iPhone 16 Pro review: Apple's most advanced smartphone now has a larger display and its fastest processor to date

Apple's new iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are impressive phones with incredible performance and capabilities.

While they have a familiar exterior, they offer significant upgrades over their predecessors, like larger screen sizes, longer battery life, Apple's fastest mobile processors, an enhanced camera system, and a dedicated camera button. And the iPhone 16 Pro models are among a small handful that support Apple's new AI suite, Apple Intelligence.

The iPhone 16 Pro models are even more versatile as professional video recording tools with the addition of 4K 120 frames-per-second slow-motion recording. However, even casual users can enjoy the smooth 120Hz display and triple-camera system, which offer an enhanced premium experience over the base iPhone 16 models.

Our review covers both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, as both share the same performance and features except for display size and battery life. We tested the iPhone 16 Pro in Natural Titanium and the iPhone 16 Pro Max in White Titanium.

Design: A dedicated camera button and larger displays

Apple hasn't drastically altered the general design since the iPhone Pro 12. However, the Pro models are now made with titanium (introduced in the iPhone 15 Pros) instead of aluminum, and the iPhone 16 Pro models are slightly larger with 6.3-inch (Pro) and 6.9-inch (Pro Max) displays than the 6.1 and 6.7-inch displays of previous Pro models.

The year-over-year size differences are negligible, but you may feel it in the weight — it's minor, but it's there. Yet, the iPhone 16 Pros are lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro models, the heaviest iPhones I've tested.

As it does with every new generation, Apple narrowed the black borders around the display. It's usually so slight that it's hardly worth mentioning, but it's more noticeable on the iPhone 16 Pro models due to their larger display sizes. You get a greater sense that the display is edge-to-edge, especially on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 Pro models look more premium than ever before.

On the lower right edge is the new Camera Control button. It's designed as a shortcut to open the camera app but also handles camera functions like depth, exposure, and zoom. The iPhone has always had a camera shortcut button on the lockscreen, but the Camera Control is way more useful since it has a capacitive sensor that supports a variety of presses, light presses, and swipes. I go into more detail about how the button works in the camera section further down.

Carried over from the iPhone 15 Pro models, the Action Button — on the top left edge — is a shortcut button to 11 useful preset functions, like toggling the flashlight or recognizing a song playing in your surroundings. It's also capable of many more customizable functions with the Shortcuts app. With iOS 18, Apple added in-app functionality with the Action button, like unlocking your car, when used with the Shortcuts app.

Apple Intelligence: A huge improvement to Siri thanks to ChatGPT, but it still needs refinement

Apple Intelligence is the major new tool that brings several useful new functions and features to the user experience introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro's iOS 18.1 operating system. The base iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models also support the AI suite.

Apple Intelligence brings some nifty functionality to the iPhone 16 Pro, but it's clear that it's Apple Intelligence's first generation in the open, as some features could be streamlined and improved. Apple will add more features and improvements over time in coming iOS updates.

Siri with ChatGPT is much better for answering questions, but old Siri gets in the way

Any old iPhone running iOS 16.4 or later can run the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot app to get answers to questions, learn about a new topic, summarize articles, come up with trip itineraries, plan a workout routine, get help writing an email or document, and much more. However, Apple has integrated ChatGPT with Siri on iPhones with Apple Intelligence starting in iOS 18.2, so you can access the AI chatbot exactly as you would summon Siri.

Overall, Siri with ChatGPT is leagues better and more capable than old Siri. I like that it answers a simple question rather than offering me a bunch of links to work through, for example. It's also excellent for summarizing articles you're reading on Safari.

However, the experience can be somewhat confusing and muddled for asking questions, as you don't know whether old Siri or ChatGPT is going to answer your question — you'll only know after asking it when Siri asks you if it's OK to hand off your query to ChatGPT and a notice saying "Working with ChatGPT" appears.

If you want to make sure ChatGPT answers your questions, and you generally do, it's best to preface any question with "Ask ChatGPT [question]."

Siri is still handy for basic on-device tasks, like changing a phone setting, creating a reminder, setting a timer, and so on. Enhanced by Apple Intelligence, Siri can now conveniently send a photo you're looking at to a contact in Messages using just your voice.

You can also ask Siri how to do things on your phone, which should save you from searching on the web. However, it'll sometimes show you a list of instructions, which isn't useful, as the list disappears as you tap the screen to start step one. Depending on the task or even how you word your question, it'll give you a shortcut button that leads you to the relevant setting, which is more helpful.

Writing Tools can make it so you never have to write an email yourself again.

Writing Tools is a new feature for iPhones (and iPads and Macs) powered by ChatGPT, and it's arguably the most useful Apple Intelligence feature on the iPhone 16 Pro models. It can write an email (or any kind of prose) for you based on a prompt, change the tone of a draft, improve what you've already written, and proofread. It's also excellent for summarizing longer emails in the Email app (below), like a newsletter.

It's easy to pull up the Writing Tools menu on the iOS keyboard where it's available, mostly in Apple's own apps, like Mail, Pages, and Notes. Yet the experience is muddled again with third-party apps. It's available on Gmail and Google Docs, but you have to tap and hold the inside of an email or document to bring up the Writing Tool menu instead of finding the shortcut on the iOS keyboard. On some third-party apps, like Slack, Reddit, or Instagram, it's simply not available, and you'll have to create your text elsewhere, like the Notes app, Pages, or Google Docs.

Cleanup in Photos removes unwanted objects and people

The other big Apple Intelligence feature is Clean Up, an AI photo editing tool designed to remove unwanted objects and subjects. It's generally quite good at removing smaller details. For example, it effectively removed the pink bucket and slide in the photo below.

However, Apple Intelligence's Clean Up struggles with accurately predicting a background's texture. In the below test, it removed the dark blue car behind the white truck, but it replaced it with a mangled-looking fence. It also removed the red truck behind the white truck, but the textures that replaced the red truck also look distorted.

We tried the same alterations with the Google Photos app's Magic Editor feature running on the same iPhone 16 Pro Max that took the original photo and ran Apple's Clean Up feature. Google's tool did a much better job, and you'd be hard-pressed to know that the other cars were removed from the original photo unless you zoom in to spot the alterations.

The iPhone Photos app can also search for photos with descriptive context, and it works fairly well, but it's not a miracle feature. For example, it could easily find a photo with the description "toddler running with a red toy in his hand." However, it couldn't find a photo of "a baby with something in her teeth."

To note, the iPhone Photos search feature actually did better than Google Photos' search function in this test.

The Photos app can also create cute "Memory Movies" from your photos and videos using a text description, like "Halloween 2024" or "playing with the kids." It does a pretty good job of finding the relevant photos and videos based on your prompt, and the results will invariably bring a smile to your face. It also adds some background music, which is mostly appropriate but sometimes misses the mark. For example, it added "Jingle Bell Rock" to a prompt and Memory Movie that had nothing to do with Christmas.

Making new emojis and illustrations yourself when you can't find what you're looking for

The new Genmoji feature lets you create an AI-generated emoji based on a prompt for those times when you can't find the right emoji. For example, I made a "mind blown" emoji with a happy expression instead of the default shocked expression. It works, but you might need to be descriptive with your prompts, as simple prompts don't always work. For example, "mind-blown emoji with happy expression" doesn't produce the right result. Instead, I had to describe what I was after using the prompt "an emoji with a happy expression and a brain exploding upwards."

You can also create a cartoonish image of objects, scenery, contacts, and pretty much anything using the new Playground app — the strange app with a dog or cat that suddenly appears on iPhones with the iOS 18.2 update. It's fine, but it feels more like a novelty at the moment. It's fun to create AI-generated images of friends and family, but it tends to make teeth too large, which isn't very flattering in my case (above).

Performance: Incredible power and strong benchmark results

The iPhone 16 Pro models run on Apple's A18 Pro processor, which contains newer and more advanced components than the A18 in the base iPhone 16, including an extra graphics processor core. According to our benchmark results, it's a more powerful version of the A18 processor found in the base iPhone 16 models in almost every way.

For the iPhone 16 Pro models, that means faster overall performance for demanding tasks like video editing. Apple also boasted twice the ray tracing performance in games relative to the iPhone 15 Pros, though we've struggled to see any difference in lighting quality while playing games with ray tracing enabled on either generation.

In real-world usage, the difference in performance between the A18 Pro and the A18 may not be apparent. The base iPhone 16 opens and runs most apps as quickly as the iPhone 16 Pro, and games look just as good on the iPhone 16 as on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Still, the iPhone 16 Pro might give you an extra year of fast, snappy performance than the base iPhone 16 before it shows signs of slowing down, thanks to the A18 Pro's additional performance. For Apple Intelligence, the A18 Pro will also certainly outperform the iPhone 15 Pro models' A17 Pro chip in the long run as Apple introduces more complex and intensive AI features. However, there's little difference in day-to-day usage of the initial AI suite between the two models.

Using an iPhone SE (2020) running on the A13 Bionic processor and iOS 18 for reference, we can safely say iPhones running on Apple's base processors can maintain most of their performance for five iPhone processor generations. With that in mind, we can surmise the iPhone 16 Pro and the A18 Pro could run almost like new (assuming a healthy battery) for six generations, while the iPhone 16 and base A18 processor should hold up for five generations.

Note that long-term performance and longevity will vary from user to user, depending on factors like battery age, storage, and apps.

Display: Still the top-tier iPhone screens

If there's one advantage that the iPhone 16 Pro has over the iPhone 16, it's the display. Not only is it a bit larger, but the visual experience is significantly better.

The iPhone 16 Pro uses Apple's ProMotion OLED display, with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz for fluid animations and gaming. It can also reduce down to 1Hz for static images and the always-on display to reduce battery drain. Apple's ProMotion technology and always-on display continue to set apart the base and Pro models among the best iPhones, as the base iPhone 16 retains an outdated 60Hz display.

All iPhone 16 models — standard and Pro — can reach up to 2,000 nits brightness, which makes everything on the display clearly visible in vibrant color, even under bright sunlight. A super bright screen is an underrated and noticeable upgrade if you're coming from an older iPhone model with a lower maximum brightness, like the iPhone 13 Pro and older, or the base iPhone 14 and older.

Conversely, the display can now reach a minimum brightness of 1 nit for more comfortable viewing in darker conditions. The difference might seem minor compared to the 2-nit minimum brightness on the iPhone 15, but the iPhone 16 display is noticeably more pleasant to view in a dark room. Any parent who rocks their baby to sleep will also appreciate the iPhone 16 dimmer display, as it lets you pass the time on your phone with less risk of waking your baby from a bright display.

As for the bigger size, it's not a dramatic difference — you see an extra half or full line of text at the bottom of the screen, and images, videos and games appear slightly larger compared to previous Pro iPhones. Anyone who prefers larger displays should still gravitate toward the larger 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max. Still, those who thought 6.1-inch iPhone displays were too small, but the 6.7-inch displays were too big will appreciate the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro.

Cameras: 5x zoom is now standard, and new slow-motion 4K video capture

Besides the display, the camera system in the Pro models is one reason many users choose them over the standard iPhone. They offer greater photo and video shooting options, and pros and advanced users can tweak them to suit their production needs. From my experience in testing iPhones, the cameras and software deliver some of the best photos and videos taken with a smartphone, and the iPhone 16 Pro models continue that trend. However, despite new features like 4K 120fps videos, Dolby Vision video recording with the front camera, and even a new ultrawide camera, there isn't a convincing enough reason that the 16 Pro cameras are better than the 15 Pro models and warrant an upgrade.

Main camera and video quality

Introduced in the iPhone 16 series, the new "Fusion" name for the 48MP main camera highlights Apple's latest generation of Photographic Styles. These are essentially powerful filters that intelligently apply varying adjustment levels to different parts of a photo. For example, a vibrant style with saturated colors will reduce the effect on skin tone rather than blanketing an entire image with a color saturation boost and making skin tone look odd.

There are several new styles, enhanced controls for adjusting each style to your liking, and the ability to apply a Photographic Style to a photo you've already taken with any iPhone 16 model (it won't work with photos from older iPhones).

While the Pro models have had a 48MP main camera since the iPhone Pro 14, the 16 Pro's is new thanks to a faster sensor, which is supposed to help mitigate motion blur to capture sharper details on moving subjects, according to Apple's claim. However, I can't say I've noticed any improvement here compared to the iPhone 15 Pro. I get the same crisp results when taking photos outside on a sunny day and similar motion blur when taking photos in less ideal lighting conditions.

As far as photo quality is concerned, the main camera delivers similar detail and lighting. Color saturation is reduced ever so slightly compared to the iPhone 15 Pro, but photos taken with the iPhone 16 Pro have a slightly more natural look as a result. It's so slight that you might not notice it on certain displays, but we saw the difference on a MacBook Pro's display.

The real improvement from the iPhone 16 Pro's faster 48MP camera sensor is taking 4K videos at 120 frames-per-second (fps) in the Dobly Vision or ProRes formats. This new ability is primarily designed for capturing slow-motion 4K video, which can be appreciated by casual users, prosumers, amateurs, hobbyists, or professionals alike.

Be aware that 4K 120fps videos take up a lot of storage space. A 10-second test video takes up 165 megabytes, and Apple says a minute of 4K 120fps video can take up to 800 megabytes — almost a gigabyte. That's not ideal for most casual users; Pros, on the other hand, will likely record onto an external drive, which the Pro models are capable of. Plus, if you're not a fan of the "soap opera" effect from 60fps video, where motion appears smoother than a typical video (or even a typical TV show or movie), you're not going to like 120fps video.

But, if you like 4K 60 fps video from previous iPhones, you'll love the 4K 120 fps option in the iPhone 16 Pro models. It's incredibly smooth and details in motion look incredibly sharp — it almost looks sharper than 4K as there's barely any motion blur. Just note my warning about storage above.

Apple is still unbeaten when it comes to video quality, and by a notable margin, too. The iPhone 16 Pro models give you more confidence than with any other phone I've tested that videos will get the basics right, like colors, lighting, and sharpness. The iPhone 16 Pro models also have incredibly effective optical image stabilization to smoothen camera shake. The rest, like subject and composition, is up to you.

Ultrawide camera

The iPhone 16 Pro has a new 48MP ultrawide camera compared to the 12MP ultrawide from previous iPhones. There isn't a perceivable improvement in good lighting conditions, and I'm struggling to see improvements in darker conditions where a higher resolution camera is typically beneficial.

Either way, the iPhone 16 Pro's ultrawide camera on its own takes excellent ultrawide and macro photos in bright and dark conditions. I plan to test the ultrawide camera further and will update this review after long-term use.

Zoom camera

The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max have identical camera setups, with a 5x zoom camera, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro had a 3x zoom camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max had a 5x zoom.

Photos taken with the 5x zoom camera carry the same excellent balance of color, contrast, and brightness as the main camera. It still uses a 12MP sensor compared to the 48MP main and ultrawide cameras, but details are still crisp and clear.

Camera button

With the new Camera Control button, you can open the camera app and snap a photo or take a video more quickly and easily than previous methods, such as swiping left, pressing the camera icon on the lockscreen, or even using the Action button. The Camera Control button also makes this easier than ever with a single hand.

It's a little finicky at first to control camera functions, like depth, exposure, zoom, and switching Photographic Styles and Tones, but you can get used to it fairly quickly. It's best for adjusting zoom, as it offers more control than pinching on the display. Otherwise, it's another option to access those functions rather than a notable improvement or replacement of the existing methods.

For controlling these camera functions, it's still easier to hold the iPhone 16 Pro with two hands — trying to adjust zoom or any other function feels awkward if you're holding the phone with one hand, whether horizontally or vertically.

Here's what the Camera Control button does:

• A single press opens the camera app.
• A press while in the camera app takes a photo.
• A long press while in the camera app starts a video recording.
• A light press while in the camera app reveals zoom control by default.
• Swiping back and forth along the button adjusts the zoom level.
• A double light press and swiping changes the single light press's function, including depth, exposure, camera switching, Photographic Styles, and Tone.
• The iPhone 16 Pro remembers which control you last used, so you can quickly adjust it.

Battery life and charging: Longer lasting and faster MagSafe

The iPhone 16 Pro finished our battery test with 63% remaining, a notable improvement over the iPhone 15 Pro's 58% result. That's excellent for a phone of its size, beating the 6.3-inch Pixel 9's 60% result and the 6.2-inch Galaxy S24's 59% result.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max achieved a 74% result, which is also a notable improvement over the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 69% result. It also validates Apple's claim that the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the longest battery life out of any iPhone. We can further Apple's claim by stating the iPhone 16 Pro Max obtained the best battery test result of any phone we've tested. The previous record holder was the iPhone 15 Plus with a 73% result, which outperformed the iPhone 16 Plus' 70% score. See our guide to the best phone battery life for more information.

While the iPhone 16 Pro offers an improvement over the iPhone 15 Pro, don't expect any change to your daily charging habits. Rather, the iPhone 16 Pro's extended battery life offers greater confidence it'll last through your typical day while you continue to charge at your usual interval. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has the potential to last you two full days on a single charge, depending on your usage.

The entire iPhone 16 series supports Apple's second-generation 25W MagSafe charger (as well as the original 15W MagSafe charger). That means the iPhone 16 Pro can charge wirelessly at the same speed as wired charging with the USB-C port; Apple lists 50% battery charge in 30 minutes (35 minutes for the iPhone 16 Pro Max) for both wired and second-generation MagSafe charging.

Apple suggests at least a 20W charger for wired charging and at least a 30W charger for the second-generation MagSafe charger. The company doesn't include a charger with the iPhone 16 Pro, so check out the best iPhone USB-C chargers you can buy.

The iPhone 16 Pro's USB-C port still supports fast USB 3 speeds for transfers up to 10Gbps. That's invaluable for transferring large files, like ProRes video, between an iPhone and a computer or external drive. Note that the USB-C cable included with the iPhone 16 Pro doesn't support USB 3 speeds.

Keep in mind that USB 3 doesn't support Thunderbolt, even though both standards use the USB-C connector. If you've built up an ecosystem of devices around Thunderbolt, like a storage drive, it won't work with the iPhone 16 Pro. Also, USB-C devices that don't support USB 3 won't hit those higher speeds, either. However, Thunderbolt cables are compatible if you connect them to a USB 3 device.

Should you buy it?

If you own the base iPhone 14 or older and want to move up to the Pro series, the iPhone 16 Pro models will offer a dramatically improved experience thanks to the larger 120Hz displays, triple camera system, and Apple Intelligence supported by the powerful A18 Pro processor.

If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or older, you'll also notice a notable difference in battery life, cameras, and display quality. You could also justify upgrading from the iPhone 13 Pro or 14 Pro models, but the list of improvements is shorter for those generations, though the Action and Camera Control buttons offer new functionality.

With the iPhone 16 Pro Max, storage options start at 256GB, which is more generous than the 128GB that the iPhone 16 Pro starts with. The iPhone 16 Pro models are also the only iPhones currently available with up to 1TB of storage.

Upgrading to the iPhone 16 Pro from the iPhone 15 Pro wouldn't offer much of an improvement in overall experience or usage. Performance and camera quality are comparable, and the 15 Pro models also support Apple Intelligence. The iPhone 16 Pro models only offer better battery life, the Camera Control button, a 5x zoom camera if you have the smaller iPhone 15 Pro, and a slightly longer lifespan due to the newer processor.

The larger iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes can be appreciated by iPhone 15 Pro users (or those with any older iPhone), but I hesitate to say it's worth upgrading for that reason alone.

Similarly, while Apple Intelligence shows promise, it's not a reason on its own to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro. Rather, in its current iteration, it's a nifty set of features that will invariably improve dramatically over time, and you can enjoy it later on your natural upgrade path rather than rushing or forcing an upgrade.

Still, with the right offer from Apple, your carrier, or retailers like Best Buy, you could trade in an iPhone 15 Pro model for the cost of an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max.

See our guides to the best iPhone 16 Pro cases and best iPhone 16 Pro Max cases to protect either phone.