The 2024 iPhone lineup poses a few of the common challenges in selecting the correct mannequin for your self. One of many extra apparent dilemmas, we reckon, is between the vanilla iPhone 16 and the small-size Professional model. Positive, the iPhone 16 Professional is a extra succesful package deal, however do you actually need all of its Professional-ness and is not the plain 16 really better-suited for some of us because of its extra pocket-friendly (in a couple of means) attributes?
Let’s look into it.
Desk of Contents:
For starters, you possibly can evaluate the whole specs sheets or instantly proceed with our editor’s evaluation within the textual content beneath.
Dimension comparability
The iPhone 16 takes a significant victory within the very first chapter of our comparability – it is virtually 30g lighter than its extra esteemed stablemate. Whereas they’re roughly the identical measurement (the Professional is 2mm taller and 0.5mm thicker – virtually negligible variations), the 2 telephones differ considerably of their weight and the plain 16 is tangibly lighter and extra comfy to make use of with one hand. After all, the 16 Professional feels dense – there is a kind of a premium impression to its heft packed in a comparatively compact physique, however the web result’s a extra stress-free in-hand expertise with the iPhone 16 than what you’d get out of the Professional.
The Professional mannequin’s body is made from a titanium alloy, whereas the common 16 makes use of aluminum. So the Professional simply is perhaps higher geared up to face up to bumps and knocks. Then again, in accordance with the most recent knowledge, each apparently use the identical third-gen Ceramic Protect on the entrance, so maybe scratch and shatter resistance must be on par.
One other factor that each must be equally good at is surviving a dunk in (contemporary) water – they’re each rated for as much as half-hour all the way down to 6m underwater.
Show comparability
The load distinction could be at the very least partially attributed to the iPhone 16’s barely smaller show – it goes hand in hand with the thicker bezels in what’s roughly the identical footprint. The 6.1″ vs. 6.3″ diagonal would not make a big affect on operation, however there’s one other nuance that could be extra vital – refresh fee. Apple remains to be retaining the non-Professional fashions at 60Hz, and we really feel like that is unacceptable in 2024, a lot much less on the iPhone 16’s worth level. That stated, for those who’re one who would not see or care about excessive refresh fee, the 120Hz 16 Professional panel could also be wasted on you.
Outdoors of measurement, refresh fee and bezels, the 2 shows are very a lot on par. They each stand at 460ppi pixel density, with the general variety of pixels decided by the diagonal, they usually each will max out at 900nits on the slider and twice that in auto brightness mode. You get HDR10 and Dolby Imaginative and prescient help on each, too.
Battery life
Apple has handled the whole 2024 lineup to a battery capability improve, with the 16 Professional getting essentially the most vital bump (by 9.4%) to three,582mAh. The common 16’s cell obtained nudged 6.3% to an basically similar 3,561mAh.
In our testing, we obtained significant enhancements in battery life on each telephones when evaluating with the respective fashions from the earlier era. That stated, the iPhone 16 had an edge over its Professional counterpart in all assessments – not an enormous distinction, however it could possibly add up.
Charging pace
Charging energy scores and speeds are a little bit of a grey space within the Apple world, with the official specs stating one thing to the tune of ‘as much as 50% cost in half-hour with 20W adapter’ on just about all current fashions. We examined with beefier chargers and obtained to the excessive 50s in half-hour on each telephones, with a full cost taking roughly 1:40h. The half-hour result’s half-decent, however the full cost time is fairly sluggish. Both means, nothing to separate the 2 fashions right here.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Professional each help wi-fi charging, maxing out at 15W with generic Qi2 pads, or 25W with proprietary MagSafe pucks (plugged into 30W+ adapters).
Speaker check
Each iPhones characteristic hybrid stereo speaker setups with one driver on the underside, and one other one up high that additionally doubles as an earpiece.
Unusually sufficient, the iPhone 16 was a bit louder in our testing and earned a ‘Very Good’ ranking for loudness, subsequent to a merely ‘Good’ iPhone 16 Professional. Each sound fairly good although, so going non-Professional will not be a downgrade.
Efficiency
The iPhone 16 options the Apple A18 chipset – a two-gen leap in computing tech in comparison with the iPhone 15 – it is a second-gen 3nm chip that’s each extra highly effective and extra environment friendly. The 16 Professional, however, makes use of the A18 Professional – additionally a 3nm chip.
Each SoCs characteristic six-core CPUs, whereas GPUs are totally different even on the floor – 5 cores on the A18, 6 on the A18 Professional. A extra in-depth look reveals they not solely differ in clock speeds, but in addition that their designs are fairly totally different, regardless that each are made by TSMC.
Each fashions have 8GB of RAM in all variations, whereas storage begins at 128GB and maxes out at 512GB on the vanilla mannequin or twice that on the Professional.
Benchmark efficiency
The Professional does have a bonus in benchmarks, nevertheless it’s not an enormous distinction in CPU efficiency – lower than 5% within the GeekBench multi-core check and negligible within the single-core one. The GPU outcomes have a wider margin – to the tune of 14%, nevertheless it’s not just like the vanilla 16 will likely be retaining you ready.
Apple iPhone 16
AnTuTu 101,721,149
Geekbench 67,901
3DMark Wild Life Extreme4,295
Digicam comparability
The digital camera is likely one of the main variations between the 2 fashions and a key deciding issue on this battle – the Professional has an additional digital camera and a wider-ranging set of capabilities for each photograph and video seize.
The plain mannequin will do alright at as much as 2x zoom, the place the Professional nonetheless typically has a minor edge, however from then on, it is the Professional’s devoted 5x zoom digital camera that sees no opposition from the iPhone 16.
You’ll be able to simply see that discrepancy within the variety of cameras on the telephones’ backs, however there’s extra to it. The vanilla 16 would not have the Professional options, just like the JPEG-XL stills format, or 4K120 video seize functionality, or the ProRes choice.
That stated, each the 16 and 16 Professional have the quad-mic spatial audio seize functionality, so not every thing is a Professional-exclusive.
Equally, each telephones do have the all-new Digicam Management, so the vanilla mannequin is not handicapped on this respect both – you can tweak settings and use it as a shortcut and shutter launch simply as nicely on each fashions.
Picture high quality
The images from the principle cameras would possibly as nicely have been taken on the identical cellphone – they’re that related by way of dynamic vary, coloration, element, and total look. When wanting up shut, the Professional is a bit grainier – a minor, if inconsequential, win for the 16.
iPhone 16 Professional daylight photograph samples, major digital camera, 1x
iPhone 16 daylight photograph samples, major digital camera, 1x
At 2x, the outcomes are additionally very related and if that is the place your zoom pursuits finish, the iPhone 16 is pretty much as good because the 16 Professional.
iPhone 16 Professional daylight photograph samples, major digital camera, 2x
iPhone 16 daylight photograph samples, major digital camera, 2x
However the factor is, the iPhone 16 Professional has one other digital camera. The 5x telephoto will get you numerous nearer to the motion, and does so at a properly top quality too. The iPhone 16 cannot compete at this stage.
iPhone 16 Professional daylight photograph samples, telephoto digital camera, 5x
On the different finish of the zoom vary is the place the ultrawide cameras are and right here the 16 marks a generational step ahead because of the added AF functionality. The Professional has an improve of its personal, a 48MP Quad Bayer sensor changing the traditional one of many outdated mannequin (the setup that the 16 has been upgraded to), however sensor sizes are the identical between the 2 fashions.
Picture high quality is as soon as once more a toss-up regardless of the distinction in {hardware}. If you happen to stare lengthy and exhausting sufficient, you is perhaps satisfied that the Professional is that little bit sharper and in addition marginally grainier, nevertheless it’s actually not a bonus that’s an precise benefit.
iPhone 16 Professional daylight photograph samples, ultrawide digital camera, 0.5x
iPhone 16 daylight photograph samples, ultrawide digital camera, 0.5x
The front-facing cameras are the identical on the 16 and 16 Professional (additionally the opposite 16s and the 15s too, and possibly even the 14s). So you possibly can rely on the identical selfies from each telephones, they usually’re some wonderful selfies, too.
Selfie samples: iPhone 16 Professional • iPhone 16
After darkish, you’d anticipate some extra pronounced variations within the captured images, with the Professional mannequin’s bigger major digital camera sensor probably with the ability to collect extra mild. In observe, there’s but extra parity. Principal digital camera images at 1x are basically the identical, they usually’re all wonderful.
iPhone 16 Professional low-light photograph samples, major digital camera, 1x
iPhone 16 low-light photograph samples, major digital camera, 1x
At 2x, the Professional might have the slightest of benefits in sharpness and element in some scenes, nevertheless it’s not constant or vital sufficient to make an actual distinction – the vanilla mannequin is sweet sufficient.
iPhone 16 Professional low-light photograph samples, major digital camera, 2x
iPhone 16 low-light photograph samples, major digital camera, 2x
As soon as once more, we’re at 5x, which is the true differentiator – the iPhone 16 Professional’s telephoto does rather well at midnight, and the iPhone 16 higher not go there.
iPhone 16 Professional low-light photograph samples, telephoto digital camera, 5x
iPhone 16 Professional low-light photograph samples, ultrawide digital camera, 0.5x
iPhone 16 low-light photograph samples, ultrawide digital camera, 0.5x
Video high quality
The iPhone 16 is proscribed in its video modes, with no 4K120 choice (no 4K100 in PAL land both), and no Professional codecs. Video high quality within the mainstream 4K30 mode is considerably totally different between the 2, with the vanilla mannequin being noticeably softer at 0.5x and solely barely softer at 1x and 2x. As soon as once more, the Professional’s 5x zoom is a significant benefit.
iPhone 16 Professional daylight video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 5x
At evening, there may be basically no distinction in video high quality – a testomony to how good the vanilla mannequin could be. The 1x footage is superb, the 2x zoom and the ultrawide clips are alright. The Professional’s telephoto struggles at evening, however at the very least it is there and you would in all probability discover a scene that is lit nicely sufficient to utilize it.
iPhone 16 daylight video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x
iPhone 16 Professional low-light video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 5x
iPhone 16 low-light video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x
Verdict
Loads of the information above you would have gathered from the specs, with the remainder out there within the respective critiques for side-by-side comparisons. Nonetheless, we felt the necessity to have it multi function simply accessible location right here – for fast dilemma resolutions.
With that in thoughts, the iPhone 16 Professional stays the extra completely succesful package deal of the pair. It gives a superior high-refresh-rate show in an much more upmarket titanium-clad physique. It is also obtained a extra versatile digital camera system with a telephoto module and additional software program options. The Professional is, then, the higher choice for these seeking to get extra artistic with the digital camera.
The iPhone 16, subsequent to the Professional, is a extra primary package deal, that does not go into such digital camera depths (does nonetheless have the Digicam Management), and skimps on the excessive refresh fee. You will not be sacrificing show brightness, although, and the water resistance is similar at 6m/30min, plus the battery life is presumably considerably higher even. And on high of that, the 16’s major benefits are its decrease weight, and the quantity on the checkout web page on Apple.com.
Get the Apple iPhone 16 Professional for:
The bigger display with 120Hz refresh fee and AoD.
The additional zoom attain of the 5x telephoto digital camera.
The Professional choices for image taking and video recording.
The titanium construct.
The smoothness of the excessive refresh fee show.
Get the Apple iPhone 16 for:
The longer battery life.
The tangibly decrease weight.
The lower cost.
The largely similar person expertise.