iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: What has changed?

Intro

Two years of evolution have resulted in a new Pro iPhone that has a bigger screen, bigger battery, a faster chip and brand new AI capabilities.

At least that is what countless rumors and leaks have revealed so far about the iPhone 16 Pro. We will have the official data very soon – Apple has set its big launch event for Monday, September 9th.

But let’s not wait until then to get a glance of all the expected differences between the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro.

Design and Size

Bigger size and a pair of useful new buttons

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro look very much alike with flat sides and the familiar triple camera system on the back.

However, they are not exactly the same. The iPhone 16 Pro comes with a 6.3-inch screen, larger than the 6.1-inch display on the 14 Pro. The bezels around that screen are now slimmer for a more futuristic look.

You also get two new physical buttons. In place of the mute switch, the iPhone 16 Pro has the Action Button, which you can customize to pretty much everything with a few select presets and the endless possibilities of the Shortcuts app.

There is also a new Capture button dedicated to camera features only. It is positioned below the power key on the right side of the phone and it’s a capacitive one, so it won’t get accidentally triggered when you have your phone in your pocket. It is also said to work with not just the Apple stock camera app, but third-party camera apps as well. It will function much like a standard camera shutter button – a lighter press will let you lock focus and exposure, and a firmer press will capture a photo or start recording a video. Since it’s a capacitive button with a bigger area, you will also be able to swipe on it. This could be tied to zooming in and out, quickly swapping filters, or adjusting the strength of the portrait blur effect.

We love these new buttons, they are small changes that could go a long way.

And if you are curious about just the physical dimensions of these two phones, see below:

In summary, the iPhone 16 Pro will be a tiny bit bigger, but it will weigh less than the 14 Pro.

The 16 Pro will also use the fancier titanium material for the frame compared to stainless steel on the 14 Pro.

And did we mention the iPhone 16 Pro has a USB-C port, while the 14 Pro uses the older, proprietary Apple Lightning port?

As for the rest, it remains the same: IP68 water and dust protection, and the Dynamic Island with Face ID on the front.

The unboxing experience will be similar too with just a cable in the box and no charger.

Display Differences

We already mentioned the difference in screen size: 6.3 inches on the 16 Pro vs 6.1 inches on the 14 Pro, and the slimmer borders around the screen on the 16 Pro.

The other expected change is that the 16 Pro will be just brighter and easier to use outdoors. The 14 Pro reaches around 1,000 nits of typical brightness, while the 16 Pro is expected to be able to output 1,200 nits maximum typical brightness.

The Face ID module is not changing, however, and we work similarly on both phones.

Performance and Software

New A18 Pro chip comes with lots of promise… and AI

Apple has a new chipset ready for the iPhone 16 Pro, and we expect it to run faster and cooler. We still don’t have an official name, but it’s likely it will be called the Apple A18 Pro vs the A16 Bionic chip on the 14 Pro.

Apple is expected to jump to a new manufacturing technology using the next-gen 3nm process at chip maker TSMC, so we are optimistic.

The more important upgrade, however, might just be the humble upgrade to 8GB of RAM, up from 6GB RAM on the 14 Pro.

This is crucial for Apple Intelligence, which seems to only work on iPhones with 8GB of RAM.

A smaller yet important upgrade is the shift to the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem, which should deliver improved connectivity and better signal.

It’s also likely that the iPhone 16 Pro supports Wi-Fi 7 compared to Wi-Fi 6 on the iPhone 14 Pro. Some of the benefits include up to 2.4X faster speeds and lower latency.

Camera

Crisper ultra-wide camera and longer zoom on the 16 Pro

Both the 16 Pro and 14 Pro have a triple camera system on the back, but with a few significant differences.

The main camera remains a 48-megapixel sensor on both phones, but the iPhone 16 Pro will benefit from better processing of photos.

You also get a big upgrade for the ultra-wide camera. The 12MP ultra-wide snapper on the 14 Pro is getting replaced by a new 48MP one on the 16 Pro, and that one should perform better at night and give you the option for high-res capture.

Finally, the 3X zoom camera is replaced by a 5X tetraprism zoom lens. This is great if you want to film your kid’s concert or something far away, but it also means you will no longer have the native 3X zoom option (we loved that for portrait snaps).

For video, the big new feature might be the long anticipated high quality slow motion. The iPhone 14 Pro and earlier models maxed out at 1080p slow motion, and the 16 Pro is said to add 3K120 video with far more detail. This is a feature so advanced that many high-end cameras don’t yet support it, and it could transform creative video capture on the iPhone.

Battery Life and Charging

Expect a slight boost in battery life and even faster charging speeds

The physically bigger iPhone 16 Pro is also getting a larger battery, which we are very excited to see.

Rumors mention the number 3,577mAh, which is nearly 10% bigger than the 14 Pro (which has a 3,200mAh battery).

Apple rates the iPhone 14 Pro for 23 hours of video playback and 75 hours of audio playback, and we hope to see bigger numbers for the 16 Pro.

Of course, we will also be running our extensive in-house battery tests, once we have the iPhone 16 Pro and will provide you a lot more color about its battery life.

Another exciting possibility is the first bump in charging speed in years.

The iPhone 16 Pro is rumored to get 40W charging speeds, nearly double those of the 14 Pro (officially rated at 20W, but unofficially charging at around 25W). We are not certain this will come true, as Apple is very conservative about charging, but we hope it does.

Of course, MagSafe will be on board like before. And again, we could get faster 20W wireless charging, an upgrade from the 15W on the 14 Pro.

Specs Comparison

Summary

So, should iPhone 14 Pro owners upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro?

We say: yes.

If all the rumors come true, the iPhone 16 Pro will add quite a few fancy new AI tricks, it will have a more capable camera system, longer battery life and faster charging.

This checks all of our boxes.

We will learn if all those leaks and rumors were true next Monday, September 9th, so make sure to check back here to learn all the final details.