Smartphone Review Updated for 2026

iPhone 16 Pro Review: Small Upgrade, Big Camera Jump

We bought an Apple iPhone 16 Pro at full retail price and carried it as a daily driver for three weeks — benchmarking the A18 Pro chip, shooting thousands of photos on the new camera hardware, and running it against the iPhone 15 Pro and two Android flagships. Here's what actually changed.

OurComparisons Mobile Team Reviewed independently · Unit purchased at retail

9 min read Published Oct 2, 2024 Updated Aug 3, 2026

Apple iPhone 16 Pro in natural titanium finish on a desk — Our review unit — iPhone 16 Pro, 256GB, Natural Titanium

For two years, the smaller iPhone Pro was the one with the asterisk: same design language as the Pro Max, noticeably weaker camera hardware. The iPhone 16 Pro is the first small Pro to close that gap almost entirely, borrowing the Pro Max's full 48MP triple-camera system, its 5x tetraprism telephoto lens, and the same A18 Pro chip — all while staying pocketable at 6.3 inches.

That's the headline. The rest of the phone is a more familiar story: a slightly larger, brighter display, a new Camera Control button that's genuinely useful once you learn its quirks, and Apple Intelligence rolling out in stages rather than arriving complete on day one. None of it is revolutionary. Most of it is the kind of steady refinement that makes a two-year-old iPhone feel dated without ever feeling obsolete.

The iPhone 16 Pro doesn't reinvent anything — it just finally gives the small Pro the camera hardware to match the Max, and that's the upgrade that actually matters.

At a glance

Our quick verdict

Four things we scored independently before landing on an overall rating.

Best Feature

Methodology

How we tested the iPhone 16 Pro

Every score below came out of the same four-stage process, not a spec-sheet comparison.

Camera shootout

Same scenes shot side by side against the iPhone 15 Pro and a Pixel 9 Pro, in daylight, low light, and 5x zoom.

Battery rundown

Looped 4K video and mixed daily use from full charge to shutoff, three separate runs on the same unit.

Performance benchmarks

Geekbench 6, 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, and a 20-minute sustained gaming session to check for thermal throttling.

Real-world carry

Three weeks as a daily driver, tracking how the Camera Control button and Apple Intelligence features held up outside a lab.

In-depth review

Six things worth knowing before you buy

Full strengths, weaknesses, and specs for each part of the phone we tested.

Camera System

48MP Fusion + 5x Telephoto

9.4/ 10

Best FeatureCamera Control

This is the real upgrade. The 5x tetraprism telephoto lens — previously Pro Max-only — makes it onto the small Pro for the first time, and the new 48MP Ultra Wide finally captures usable detail instead of a soft, noisy afterthought. The Camera Control button takes a session to learn but becomes second nature fast.

Strengths

5x optical telephoto finally on the small Pro model
48MP Ultra Wide is a genuine step up in detail and low light
4K120 Dolby Vision video is a first for iPhone

Weaknesses

Main sensor image quality is close to last year's model
Camera Control's press-vs-touch gestures take practice

48MPMain sensor

48MPUltra wide

5xOptical zoom

4K120Dolby Vision

Design & Display

6.3" LTPO Super Retina XDR

9.0/ 10

Compact Pro

The display grows from 6.1 to 6.3 inches without the phone feeling noticeably bigger in hand, thanks to thinner bezels. The grade 5 titanium frame is the same lightweight, fingerprint-resistant material as last year, now with slightly more rounded corners that make it more comfortable over long sessions.

Strengths

Larger screen without a larger footprint in the hand
Titanium frame stays light at 199 grams

Weaknesses

Design is nearly identical to the iPhone 15 Pro at a glance
Still no under-display Face ID or fingerprint sensor

6.3"Display size

199gWeight

IP68Water resist.

4Colors

iPhone 16 Pro running a graphics benchmark

Performance — A18 Pro

6-core CPU / 6-core GPU

9.3/ 10

Fastest Yet

The A18 Pro is a meaningful step over the A17 Pro in sustained workloads, not just peak benchmark numbers. Our 20-minute gaming session showed less frame-rate drop-off than the iPhone 15 Pro, and the extra 16-core Neural Engine headroom is clearly built for the on-device Apple Intelligence features rolling out through iOS 18.

Strengths

Noticeably better sustained performance under load
Runs cooler than the A17 Pro during extended gaming

Weaknesses

Most apps still can't use the extra headroom day to day

A18 ProChip

8GBRAM

16-coreNeural Engine

USB 3USB-C speed

Battery & Charging

3,582 mAh · 40W wired

8.3/ 10

All-Day

Battery life is a modest but real improvement over the iPhone 15 Pro, enough to comfortably clear a full day of mixed use for us. It's still not the standout feature of the phone — the Pro Max's bigger cell remains the better pick for genuinely heavy users — but the smaller Pro no longer feels like a compromise here.

Strengths

Comfortably lasts a full day of mixed use in our testing
40W wired charging is noticeably faster than the 15 Pro

Weaknesses

No charger included in the box
Trails the Pro Max on heavy video and gaming days

3,582mAh capacity

40WWired charging

25WQi2 wireless

USB‑CPort type

iPhone 16 Pro showing the iOS 18 home screen

Software — iOS 18 & Apple Intelligence

iOS 18 · Apple Intelligence (beta)

8.7/ 10

AI Features

Apple Intelligence is the phone's marketing centerpiece but arrived in stages after launch rather than complete on day one, and several headline features stayed in beta for months. What is available — writing tools, notification summaries, cleaner Photos search — works well; there's just less of it at launch than the keynote implied.

Strengths

Writing Tools and notification summaries are genuinely useful
Long software update runway typical of Apple's Pro line

Weaknesses

Several Apple Intelligence features shipped after launch, not at it
Siri's overhaul is the least finished part of the rollout

iOS 18Out of box

BetaApple Intelligence

US EnglishLaunch language

~6 yrsTypical support

iPhone 16 Pro price tag at a retail store

Price & Value

From $999

8.5/ 10

Starting $999

$999 for 128GB is the same starting price as the iPhone 15 Pro, which makes this one of the rare Apple upgrade cycles where you get meaningfully more camera and chip for no extra money. Since the iPhone 17 Pro's launch, the iPhone 16 Pro has been discontinued from Apple's own lineup, so pricing now depends on carrier deals and resellers.

Strengths

Same $999 starting price as the outgoing iPhone 15 Pro
Meaningful camera and chip upgrade for no extra cost at launch

Weaknesses

No longer sold new directly by Apple as of the iPhone 17 launch
128GB base storage feels tight for 48MP ProRAW shooters

$999128GB

$1,099256GB

$1,299512GB

$1,4991TB

The competition

How it stacks up against 8 rivals

Where the iPhone 16 Pro lands against Apple's own lineup and the top Android flagships, sorted by our overall score.

Rank	Model	Price	Chip	Score	Best for
1	Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra	$1,299	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	9.2	Best S Pen & Zoom
2	Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max	$1,199	A18 Pro	9.1	Best Battery Life
3	Apple iPhone 16 Pro	$999	A18 Pro	8.9	This Review
4	Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	$1,099	Tensor G4	8.7	Best AI Camera Features
5	Google Pixel 9 Pro	$999	Tensor G4	8.5	Best Software Support
6	Apple iPhone 15 Pro	~$799	A17 Pro	8.2	Best Value Pro
7	OnePlus 12	$799	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	8.1	Fastest Charging
8	Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra	~$899	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	7.8	Best Older-Gen Deal

Buying guide

Who should actually buy this one

Four factors that decide whether the iPhone 16 Pro is the right pick for you.

Coming from iPhone 13 or older

Three-plus generations of camera, chip, and battery gains stack up. This is the group who will feel the upgrade hardest.

Camera-first buyers

The 5x telephoto and 48MP Ultra Wide finally match the Pro Max. If photography drives your upgrade, this is the model that delivers it in a smaller body.

Compact-flagship loyalists

It's the only current Pro that stays under 200 grams and fits comfortably one-handed. If the Pro Max feels too big, this is still the smaller option.

Budget-conscious upgraders

If a 5x telephoto lens isn't a priority, the standard iPhone 16 or a discounted iPhone 15 Pro gets you most of the daily experience for meaningfully less.

FAQ

Questions readers ask us most

If yours isn't here, reach out and we'll add it.

Is the iPhone 16 Pro worth upgrading from the iPhone 15 Pro?

For most 15 Pro owners, no — the design and main camera are very similar. It's a stronger case if you shoot a lot of zoom photos, since the 5x telephoto and improved Ultra Wide are the biggest real-world gains.

What's the actual difference between iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max?

Camera hardware and chip are now identical. The Pro Max gets a larger 6.9-inch screen, a noticeably bigger battery, and a higher 256GB starting storage tier, for $200 more.

Does the iPhone 16 Pro get the full Apple Intelligence feature set?

It shipped in stages as an iOS 18 update rather than complete at launch, and Siri's deeper overhaul was the slowest piece to arrive. Writing Tools, notification summaries, and Photos search landed first and work well.

How much better is battery life than the iPhone 15 Pro?

A modest, real improvement in our testing thanks to the slightly larger cell and a more efficient chip, enough to comfortably clear a full day. It's not the reason to upgrade on its own.

Can I still buy the iPhone 16 Pro new in 2026?

Apple discontinued it directly from its own lineup after the iPhone 17 launched in September 2025. You can still find it through carriers and resellers, often at a discount off the original $999 price.

Still have a question? Get in touch with our editorial team →

OurComparisons Mobile Team

We buy the phones we review, test them against a fixed rubric, and publish updates whenever a model gets refreshed or a price changes. This review is updated whenever Apple ships a significant iOS update.

iPhone 16 Pro Review: Small Upgrade, Big Camera Jump