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MobileIQ

Head to head

Apple iPhone 16vsApple iPhone 15 Pro

The short answer

Neither the iPhone 16 nor the iPhone 15 Pro wins a row by a gap you’d notice. Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035 for the iPhone 16 and 2030–2034 for the iPhone 15 Pro, our estimate, not Apple’s.

Released
2024-09-20endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
Price
£699Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
Security updates until
Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
Released
2023-09-22endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
Security updates until
Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19

0 wins for iPhone 160 wins for iPhone 15 Pro4 gaps borderline2 differences you won’t notice

Verdict: nothing you’d notice between them

On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, neither the iPhone 16 nor the iPhone 15 Pro wins a row by a gap you would notice. 4 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (170 g against 187 g) for the iPhone 16, HDR peak brightness (1,600 nits against 1,200 nits) for the iPhone 15 Pro, wireless charging (25 W against 15 W) for the iPhone 16 and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (7,558 against 6,830, both from Geekbench Browser) for the iPhone 16. The differences in battery capacity and claimed video playback are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same display size, peak brightness, typical brightness, storage (base), RAM and fast charging. The other 36 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.

True to scale

iPhone 16 · 147.6 × 71.6 mmiPhone 15 Pro · 146.6 × 70.6 mm

Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.

Body

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
DimensionsDiffers, but not ranked.
147.6 x 71.6 x 7.80 mmOfficial
146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25 mmOfficial
Weight

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

BuildDiffers, but not ranked.
Aluminium design, Ceramic Shield front, Colour-infused glass backOfficial
Titanium design, Ceramic Shield front, Textured matt glass backOfficial
SIMSame.
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); Dual eSIM supportOfficial
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); Dual eSIM supportOfficial
Water/dust ratingSame.
UnlockSame.
Face ID (TrueDepth camera)Official
Face ID (TrueDepth camera)Official

Display

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Display typeDiffers, but not ranked.
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Super Retina XDR OLED, Always-On, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Display sizeSame.
ResolutionSame.
2556 x 1179Official
2556 x 1179Official
Pixel densitySame.
460ppiOfficial
460ppiOfficial
Refresh rate
No verified data
Peak brightnessSame.
2000nitsOfficial
2000nitsOfficial
Typical brightnessSame.
1000nitsOfficial
1000nitsOfficial
HDR peak brightness
1200nitsOfficial
1600nitsOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Screen protectionSame.
Ceramic Shield frontOfficial
Ceramic Shield frontOfficial

Platform

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Operating systemDiffers, but not ranked.
iOS 183rd party
iOS 173rd party
OS versions supportedDiffers, but not ranked.
iOS 18 to iOS 27Official
iOS 17 to iOS 27Official
ChipsetDiffers, but not ranked.
A18 chipOfficial
A17 Pro chipOfficial
CPUSame.
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
GPUDiffers, but not ranked.
5-core GPUOfficial
6-core GPUOfficial

Memory

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Storage (base)Same.
Storage optionsDiffers, but not ranked.

Apple UK — iPhone 16 Technical Specifications claims 128GB · GSMArena — Apple iPhone 16 specifications reports 128GB/256GB/512GB

128GB/256GB/512GB/1TBOfficial
RAMSame.
Card slotSame.

Camera

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Main cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
Advanced dual-camera system: 48MP Fusion Main 26mm f/1.6 with sensor-shift OIS; 12MP Ultra Wide 13mm f/2.2 120°; 48MP Fusion Main also enables 12MP 2x Telephoto 52mm f/1.6Official
Pro camera system: 48MP Main 24mm f/1.78 with second-generation sensor-shift OIS; 12MP Ultra Wide 13mm f/2.2 120°; 12MP 3x Telephoto 77mm f/2.8; 12MP 2x Telephoto 48mm f/1.78 enabled by quad-pixel sensorOfficial
Main sensor resolutionSame.
Main apertureDiffers, but not ranked.
f/1.78Official
Main sensor sizeDiffers, but not ranked.
1/1.56"3rd party
1/1.28"3rd party
TelephotoDiffers, but not ranked.
12MP 2x Telephoto, 52mm, f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS (enabled by 48MP Fusion Main)Official
12MP 3x Telephoto, 77mm, f/2.8, optical image stabilisation; also 12MP 2x Telephoto 48mm f/1.78 enabled by quad-pixel sensorOfficial
UltrawideSame.
12MP Ultra Wide, 13mm, f/2.2, 120° field of viewOfficial
12MP Ultra Wide, 13mm, f/2.2, 120° field of viewOfficial
Front cameraSame.
12MP TrueDepth, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus PixelsOfficial
12MP TrueDepth, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus PixelsOfficial
Video captureDiffers, but not ranked.
4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fpsOfficial
4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fpsOfficial

Battery

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Battery capacity
3561mAh3rd party
3274mAh3rd party

You won’t notice this difference.

Battery per charge
No verified data
Claimed video playback

You won’t notice this difference.

Battery lifespan
1000cyclesOfficial
No verified data
Fast chargingSame.
Wireless charging

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Connectivity

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Wi-FiDiffers, but not ranked.
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
BluetoothSame.
USBDiffers, but not ranked.
USB-C, USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s), DisplayPortOfficial
USB-C, USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s), DisplayPortOfficial
NFCSame.
PositioningDiffers, but not ranked.
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDouOfficial
Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC)Official

Benchmarks

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core)

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

DXOMARK camera scoreDiffers, but not ranked.

Misc

SpecificationApple iPhone 16Apple iPhone 15 Pro
ColoursDiffers, but not ranked.
Black, White, Pink, Teal, UltramarineOfficial
Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural TitaniumOfficial
SAR (EU, head)Differs, but not ranked.
1.24W/kg3rd party
0.98W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)
No verified data
3 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for

Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.

Questions

Is the iPhone 16 better than the iPhone 15 Pro?

On the figures, neither: no row has a gap between them you’d notice. The differences that exist are borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.

Which has the better battery?

The iPhone 15 Pro is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 23 h against 22 h (both Apple UK). The iPhone 16 is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 3,561 mAh against 3,274 mAh (both GSMArena).

Which is lighter?

The iPhone 16 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 170 g (Apple UK) against 187 g (Apple Support UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.

Which has the brighter screen?

Neither: both state 2,000 nits for peak brightness (Apple UK and Apple Support UK). Both state 1,000 nits for typical brightness (Apple UK and Apple Support UK). The iPhone 15 Pro is brighter, narrowly: HDR peak brightness, 1,600 nits against 1,200 nits (both Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.

Which gets updates for longer?

Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035 for the iPhone 16 and 2030–2034 for the iPhone 15 Pro, our estimate, not Apple’s. Sources: Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.

The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.