One of the new products Apple’s first fall presentation become updated flagship smartphones.
The update turned out to be ambiguous. We compared all the parameters with last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, found 10 very small differences.
Table of Contents
Dimensions and design-the novelty is noticeably larger
📱 The sizes of the new iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are as follows:
▶ iPhone 16 Pro – 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25 mm, weight 199 g;
▶ iPhone 16 Pro Max — 163 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm, weight 227 g.
The case is made of the same titanium with a textured frosted glass back panel as last year’s models. The front panel has the latest generation Ceramic Shield coating. At the presentation, as is often the case, marketers cheated a little. The coating is almost identical to that of the previous model.
Available colors: black, white, gold and natural titanium.
📱 The dimensions of last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are as follows:
▶ iPhone 15 Pro – 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25 mm, weight 187 g;
▶ iPhone 15 Pro Max — 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25 mm, weight 221 g.
All the same materials, coatings and protective layers as the new models.
Available colors: black, white, blue and natural titanium.
Who has better dimensions and design: last year’s flagships are smaller in length, width, and weight. It is necessary to hold the devices in the showroom, new items can be unnecessarily heavy and large.
Even the color set of the iPhone 16 Pro is not impressive. Some people will like last year’s ones better.
Display – a small magnification, for the first time in recent years
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max received an increased screen diagonal. This is due to the increased size.
The screen size of the iPhone 16 Pro is 6.3 inches, while that of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 6.9 inches. This is still the same Super Retina XDR matrix with ProMotion and Always-On.
Due to the increase in size, the resolution has slightly increased. The pixel density, contrast, and brightness didn’t change in different modes. There is a strange option – a minimum brightness of 1 nit, but it is not yet clear what advantages it gives and what is the minimum brightness of its predecessor.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have the usual 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens, respectively. Super Retina XDR screen technology with ProMotion and Always-On.
The brightness values in normal mode, peak mode, and HDR mode are the same as those of the new product.
Who has a better display: the new product wins only because of the increased screen size. All other parameters are unchanged.
Iron — the difference in performance is 10-20%
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are powered by a 3-nanometer A18 Pro chip with 6 CPU cores and 6 GPU cores.
There are modifications for 128/256/512/1024 GB, the Pro Max model does not have a configuration with a 128 GB drive. The amount of RAM remained the same – 8 GB.
As always, the new product has become 15-20% more powerful than its predecessor. This will only be noticeable in performance tests, and you won’t be able to tell the difference in all other tasks.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are powered by a 3-nanometer A17 Pro chip with 6 CPU cores and 6 GPU cores.
There are modifications for 128/256/512/1024 GB, the Pro Max model also does not have a configuration with a 128 GB drive. The amount of RAM is 8 GB.
Who has better hardware: on paper, the new product looks more powerful because of the newer processor, but in practice the difference will only be in tests.
Camera-only the super-width differs
📱 iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max We received a slightly updated camera module: 48 MP / 1.78, ultra-wide 48 MP / 2.2, telephoto 12 MP/2.8. Optical image stabilization with matrix shift of the second generation is used. Available zoom 0.5 x, 1x, 2x, 5x. The indicators are the same for the regular version and for Max.
Because of the larger ultra-wide sensor, macro photos can be taken with a resolution of 48 MP. There is an anti-reflective coating on the lenses.
Record 4K Dolby Vision video at up to 120 frames per second. Supports QuickTake video up to 4K at 60 frames per second. There is ProRes recording up to 4K at 120 frames per second. You can record 1080p Dolby Vision video on the front-facing camera.
Microphones have been improved, and there is software processing to reduce wind noise.
📱 iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The cameras of last year’s models have the following parameters: 48 MP/1.78, ultra-wide 12 MP / 2.2, telephoto 12 MP / 2.8 (in the Pro Max model / 2.8).
Optical image stabilization with matrix shift of the second generation is used. Zoom levels of 0.5 x, 1x, 2x, and 3x are available, while Pro Max has an extreme value of 5x.
The cameras record 4K video at up to 60 frames per second without Dolby Vision. ProRes video recording up to 4K at 60 frames per second.
Who has better cameras: the iPhone 16 Pro update is ambiguous. On the one hand, the ultra-wide got a 48 MP matrix, which is also used for macro photography. On the other hand, the TV channel did not get the best zoom system from the iPhone 15 Pro Max model with a multiplicity of 5x. Why this is not a very successful decision.
To say unequivocally that the iPhone 16 Pro cameras are better in everything and that there will be a noticeable difference between the models in everyday shooting is impossible.
Other differences
▶ iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max get another new button-Camera Control. This is a touch key with a vibration response that captures clicks and swipes. It is used for the camera, can start shooting, switch modes and change settings.
▶ The autonomy of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has increased. Apple promises +4 hours of battery life. This makes the iPhone 16 Pro Max the most self-contained iPhone with 33 hours of video playback.
▶ The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max now support more powerful MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W with a 30W adapter or higher.
▶ iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max received a more modern Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 be) module instead of Wi-Fi 6E from its predecessor.
All differences briefly
▶ Dimensions and design: The iPhone 16 Pro is slightly larger and heavier.
▶ Screen: The iPhone 16 Pro is slightly larger, but the other settings are the same.
▶ Hardware: more powerful processor in the iPhone 16 Pro, the difference is still noticeable only in tests.
▶ Camera: on the side of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max 48-MEGAPIXEL ultra-wide, and the transition to 5x telephoto is an ambiguous decision.
▶ Other differences-the iPhone 16 Pro has a new camera launch button, increased battery life, and faster MagSafe charging.
Bottom line: As with the iPhone 16, the update is minor. There’s not even a difference in Apple Intelligence support here. Both generations of “proshek” will receive all the chips of the new AI.
The price difference between the devices will be approximately 10-12 thousand. It is not yet clear what exactly they should be overpaid for.
