iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: 60+ Upgrades to Expect

[MacRumors]

The iPhone 16 Pro is set to succeed 2023's iPhone 15 Pro, introducing over 25 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones. With many users adopting three-year upgrade cycles, plenty of iPhone 13 Pro owners will be looking to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro later this year, so this guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations based on rumors.

The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and up to five hours of additional battery life. Three years later, the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to offer over 60 upgrades. All of the changes the iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to feature compared to their 2021 predecessors are listed below, using information from reliable sources that we have previously covered. We will update this article as more rumors emerge in the coming months.

Design

The design of the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to be a relatively significant evolution over the iPhone 13 Pro, iterating on the titanium frame and slightly rounded edges introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro models last year.

iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro
Surgical-grade stainless steel chassis with squared-off edges	Aerospace-grade titanium chassis with contoured edges
Ring/Silent switch	Action button
Thermal design with copper heatsink and black foil battery casing	New thermal design with graphene heatsink and metal battery casing
	More repairable design
Lightning port	USB-C port
Alpine Green, Silver, Gold, Graphite, and Sierra Blue color options	Black Titanium, White Titanium, Desert Titanium, and Titanium Gray color options

Dimensions

To accommodate larger displays, both iPhone 16 Pro models are rumored to grow in height and width. In addition to last year's increase in depth, the devices are due to be considerably larger, but with a notable reduction in weight thanks to the adoption of a titanium frame.

iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro
7.85mm depth	8.25mm depth (0.4mm thicker)
iPhone 13 Pro: 146.7mm height iPhone 13 Pro Max: 160.8mm height	iPhone 16 Pro: 149.6mm height iPhone 16 Pro Max: 163.0mm height
iPhone 13 Pro: 71.5mm width iPhone 13 Pro Max: 78.1mm width	iPhone 16 Pro: 71.45mm width iPhone 16 Pro Max: 77.58mm width
iPhone 13 Pro: 204g weight iPhone 13 Pro Max: 238g weight	iPhone 16 Pro: 194g weight iPhone 16 Pro Max: 225g weight

Displays

Both iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to feature larger displays than their predecessors, pushing the iPhone 16 Pro Max to be the biggest iPhone ever offered. There are also reportedly improvements to the underlying OLED technology in store, in addition to last year's slimmer bezels, making for a noticeable overall display upgrade.

iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro
6.1- or 6.7-inch display	6.3- or 6.9-inch display
"Notch" TrueDepth camera array	Dynamic Island
	Always-On Display
	Slimmer borders around the display
Up to 1,000 nits typical max brightness Up to 1,200 nits peak HDR brightness	Up to 1,200 nits typical SDR brightness Up to 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness
	More efficient OLED display with brighter micro-lens technology

Performance

The iPhone 16 Pro models are rumored to bring notable improvements in processing power, including a 3nm Apple silicon chip and 33% more memory.

iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro
A15 Bionic chip (TSMC's "N5P" 5nm process)	A18 Pro chip (TSMC's "N3E" enhanced 3nm process)
16-core Neural Engine	Enhanced neural Engine with "significantly" more cores to support Apple Intelligence
	Dedicated AV1 decoder
6GB memory	8GB memory

Connectivity

Connectivity is also due to get a significant upgrade on the iPhone 16 Pro, bolstering the device's 5G, Wi-Fi, Thread, and Ultra Wideband specifications.

iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro
Snapdragon X60 5G modem	Snapdragon X75 5G modem
Wi‑Fi 6 connectivity	Wi‑Fi 7 connectivity
	Thread networking technology
First-generation Ultra Wideband chip	Second-generation Ultra Wideband chip (connects from 3x further away)
	Precision Finding for Find My friends

Cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro models are slated to receive a range of substantial camera enhancements, such as a larger main camera sensor, a 48-megapixel sensor on the ultra wide camera, and a dedicated hardware button for photography and videography on the side of the device... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: 60+ Upgrades to Expect

 

[sniffies]

And compared to iPhone 4, it has 60,000,000 upgrades.

 

[now i see it]

Looks like a used 13 Pro will be the one to get!

 

[winxmac]

As a former owner of iPhone 14 Pro Max who now owns an iPhone 13 Pro, unless you use the photography and videography capabilities of the iPhone to the fullest, and want USB Type C, you should still be fine with your current phone... After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to switch since I am not maxing out the hardware capabilities of iPhone 14 Pro Max, and I prefer shooting in ProRAW, but shooting in 48MP takes a considerable amount of time... Also, low light photo and video may be improved by Photonic Engine, but a wider aperture and shorter focusing distance to me is better...

Yes, I traded the longer battery life for easier handling... After looking at many things, just like some reviewers said, iPhone 13 Pro is still one of the best, if not the current best, and can still go head to head with the upcoming iPhones...

I still believe the switch to USB Type C should have been done in 2020, the year of iPhone 12... Transferring big files quicker is a nice to have and a must have for some, as well as record directly to an external SSD storage, but AirDrop to me is still sufficient and I find it fast enough as well as convenient... Maybe, many years later, once there are more and more features that I can't live without, that may be the time I'll go for the latest and greatest...

Anyone who owns an iPhone 12 series should upgrade for the primary reason that they have lower battery capacity than the previous and the series after it...

 

[john123]

I'm sorry, but on the current latest...really?

a vast array of significant features including a titanium chassis, much slimmer bezels, the Action, and a USB-C port

 

[coffeemilktea]

8.25mm depth (0.4mm thicker)

Nothing brings me more joy than the thought of iPhones getting increasingly more

T H I C C

...as long as it means battery life also improves. Maybe someday, we'll have 5000+ mAh batteries on an iPhone? 🤞

 

[WarmWinterHat]

The only thing I see interesting in the 16 Pro over my 13 Pro is satellite connectivity, as I'm off-grid a lot and carry an inReach. I guess usb-c is nice, too, but not worth spending money on. I don't care about AI.

Blah.

 

[kc9hzn]

As a former owner of iPhone 14 Pro Max who now owns an iPhone 13 Pro, unless you use the photography and videography capabilities of the iPhone to the fullest, and want USB Type C, you should still be fine with your current phone... After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to switch since I am not maxing out the hardware capabilities of iPhone 14 Pro Max, and I prefer shooting in ProRAW, but shooting in 48MP takes a considerable amount of time... Also, low light photo and video may be improved by Photonic Engine, but a wider aperture and shorter focusing distance to me is better...

Yes, I traded the longer battery life for easier handling... After looking at many things, just like some reviewers said, iPhone 13 Pro is still one of the best, if not the current best, and can still go head to head with the upcoming iPhones...

I still believe the switch to USB Type C should have been done in 2020, the year of iPhone 12... Transferring big files quicker is a nice to have and a must have for some, as well as record directly to an external SSD storage, but AirDrop to me is still sufficient and I find it fast enough as well as convenient... Maybe, many years later, once there are more and more features that I can't live without, that may be the time I'll go for the latest and greatest...

Anyone who owns an iPhone 12 series should upgrade for the primary reason that they have lower battery capacity than the previous and the series after it...

Actually, I’ve found myself using USB-C for file transfer much more frequently than I expected to. It turns out that it’s super useful for exchanging files between my PC and my Android devices with my phone. No need to juggle multiple Dropbox log-ins or anything like that, just use a USB A thumb drive or USB A SD card reader and a USB A to USB C adapter.

 

[jz0309]

by the list of these features it certainly looks that my 13PM is a keeper for at least another year ...

 

[fred_garvin]

If they release another mini anytime, then instant buy. Otherwise just a battery swap on my 13 mini will hold me for the next 5 years.

 

[DownUnderDan]

The iPhone 16 won't come in a mini, so I guess thats one feature its missing.

 

[Supercyborgninja]

So mad there still isn't a Astrophotography mode.

 

[jmpage2]

Even at the three year point it's hard to say why anyone would update to the 16 with such minimal improvements. I went to a 14 pro after three years and the most substantial improvement was the dynamic island.

Not even considering a 16 pro.

Samsung phones have very noticeable improvements generation after generation but iPhones mostly get camera upgrades and mm screen size increases.

The current iPhone Pro and new one are almost identical to the iPhone X that came out almost seven years ago.

The only reason I still have an iPhone is because of the Apple ecosystem and how well my various Apple devices work together.... the fire under Steve Jobs and Jony Ive that used to drive Apple to relentless improvement seems to have nearly gone out.

 

[TechWhisperer]

Except for the EU countries! 🤡

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Except for the EU countries! 🤡

This is about hardware, so they are already one-upping the US by still having a sim slot.

 

[ediks]

So mad there still isn't a Astrophotography mode.

you can still shoot astro photos with the basic night mode on 30s exposure

 

[wonderings]

I will bet that the next iPhone will be the best one Apple has made... ever! And about time, I hate when they keep bringing out product that is slower and over all worse specs then the previous years model. I believe in Apple to turn this around and make the best iPhone to date. I will bet the farm on it.

 

[vertsix]

They're keeping RAM at 8GB for the 16 Pro? Stingy as **** if true.

Now with Apple Intelligence, RAM needs to be a top priority to upgrade. 12GB RAM minimum at least.

 

[WWPD]

Going to titanium really hurt the color options.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Going to titanium really hurt the color options.

The regular aluminum iPhone colors suck too.

 

[neuropsychguy]

This looks like a good upgrade from my 13 Pro. I might wait one more year, but if there are some decent trade-in offers, I'll upgrade.

 

[Princejb134]

Even at the three year point it's hard to say why anyone would update to the 16 with such minimal improvements. I went to a 14 pro after three years and the most substantial improvement was the dynamic island.

Not even considering a 16 pro.

Samsung phones have very noticeable improvements generation after generation but iPhones mostly get camera upgrades and mm screen size increases.

The current iPhone Pro and new one are almost identical to the iPhone X that came out almost seven years ago.

The only reason I still have an iPhone is because of the Apple ecosystem and how well my various Apple devices work together.... the fire under Steve Jobs and Jony Ive that used to drive Apple to relentless improvement seems to have nearly gone out.

That's because phones have completely matured the same as desktop computers. All that's left is upgrades to the software. I don't see anything amazing that Samsung is doing either. That is probably the reason apple is going all in on VR. The day they are able to make VR small enough to the point they look like cool sunglasses or just regular glasses is the day everyone is going to want one.

 

[oldwatery]

This is a very curious post. Why compare it to a 13? Is this choice the most recent version that shows a marked improvement with the new phone. Reads like MR are trying to help boost potential sales of the 16.

 

[oldwatery]

That's because phones have completely matured the same as desktop computers. All that's left is upgrades to the software. I don't see anything amazing that Samsung is doing either. That is probably the reason apple is going all in on VR. The day they are able to make VR small enough to the point they look like cool sunglasses or just regular glasses is the day everyone is going to want one.

Not this everyone 😉

 

[ghostface147]

Only you can decide if it’s worth upgrading.