Since Apple made its first big iPhone in 2014 (happy birthday, iPhone 6 Plus), the smaller Pro models have been neglected. Almost every year there’s been a spec bump, with the Pro Max model getting some form of edge — like a 5x zoom camera, which is only offered on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This year, the smaller Pro looks stunning alongside the larger iPhone. Other than its size, it’s exactly the same Pro as the Pro Max. They even come with the same two accessory boxes — you get a USB-C cable and a SIM tool.
So what’s new? The iPhone 16 Pro has a slightly larger 6.3-inch display than its predecessor’s 6.1-inch display. Like the Pro Max, this year’s Pro also has a new 48MP ultra-wide camera, but it also ditches the less-than-stellar 3x camera for the same 5x zoom.
Complementing the camera on all new iPhone 16 models is a new camera control button. It’s a truly innovative concept. It’s an actual button—pressing it will open the camera app from any screen (double-press it from a locked phone), but it can also recognize the pressure and open a deeper layer of controls, and you can swipe through them.
We like the new button for its ability to open the camera app from anywhere, but it took some getting used to. Our first impressions were that it’s better suited to portrait use and for right-handed people — it took some getting used to in landscape mode.
The iPhone 16 Pro will face the Google Pixel 9 Pro (our review is ready!) in developed markets as a top choice for compact flagship phones.
Both have pretty evenly matched specs – both have 6.3-inch displays, triple cameras with a 48MP ultrawide camera, 48MP vs 50MP wide cameras, and the iPhone 5x has 12MP vs the Pixel 5x has 48MP. They even weigh the same, at 199g.
This will be an interesting one-on-one battle in the future!
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro Comparison
It’s a pretty busy time of year, so we ask for your patience as we read our reviews. Stay tuned!