in. 163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm (6.42 x 3.06 x 0.33 in) Weight 199 grams 227g IP Rating IP68 IP68 Colors Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium Operating System iOS 18 iOS 18
Design and display
Largely the same, but with a bigger display and a new Camera Control button
It all starts with the design, which feels both familiar and different. The chassis is still made out of titanium and the back of the iPhone 16 Pro still looks like any iPhone from the last five years. However, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have a new Camera Control button on the right side of the phones, where the millimeter-wave cutout used to be. It uses a physical switch, but it's also touch-capacitive. This allows you to swipe and touch with pressure to control things like zoom.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are mostly the same size as their predecessors, but they pack bigger screens. The iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch OLED panel, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max packs a 6.9-inch OLED screen. They still both feature the Dynamic Island and ProMotion displays that can reach 120Hz refresh rates. They're covered in Ceramic Shield glass that's two times more durable than last year's version.
The back of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max is still matte glass, and the phones are offered in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium. The latter is the new color this year, and it's a mix of bronze and gold. The devices are on the heavier side, at 199 grams for the iPhone 16 Pro and 227 grams for the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Cameras
The two Pro phones are equal, and there's a new ultrawide sensor
Last year, buyers that wanted the best iPhone camera experience needed to buy the bigger-sized phone. The iPhone 15 Pro Max had the praised 5x periscope telephoto lens for optical-quality zoom, while the iPhone 15 Pro lacked it. This time around, you'll get the same great camera system regardless of whether you choose the iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max. It starts with the 12MP, f/1.9 front-facing camera, but the more exciting bits are on the back.
Both phones now have a 48MP Fusion main camera sensor with a 24 mm, f/1.78 aperture that can take 24MP or 48MP photos. It features second‑generation sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, and the large sensor size helps you get optical-quality 2x zoom from 12MP photos with sensor crop. In total, Apple says you get 5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out, and a 10x optical zoom range.
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That main lens is paired with a 48MP ultrawide that's new and improved this year, offering an f/2.2 aperture and a 120° field of view. The telephoto sensor is a 12MP lens with an f/2.8 aperture and a 20° field of view. These sensors are particularly improved for video quality, although camera performance in general on the iPhone 16 Pro series should be the best we've seen yet. Other key features include support for Spatial Videos and Photos, Camera Control, Smart HDR 5, 48MP macro photography, and Apple ProRAW.
Performance
The A18 Pro is more powerful than ever, but Apple Intelligence isn't here yet
Under the hood, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are powered by the A18 Pro system-on-a-chip. As our tests have shown, it's faster than last year's A17 Pro, and you can notice that in benchmarks like Geekbench 6. However, iPhones have long had way more power than is strictly necessary for a smartphone, so you probably won't notice that much of a difference in performance on a daily basis. If you're trying to make the jump to an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max from an older smartphone, the snappiness of these phones might feel fantastic.
The only iPhones not released this year that can run Apple Intelligence, which will debut later this year, are the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. That means it's very possible that you want to pick up an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max simply to gain access to Apple Intelligence. With powerful Neural Engines for on-device AI, these phones have the hardware to make them up to the task. Now, it's up to Apple to ship these highly-touted features.
We should emphasize that iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will not ship with Apple Intelligence available. These features are set to be released on a rolling basis, starting with the first wave of AI tools in October.
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Battery life is said to be improved, although Apple doesn't publish exact battery sizes. Instead, it likes to note battery life in terms of hours of video playback. The iPhone 16 Pro series has a few extra hours of video playback than the iPhone 15 Pro series, so you can expect marginally-better battery life. As always, your usage habits are the most impactful factor in determining the battery life of your smartphone.
The bottom line
A refresh as big as incremental upgrades get
Last year, it was the Action button and new cameras. This year, it's the Capture button, new cameras, and Apple Intelligence ... eventually. It's a shame that Apple didn't do more to spruce up the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max design, but there is enough here to make the upgrades meaningful — at least, as meaningful as they can be for an incremental update. If you're in the market for a "Pro" smartphone from Apple, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are your best bet.
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iPhone 16 Pro
- SoC
- Apple A18 Pro
- Display
- 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR
- Storage
- 128GB base, up to 1TB
- Battery
- Up to 27 hours video playback
- Ports
- USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) Type-C
- Operating System
- iOS 18
Apple's iPhone 16 Pro is the latest and greatest compact "Pro" phone. It features a larger 6.3-inch screen than last year's model and includes the new A18 Pro system-on-a-chip. There's also an upgraded rear camera system and a Camera Control button. It uses a physical switch as well as pressure and swipe support to give you more control over your pictures.
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iPhone 16 Pro Max
- SoC
- Apple A18 Pro
- Display
- 6.9-inch 1320 X 2868 OLED, LPTO, 1-120Hz, 2000 nits
- RAM
- 8GB
- Storage
- 256GB/512GB/1TB
- Battery
- 4,865mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
Apple's newest and biggest iPhone gets a slightly larger screen, new A18 Pro chip, a better ultra-wide camera, a new physical button for controlling the camera, and the ability to run Apple Intelligence. But with many Apple Intelligence features not quite ready, the overall experience here is still very similar to last year's iPhone, although it's a bit better in every way.
