Apple iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15

1 week ago 18

The iPhone 16 series is out now. It is only natural to ask yourself how much the new Apple iPhone 16 is better than the previous iPhone 15. And most importantly – is it worth upgrading?

To sum things up, the iPhone 16 arrives with a new chip with the promise of AI capabilities down the line, an improved screen glass, expanded camera capabilities, and faster wireless charging. There is also the added Action key and the new Camera control. But all this fits on a specs page - let's see how different the two devices are in real-world use.

Size comparison

The iPhone 16 has an identical footprint to the iPhone 15, which is hardly surprising. Both phones measure 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm. The iPhone 16 is 1g lighter than the iPhone 15 at 170g.

For one, the new iPhone 16 should have improved durability according to Apple. It features a new generation of Ceramic Shield front, which is supposed to be 50% tougher than the previous one on the iPhone 15.

There are also two new buttons on the iPhone 16 which are missing on the iPone 15 - the Action key used to be an exclusive to iPhone Pros and there is also the new Camera Control here.

Display comparison

The iPhone 16 has the same display as on the iPhone 15 – a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with excellent HDR capabilities and high resolution, but a standard refresh rate of 60Hz. Both panels are advertised as capable of 1,000 nits of typical and up to 2,000 nits of maximum brightness.

Well, as per our display measurements, there is a minor difference of 50 nits between the two panels. For all intents and purposes, the two screens are equally bright.

Battery life

The iPhone 16 has a 3,500 mAh battery. Specifically, it is rated at exactly 3,561 mAh. The battery is slightly bigger than last year's iPhone 15. It's a small increase, but we'll take it.

The more significant change, however, comes from the improved efficiency of the new Apple A18 chipset and probably some under-the-hood improvements in iOS 18.

As a result, the new iPhone 16 scored a great Active Use Score - a noticeable improvement over the iPhone 15. The iPhone 16 offers 7 hours more of call time, about 4 more hours of web browsing, and 1.5 hours extra of video streaming.

Charging speed

The iPhone 16 supports fast wired charging, though Apple never reveals the maximum power rating. The company quotes a 50% charge in 30 min when using a 20W USB-PD charger.

There is also support for fast wireless charging for up to 25W via the new MagSafe charger when plugged into a 30W+ power adapter. If you have a compatible Qi2 charger, then the iPhone 16 will max out at 15W. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 MagSafe wireless charging maxes out at 15W.

We carried out our charging tests with a 45W PD charger to give the iPhones the best chance. Both phones took about the same time to charge. An hour on that charger refilled 85% of their iPhones and the last 15% took almost another hour even without the Optimized Battery charging option.

Speaker test

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 feature identical stereo speakers. They are of the hybrid variety where the earpiece is one of the speakers. The other speaker is at the bottom of the phones, next to the USB-C port.

The iPhone 16 scored a Very Good mark on our loudness test, while the iPhone 15 – a Good mark. The difference is marginal, though, and both setups sound the same.

Performance

This year's big upgrade for the iPhone 16 is the Apple A18 chipset, which is two generations ahead of what the iPhone 15 has - the A16. This is a second-gen 3nm chip that is both more powerful and more efficient.

The Apple A18 has a faster six-core processor, better 5-core GPU with support for improved hardware raytracing. It also comes with more RAM, now 8GB.

The A18 CPU is advertised to be 30% faster than the iPhone 15 CPU and 60% faster than the iPhone 12 CPU. The GPU should be 40% faster than the iPhone 15 and twice as fast as the iPhone 12.

Benchmark performance

In our tests, the new Apple A18 CPU inside the iPhone 16 does score about 20% more than the A16 inside the iPhone 15. There is also between 30% and 60% jump in GPU performance depending on the 3D test.

The A18 chip has a new NPU, which scores about twice as high as the NPU inside the iPhone 15.

The new iPhone chip allows all those high-end games that were incompatible with the iPhone 15 to run pretty well on the iPhone 16 and that is probably the most notable upgrade, if you are a gamer that is.

Thanks to the new chipset, you'd also get access to the Apple Intelligence feature once they are released - as long as you reside in a supported region (outside the European Union and China).

Camera comparison

The iPhone 16 practically borrows its main camera setup from the iPhone 15. It is quite potent - a 48MP sensor with 1/1.56" size, 1.0µm individual pixels and sensor-shift OIS. There is a bright f/1.6 lens in front of it. The same goes for the selfie camera - the 12MP shooter has already proven its salt and is equipped with phase detection autofocus as well.

The only upgrade is the new ultrawide camera. It is still a 12MP unit. However, this year, there is a brighter lens with an f/2.2 aperture. Plus, probably best of all, it now has autofocus, which allows it to double as a macro camera for close-ups.

Of course, there is also the new Camera Control. It is an actual physical button with real travel when pressed. It also integrates a capacitive sensor that allows for touch and swipe interactions as well as a high-precision force sensor that detects light presses.

Image quality

There is hardly any improvement in the daylight photo quality, regardless what Apple may try to convince you. The iPhone 16 captures the same photos as the iPhone 15. They are detailed, with natural colors, low noise, and great dynamic range. The foliage rendition is not our favorite - especially if you shoot in the default 12MP.

The samples below have been taken at the same locations but at different times.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • selfie

iPhone 15: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • selfie

The iPhone 16 can now also take macro photos with its new ultrawide camera.

iPhone 16 - macro with UW camera

The photos from the main cameras we took in low-light conditions, both in 1x and 2x modes, are largely identical. The camera app did not opt for Night Mode on the iPhone 15, but nevertheless, the quality remains similar.

The brighter aperture on the ultrawide camera does have an effect at night and the ultrawide photos from the iPhone 16 are brighter, with more detail and less noise.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

iPhone 15: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

Video quality

New video options have been added to the iPhone 16 - studio-grade microphones for better audio quality, plus capabilities for spatial video and audio recording.

Other than that, the video quality remains the same across all cameras.

The daylight videos from all three cameras are excellent across the board, including stabilization.

Below we have a few framegrabs from the videos taken by the two phones at each focal length so it's easier to compare them.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • selfie

iPhone 15: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • selfie

The low-light videos from the ultrawide camera are now better - they are better exposed, with more detail and less noise.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

Verdict

The Apple iPhone 16 starts at €949 and it's a great premium compact phone - it delivers in all areas that matter - design, screen, battery life, speakers, performance, and camera.

The iPhone 16 is the faster phone of the two with a better ultrawide camera and faster wireless charging. The battery life has gotten better, too, and the durability has been improved if we believe Apple. You now also get the Action key and the Camera control.

Even though it provides roughly the same user experience, the iPhone 16 is objectively the better phone compared to the iPhone 15.

However, the iPhone 15 is about €200 cheaper now and it carries much of the same qualities. Choosing between the two would depend on your budget and whether you value the extra features that the iPhone 16 can provide.