Apple’s commonplace and Professional tiers of iPhones are extra completely different than they’ve ever been. That is what it’s best to contemplate when selecting between an iPhone 16 or an iPhone 16 Professional.
The Professional fashions of iPhone have been round for fairly a number of years, and it typically supplies house owners a number of benefits over the non-Professional model. For the iPhone 16 technology, going Professional provides a little bit bit extra to the general bundle.
Besides, some could not essentially consider the few-hundred distinction in value is definitely price going Professional for.
With each fashions now accessible from shops, that is what to look out for when evaluating the 2 fashions, before you purchase.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Specs
Specs | iPhone 16 | iPhone 16 Professional |
---|---|---|
Value (beginning) | $799 Greatest iPhone 16 costs |
$999 Greatest iPhone 16 Professional costs |
Dimensions (inches) | 5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 | 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 |
Weight (ounces) | 6 | 7.03 |
Aspect controls | Motion Button, Digicam Management |
Motion Button, Digicam Management |
Processor | A18 5-core GPU |
A18 Professional 6-core GPU |
Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
Show sort | 6.1-inch Tremendous Retina XDR | 6.3-inch Tremendous Retina XDR, ProMotion, always-on show |
Decision | 2,556 x 1,179 at 460ppi | 2,622 x 1,206 at 460 ppi |
True Tone | Sure | Sure |
Biometrics | Face ID | Face ID |
Connectivity | 5G (Sub-6GHz and mmWave), Gigabit-class LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, Second-gen Extremely Wideband NFC Emergency SOS by way of Satellite tv for pc, Roadside Help by way of Satellite tv for pc, USB-C (USB 2), Thread help |
5G (Sub-6GHz and mmWave) Gigabit-class LTE Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.3 Second-gen Extremely Wideband NFC Emergency SOS by way of Satellite tv for pc Roadside Help by way of Satellite tv for pc USB-C (USB 3) Thread help |
Rear Cameras | 48MP Fusion, 12MP Extremely Huge with Macro |
48MP Fusion, 48MP Extremely Huge, 12MP Telephoto with 5x optical zoom |
Video | 4K 60fps, 4K 60fps HDR with Dolby Imaginative and prescient, 1080p 240fps Slo-Mo, Cinematic Mode, Spatial Video, Macro Video, Sensor-shift optical picture stabilization, Motion Mode |
4K 120fps,, 4K 120fps HDR with Dolby Imaginative and prescient, 1080p 240fps or 4K 120fps Slo-Mo ProRes 4K 120fps with exterior recording, Cinematic Mode, Spatial Video, Macro Video, Sensor-shift optical picture stabilization, Motion Mode |
Entrance Digicam | 12MP TrueDepth, Autofocus |
12MP TrueDepth, Autofocus |
Battery Measurement (Video playback time) | As much as 22 hours | As much as 27 hours. |
Colours | Black, White, Teal, Pink, Ultramarine |
Black Titanium, White Titanium, Desert Titanium, Pure Titanium |
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Bodily dimensions
In earlier years, the usual iPhone and the Professional equal have been virtually an identical in dimension. That is not the case in 2024.
The iPhone 16 measures 5.81 inches lengthy and a couple of.82 inches extensive. By comparability, the iPhone 16 Professional is longer at 5.89 inches, however a bit thinner at 2.81 inches. The usual mannequin continues to be thinner, at 0.31 inches to 0.32 inches.
The bodily dimension distinction, in addition to the inclusion of different components on the Professional mannequin, signifies that the iPhone 16 Professional can also be heavier. At 7.03 ounces, the iPhone 16 Professional is simply over an oz heavier than the six-ounce iPhone 16.
The design of the 2 fashions is in the end very comparable, with a glass panel sandwich of a steel body. Whereas the iPhone 16 opts for aluminum, the iPhone 16 Professional as an alternative makes use of titanium, which ought to find yourself being a extra hard-wearing chassis over its commonplace counterpart.
Whereas the Professional fashions had the Motion Button in 2023 whereas the non-Professional used the mute toggle on the aspect, they’re all now utilizing the button. The parity additionally consists of the Digicam Management button, a brand new addition to all fashions, that lets customers take pictures shortly and alter the settings too.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Show
Whereas earlier fashions provided the identical bodily dimension of show, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional have completely different screens. The iPhone 16 has a 6.1-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional has a 6.3-inch model.
The scale distinction additionally means there is a variation in decision, however not by a lot. The iPhone 16 has a 2,556 by 1,179 decision and the Professional has a 2,622 by 1,206 decision.
There are marginally extra pixels on the Professional, nevertheless it’s an an identical pixel density at 460 pixels per inch.
Each shows are largely functionally comparable, as they each help Huge colour (P3), True Tone, and might go as much as 2,000 nits of brightness when used open air. The distinction ratio of two,000,000:1 can also be an identical.
The Professional mannequin’s display does come forward once more due to some Professional-specific options. There’s ProMotion, a know-how that permits an adaptive refresh charge of as much as 120Hz.
The non-Professional would not have ProMotion, so is caught with a most refresh charge of 60Hz. There’s additionally no always-on aspect both, as that is a Professional-only function too.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Cameras
There’s an apparent disparity between the 2 tiers. The Professional fashions have three cameras on the again, whereas the non-Professional have two.
Past that, the Professional iPhones proceed to supply much more advantages to avid photographers and videographers than the non-Professional line.
The 2 tiers each begin with the identical Fusion digicam, the brand new title for the Primary digicam of yesteryear. It is nonetheless a 48MP sensor, although the iPhone 16 has a wider aperture at f/1.6 over the iPhone 16 Professional’s 1.78.
Sensor-shift optical picture stabilization can also be right here, as is the digital digicam. Cropping into the center 12MP of the sensor creates a pretend 2x optical zoom for each variations.
The second digicam is the Extremely Huge, however the Professional makes use of a 48MP upgraded sensor whereas the 16 makes use of its 12MP model once more. This does imply you will get extra element in extensive photographs taken on the Professional vary.
The Professional additionally has the Telephoto, this time geared up with the Tetraprism lens throughout each sizes, so it has an optical 5x zoom.
Throughout each tiers, you get the TrueTone flash, the Photonic Engine and Deep Fusion computational images, Portrait mode, Photographic Kinds, Macro, Spatial Photographs, and Night time Mode. The Professional additionally will get Night time Mode Portraits, in addition to Apple ProRAW imaging help.
With regards to video, the Professional once more will get some appreciable benefits.
You may file 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient video at 60fps on the usual iPhone 16, however you may go to 120fps on the Professional. Each nonetheless profit from 1080p Slo-Mo hitting 240fps.
Cinematic Mode is obtainable throughout the pair, in addition to an Motion Mode, and 1080p Spatial Video recording, Macro, and Time Lapse modes.
The Professional extends its performance lead because of some issues that arrived with the iPhone 15 Professional technology. That 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient recording at 120fps may even be the ProRes model if you happen to benefit from the Professional’s exterior recording functionality.
Log video recording additionally solely seems on the Professional mannequin. As does help for the Academy Shade Encoding System.
Each fashions additionally acquire wind noise discount and Audio Combine options, however the Professional has a “studio-quality four-mic array,” which helps these options extra.
The entrance digicam is an identical between the pair of fashions. That is a 12MP TrueDepth entrance digicam with 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient recording as much as 60fps, Slo-mo at 1080p 120fps, and with Cinematic mode at 30fps. The Professional has the benefit of ProRes video help at as much as 4K 60fps.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Processing and efficiency
In a change to the previous couple of generations, Apple has determined to carry the brand new iPhones to the identical technology of A-series chip. Albeit not with the identical specification.
The iPhone 16 has the A18 chip, which consists of a six-core CPU with two efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores. This was mentioned by Apple to be 30% quicker than the earlier A16 Bionic, and it might additionally use 30% much less energy below the same load.
For the iPhone 16 Professional, it makes use of the A18 Professional, which has the same six-core CPU setup. Nevertheless this time Apple says the CPU is 15% quicker than the A17 Professional, whereas utilizing 20% much less energy.
For GPUs, the A18 has a five-core model whereas the Professional has a 6-core version. Every affords hardware-accelerated ray tracing for gaming, and velocity enhancements over their earlier generations.
Then there’s the 16-core Neural Engine, the essential half that can energy the Apple Intelligence performance. For the A18, it is twice as quick because the model within the A16 Bionic chip.
The A18 Professional’s Neural Engine can also be higher than the A17 Professional, however its profit is extra from a 17-percent enhance in complete system reminiscence bandwidth. It isn’t the doubling of transistors because the non-Professional advantages from, however fairly a extra environment friendly utilization.
So, it looks like there’s a little bit little bit of a distinction in efficiency on the playing cards, at the very least in comparison with earlier generations. With regards to Geekbench benchmarks, it reveals a comparatively small distinction between the fashions.
The Geekbench single-core scores are about 3,095 for the A18, and about 3,283 for the Professional. Likewise, the multi-core rating sees a 7,134 vs 7,874 pairing of the units.
This works out to be a single-core improve of about 6% for single-core duties, 10% for multi-core.
It is honest to say that you will see enhancements by way of graphics, for the easy purpose that Apple’s together with an additional core within the Professional mannequin.
For finish customers, there is definitely extra efficiency provided by the Professional mannequin, nevertheless it’s not that a lot. It is definitely not sufficient to maneuver the needle on Apple Intelligence both.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Connectivity
You do not count on a lot in the best way of variations in the case of connectivity. To some extent, there’s little to truly spot right here.
Each the usual and Professional fashions work on 5G networks with sub-6Ghz and Mmwave supported, together with Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA.
Native wi-fi connectivity is just about the identical, with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 3, NFC, and a second-gen Extremely Wideband chip in every. There’s even Thread networking help to be used with some sensible house units on HomeKit.
The one actual level of distinction comes from the USB-C port within the base.
The iPhone 16 Professional depends on USB 3 speeds of as much as 10Gbps to externally file video quick. This merely is not provided within the iPhone 16, which sticks to USB 2 speeds of 480MB/s.
With regards to satellite-based connectivity, each tiers of iPhone supply the identical options. Emergency SOS by way of Satellite tv for pc, Roadside Help by way of Satellite tv for pc, and Messages by way of Satellite tv for pc are all accessible to make use of.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Energy and battery
The iPhone 16 is claimed by Apple to have as much as 22 hours of battery life when used to look at regionally saved video. This shrinks to twenty-eight hours for streamed video however extends to 80 hours for audio playback.
The Professional definitely wins right here, with as much as 27 hours of utilization time for native video and 22 hours streamed. Audio playback grows a tiny bit to 85 hours.
As for recharging, each commonplace and Professional fashions can use MagSafe to recharge wirelessly at as much as 25W, or 15W with Qi2 or 7.5W with Qi.
Quick charging can also be doable on each over USB-C, with every in a position to attain a 50% cost in about half an hour when used with a 20W adapter or on the larger MagSafe charge.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Different options
Biometrics proceed to be provided by way of Face ID, dealt with by the TrueDepth digicam hidden within the Dynamic Island UI aspect.
Each are rated to IP68 water and mud resistance, so they may survive being at a depth of as much as 6 meters (19.7 toes) for as much as half-hour.
Crash Detection is obtainable as commonplace on each fashions, utilizing a set of sensors to detect if there was an affect.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Capability, colour, and pricing
The colour choice for the Professional fashions consists of Pure Titanium, Black Titanium, White Titanium, and a brand new Desert Titanium.
You get a little bit bit extra selection and selection with the iPhone 16, with choices consisting of Black, White, Pink, Teal, and Ultramarine.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional – Well worth the improve?
It is apparent that the iPhone 16 Professional is the higher system total when put towards the iPhone 16. However that is not likely the query being requested right here.
As a substitute, it’s best to contemplate whether or not paying an additional $200 is price it, given what the Professional supplies in trade.
Because it stands, you get a barely greater smartphone and show, a little bit of a velocity bump in the case of efficiency, and an additional digicam. That, and the data you are rocking the premium mannequin in your on a regular basis life.
To typical customers, that will not appear to be sufficient usually. Nevertheless, if you happen to’re a artistic skilled, there are nonetheless numerous options that can pull you to the Professional mannequin.
The Telephoto digicam with Tetraprism is one such function because you merely cannot zoom on the usual iPhone 16. Excluding the digital crop-based digicam, after all.
But it surely’s options like Log and ACES help, in addition to exterior recording, which ought to make creatives excited with the prospect of going for the upper-tier mannequin.
Getting an iPhone 16 and saving about $200 is a fairly whole lot contemplating the Apple Intelligence-based enhancements on show. That, and you may splash a few of your financial savings on an honest case for it.
But when that you must stretch your videography or images muscle tissue, you actually ought to be going Professional.
The place to purchase Apple’s iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Professional
Wi-fi carriers are providing incentives by means of trade-in offers and invoice credit on each the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional. At press time, the affords ship as much as $1,000 off. You may bounce straight to the promotions under or head over to our iPhone Value Information for simple side-by-side comparability.
- Increase Cell by way of Amazon: Save as much as $1,000 (no trade-in required)
- AT&T Wi-fi: Get an iPhone 16 Professional on AT&T with qualifying commerce
- Verizon Wi-fi: Get an iPhone 16 Professional on Verizon with eligible commerce
*Phrases and situations apply. Please see web site for particulars. And take a look at our iPhone offers roundup for much more affords.