Apple’s reasonably sized iPhone 16 Pro (starting at $999) offers all the capabilities of the gigantic iPhone 16 Pro Max (starting at $1,099) without compromising usability. For the first time, the Pro matches the Pro Max feature for feature, with the same processor, cameras, buttons, and software wrapped up in a smaller package. This is great news for those who’ve stretched their budget (and their hands) on the larger model in the past to get specific Max features. If you need the biggest screen and longest battery life in an iPhone, the 16 Pro Max is still the way to go. For other creators, the 16 Pro offers a practically identical experience in a device that actually fits in your pocket for $100 less. That said, most people probably don’t need the slight bump in power and advanced camera modes offered by the Pro line, which is why the standard iPhone 16 (starting at $799) earns our Editors’ Choice award.
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.
Apple iPhone 16 Hands On
Design: Just a Few Nips and TucksThe iPhone 16 Pro looks nearly identical to last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, but don’t let the similarities deceive you. Apple has adjusted more than is obvious to the eye.
Left to right: iPhone 16, 16 Pro, 16 Plus, 16 Pro Max (Credit: Eric Zeman)
To start, it has grown a smidge. The 16 Pro measures 5.89 by 2.81 by 0.32 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.03 ounces, up fractionally from its predecessor (5.77 by 2.78 by 0.32 inches, 6.60 ounces). It’s also slightly bigger than the iPhone 16 (5.81 by 2.82 by 0.31 inches, 6.0 ounces). The Pro Max is significantly larger at 6.42 by 3.06 by 0.32 inches and 7.99 ounces, but the 16 Pro is in close proximity to its nearest Android competitors, the $999 Google Pixel 9 Pro (6.0 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches, 7.0 ounces) and the $999 Samsung Galaxy S24+ (6.2 by 3.0 by 0.3 inches, 6.95 ounces). Unlike the gargantuan Pro Max, the iPhone 16 Pro is comfortable to hold, use, and carry.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The 16 Pro carries over the titanium frame and Ceramic Shield glass of last year’s iPhone. Combined with the IP68 rating for protection against dust and water, you have what Apple claims is the most durable iPhone yet. Titanium is certainly strong, and Apple’s Ceramic Shield is plenty tough, but the Galaxy S24+ and Pixel 9 Pro both use aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and have the same IP68 rating. All of these phones are resistant to scratches, dirt, and water, but you should still use a case.
Apple keeps the Pro model color options muted this year. The 16 Pro is available in Black Titanium, Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, or White Titanium. We received the Black Titanium model.
Camera Control (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Apart from the size, the biggest change in the iPhone 16 Pro’s hardware is the new Camera Control key, which Apple bestows on all four iPhone 16 models. The Camera Control is positioned on the lower portion of the right edge, where it falls naturally under your finger or thumb. You can tap it to open and operate the camera. The power button is approximately 1.5 inches above the Camera Control, so you won’t confuse the two. The Action Button returns and is on the phone’s left side. I wish the Action Button were a bit larger and a bit farther away from the two volume keys, which are also on the left edge. All the buttons have outstanding travel and feedback.
Action Button (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The bottom edge of the phone houses a high-speed USB-C port, a microphone, and one of the phone’s two speakers. The other is located in a slit between the display glass and the top of the phone’s frame. You won’t find a physical SIM card tray anywhere because US iPhone models rely on eSIM only.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The triple-camera array on the rear is unchanged in design. It still contains three lenses mounted on a raised glass square, which is a significant bump.Display: Sizing UpApple has changed the script regarding the iPhone Pro displays. The iPhone 16 Pro’s display grows from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, while the 16 Pro Max swells from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches. The 16 Pro display has a resolution of 2,622 by 1,206 pixels with a pixel density of 460 pixels per inch (ppi), while the Pro Max has a resolution of 2,868 by 1,320 pixels, also with a density of 460ppi. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 carries over its 6.1-inch screen with 2,556 by 1,179 pixels at 460ppi.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Pro screens aren’t just about size. Both feature a variable refresh rate, which Apple has branded as ProMotion. The rate varies from 1Hz to 120Hz, which allows the Pro to have an always-on display—a standard feature among many flagship Android phones. The higher refresh rate makes for smoother performance when scrolling and gaming. The displays produce 1,000 nits of typical brightness, 1,600 nits for HDR, and 2,000 nits at their peak. The 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio gives you inky blacks and ensures that HDR content looks its best. I was able to use the iPhone 16 Pro in bright and dark environments with no problem. Comparatively, the Pixel 9 Pro features a 6.3-inch OLED display with 2,856 by 1,280 pixels at a density of 495ppi with up to 3,000 nits of brightness, and the S24+ has a larger 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with 3,120 by 1,440 pixels at a density of 513ppi with up to 2,600 nits.Performance: Speed BumpApple debuts a new processor with its new iPhones each year. For the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, that means the new A18 Pro chip. Apple says the A18 Pro has a 6-core CPU, a 6-core GPU, and a 16-core NPU (Neural Engine). The iPhone 16 Pro includes 8GB of RAM and is available with 128GB ($999), 256GB ($1,099), 512GB ($1,299), or 1TB of storage ($1,499). The A18 Pro cuts through apps and games like a warm knife through butter. It handles multitrack Garageband and iMovie projects like the pro it is and allowed me to make mincemeat of my enemies in Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. Nothing tasked the processor at all, though it warmed up a little when playing Resident Evil.
(Credit: Geekbench/3DMark/GFXBench/PCMag)
Running the iPhone 16 Pro through the usual bevy of benchmarks highlights its performance further. On Geekbench 6, a test that evaluates the CPU, the 16 Pro reached 3,279 and 7,855, respectively, for the single- and multi-core tests. For comparison, the iPhone 16 Plus with a regular A18 reached 3,091 and 7,129, the Galaxy S24+ with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor scored 2,289 and 7,075, and the Pixel 9 Pro with a Google Tensor G4 reached 1,961 and 4,718 on the same test.On the GFXBench Aztec Ruins test, which assesses GPU performance, the 16 Pro hit 58.8 frames per second (fps). Comparatively, the 16 Plus scored 57.5fps, the S24+ hit 83fps, and the Pixel 9 Pro hit 43fps.
The 3DMark Wild Life Extreme test also provides a glimpse at GPU performance. Here, the 16 Pro hit 4,592 total frames at 27.5fps, which is notably higher than the iPhone 16 Plus’ score of 3,881 frames at 23.2fps. Similar to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 Pro became warm while running benchmarks, though it didn’t get quite as hot and the heat didn’t appear to impact performance. Battery: Longer Than EverIf there’s one aspect of the iPhone 16 Pro that’s not as great as the 16 Pro Max, it’s battery life. The smaller size mandates a smaller battery. Thankfully, the 16 Pro’s battery size is up 9.4% from the 15 Pro to 3,582mAh compared with the Pro Max’s 4,685mAh. Apple says this battery lets the 16 Pro play local video files for up to 27 hours, stream online video files for up to 22 hours, and play audio for up to 85 hours. The good news here is that the 16 Pro makes solid gains over the 15 Pro, even if it can’t match the 16 Pro Max. And it still trounces the Android competition. Our battery test involves streaming HD video over Wi-Fi with the screen brightness set to the maximum. The 16 Pro lasted 20 hours and 33 minutes. That doesn’t quite match Apple’s claimed 22 hours, but it’s a huge improvement over the 15 Pro’s battery life of 16 hours and 45 minutes. The Pro Max, meanwhile, ran longer at 22 hours and 5 minutes. In comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro’s 4,700mAh battery lasted 17 hours and 25 minutes, while the Galaxy S24+’s 4,900mAh battery lasted 14 hours and 10 minutes. It’s notable that the iPhone 16 Pro lasts so much longer than its Android peers, both of which have significantly larger batteries.
USB-C port (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Apple has evened out the charging features across the iPhone 16 line. That means the 16 Pro supports the latest MagSafe wireless charging at a speedy 25W as long as you have a 30W adapter handy. It can also charge at 15W on Qi2 charging pads and at 7.5W on older Qi charging pads. The phone supports up to 45W wired charging, which is the fastest ever for an iPhone. You don’t get a charger in the box, but you do get a braided USB-C cable.Charging times are quicker across the board. Apple’s latest Magsafe charger replenished the 16 Pro’s battery fully in 71 minutes, which is significantly less than the 2 hours needed by the 15 Pro. The Galaxy S24+ charged a little faster at 60 minutes, while the Pixel 9 Pro needed 90 minutes.Connectivity: Strong SignalsThe 16 Pro has the exact same connectivity suite as the 16 Pro Max and performs at the same high level across the various wireless technologies contained within.It carries sub-6GHz (C-band) and mmWave 5G support and is compatible with most US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. I ran speed tests on Verizon’s network across New Jersey and New York City and saw excellent performance. The 16 Pro reached a download speed of 867Mbps and an upload speed of 201Mbps. The iPhone 16 Pro Max scored almost identical numbers, though a Pixel 9 Pro was a little slower at 674Mbps down and 131Mbps up. When tested with almost no signal at all, the phone still managed to reach 59Mbps down and 47Mbps up.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The phone’s Wi-Fi graduates from Wi-Fi 6E to Wi-Fi 7. This will largely impact performance down the road, but when tested on my home’s gigabyte 6E service, it reached outstanding speeds of 823Mbps down and 776Mpbs up, which, again, is on par with the 16 Pro Max (798Mbps/774Mbps) and better than the Pixel 9 Pro (451Mbps/465Mbps).Bluetooth 5.3 is on board for connecting to devices like true wireless headphones and Bluetooth speakers. Other networking standards include dual-band GPS, NFC, and Threads. Voice calls sound great even when you’re in noisy environments. The earpiece offers more than enough sound (74dB). The stereo speakers are loud enough for a small room (84dB) but they are a little weak when it comes to fleshing out the bass in our test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout.”Camera: A Video MachineApple has revived the dedicated camera button. All four iPhone 16 models include the new Camera Control, a touch-sensitive key on the side of the iPhone that opens the camera, as well as snaps photos and records video. It’s a quick way to launch the camere and access some of the camera app’s latest features.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
Using the Camera Control, you can access a handful of settings like exposure, depth of field, zoom, cameras, styles, and tone. Each of these is available elsewhere in the camera user interface, but Apple tethers them to the Camera Control for easier access. Tapping and swiping the key itself takes some practice—it doesn’t always do want you want or intend. Still, if you want to change the brightness setting or the color, it’s possible.
Ultra-wide camera (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Main camera (Credit: Eric Zemsn)
The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max share identical camera arrangements. Before now, the smaller Pro model has generally had a lesser telephoto camera. For example, the 15 Pro had a 3x telephoto lens while the 15 Pro Max had a 5x telephoto lens.
Main camera, 2x zoom (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Telephoto camera, 5x zoom (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The main camera has a 48MP main sensor with an aperture of f/1.78 and optical image stabilization. It combines full-resolution 48MP images with binned 12MP shots to generate 24MP final images. Apple says the 24MP photos offer the best balance of detail and exposure. The main camera is also responsible for capturing 2x zoomed photos with the central 12MP of the sensor. This is more or less the same arrangement as the 15 Pro series.
Ultra-wide camera (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Macro shot (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The ultra-wide camera jumps from a 12MP sensor in the 15 Pro models to a 48MP sensor in the 16 Pro with a 120-degree field of view and an aperture of f/2.2. You can take full-resolution shots or bin it down to 12MP. The 12MP telephoto camera supports 5x optical zoom and 25x hybrid zoom, while the TrueDepth selfie camera as a 12MP sensor with an aperture of f/1.9. These last two cameras appear to be carried over from the 15 Pro. The 16 Pro supports advanced file formats, including ProRAW and HEIF, in addition to jpeg.
Main camera (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Portrait (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Apple employs a lot of algorithms to create the iPhone’s final images. It’s often taking as many as nine shots each time you press the shutter button and pulling data from each frame before it merges them together. In this process, it’s brightening lows, tamping down highs, and treating the color. Not everyone loves this process and would prefer their phones to capture photos that more closely resemble what their eyes see. You can take such photos with the iPhone 16 Pro, but you have to dive into the new Tone control to make it happen reliably. Some will want to put in that work and others would rather just open the camera and snap away.
Selfie (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Portrait (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Whichever path you choose, you’ll get sharp photos that have lots of detail and little noise. Shots taken in low light or at night show a little grain, but less so than the iPhone 15 or iPhone 14. Photos from the ultra-wide camera look much better than those from the iPhone 16 or 16 Plus. The shots contain more detal and appear more balanced. Your selfies will look great, especially during the day. The default bokeh settings for portraits are a little over the top, but you can dial them back to a softer look. The iPhone 16 Pro is an impressive video capture tool. It can record 1080p or 4K video at 24, 25, 30, or 60 frames per second in Dolby Vision. It packs advanced modes such as Cinematic Mode, Action Mode, ProRes, Log, and Academy Color Encoding System, slow motion, time-lapse, and spatial audio/video. New this year is a Fusion capture mode that records at rates up to 4K120. The result is super smooth action as well as the ability to adjust the frame rate after the fact for dreamy slow motion. It has stabilized sensors and includes four microphones for audio capture.There’s no doubt in my mind that the iPhone 16 Pro has one of the top video capture suites available in a phone. Video looks great and the advanced modes give you an incredible degree of freedom to make adjustments afterward. Android phones have yet to match this level of video power. Software: Waiting on More SmartsiOS 18 is preinstalled on the iPhone 16 Pro. The phone will get at least five years of OS and security updates from Apple. Personalization features are among the biggest additions to the platform this year. For the first time since the original iPhone debuted in 2007, iOS users can place app icons and widgets anywhere they wish on the home screen. You can also recolor the icons, as well as make them bigger or smaller. It’s a cinch to change the lock screen shortcuts, rearrange the Control Center, and cycle through wallpapers. You finally have the power to make the iPhone experience yours.
iOS 18 customization (Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Much more is on deck. Beginning in October, Apple will push iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence. This first AI-infused update will bring features like Writing Tools and a revitalized Siri to the iPhone. Future updates will ad generative AI functions like Image Playground and Genmoji. These features are what Apple has been heavily marketing even though they’re not ready, so we’re anxious to test them once they arrive. Verdict: A Better Pro, for Pros OnlyApple has done a fine job retooling the iPhone 16 Pro. It contains meaningful updates this year that include a larger display, a turbocharged processor, a sharper telephoto camera, and a big jump in battery life. If you want a reasonably sized flagship phone with tons of power, it’s easy to recommend the 16 Pro. If you want an even bigger screen or the absolute longest battery life from an iPhone, the 16 Pro Max is the obvious choice. But it’s also worth noting that you probably don’t need the increase in power or the professional camera features offered by the Pro models, so the regular iPhone 16 is our Editors’ Choice winner and our top recommendation for most people.
The Bottom Line
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro has all the features and power of the Pro Max tucked into a smaller design that’s easier to handle.
Like What You’re Reading?
Sign up for Fully Mobilized newsletter to get our top mobile tech stories delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About Eric Zeman
Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics
I’m PCMag’s managing editor for consumer electronics content, overseeing an experienced team of reviewers and product testers. I’ve been covering tech for more than 22 years. Prior to PCMag, I worked at outlets such as Android Authority, Fortune, InformationWeek, and Phonescoop.
Read Eric’s full bio
Read the latest from Eric Zeman
