iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: 65+ Upgrades to Expect

The iPhone 16 Pro is set to succeed 2023's iPhone 15 Pro, introducing over 30 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, 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 65 further 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 here on MacRumors. We will continue to update this article as more rumors emerge prior to Apple's 'It's Glowtime' event on Monday, September 9.

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

Aerospace-grade titanium chassis





Glossy frame with squared-off edges

Brushed frame 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 considerably 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 with support for Apple Intelligence and 33% more memory.



‌iPhone 13‌ Pro

‌iPhone 16 Pro‌





A15 Bionic chip (TSMC's 'N5P' 5nm process)

A18 chip (TSMC's 'N3E' enhanced ‌3nm‌ process)





16-core Neural Engine

Enhanced neural Engine with 'significantly' more cores to support Apple Intelligence more effectively





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.



‌iPhone 13‌ Pro

‌iPhone 16 Pro‌







Capacitive 'Capture Button' with force-sensitive half-press and sliding gestures to trigger photography and videography features





12-megapixel main camera

48-megapixel main camera





Photonic Engine for better low light performance



1/1.65-inch main camera sensor

iPhone 16 Pro‌: 1/1.28-inch main camera sensor

iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max: 1/1.14-inch main camera sensor





Sony IMX-703 main camera sensor

iPhone 16 Pro: Sony IMX-803 main camera sensor

iPhone 16 Pro Max: Sony IMX-903 main camera sensor with stacked design for better performance, a 14-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for high-quality image data conversion, and Digital Gain Control (DCG) for better dynamic range and noise control





7P main camera lens

8P main camera lens





Telephoto camera with sensor-shift optical image stabilization

Telephoto camera with larger sensor, folded tetraprism design, optical image stabilization, and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module





77mm maximum focal length

120mm maximum focal length





4P telephoto camera lens

5P telephoto camera lens





12-megapixel ultra wide camera with f/1.8

48-megapixel ultra wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, 48-megapixel ProRaw support, and improved low-light performance





5P ultra wide camera lens

6P ultra wide camera lens







Anti-reflective coating on camera lenses





0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 3x optical zoom

0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x optical zoom







13mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 120mm focal length picker





12-megapixel super-high-resolution photos

24- and 48-megapixel super-high-resolution photos





Smart HDR 3

Smart HDR 5





Portrait mode with Focus and Depth Control

Next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control





Night mode and Night mode portraits

Improved Night mode and Night mode portraits







Support for new JPEG-XL format







Shoot and instantly transfer 48-megapixel ProRAW images to Mac via USB 3







Record video directly to an external drive





ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps

ProRes video recording up to 4K at 60 fps with external recording







Log video recording







Academy Color Encoding System







Record spatial video for Apple Vision Pro





Action mode for improved video stabilization

Batteries and Charging

The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models could receive some major improvements in battery technology and charging, sporting bigger, denser batteries and faster charging capabilities.



‌iPhone 13‌ Pro

‌iPhone 16 Pro‌







Setting to prevent charging above 80%







Battery manufacture date, first use, and cycle count information in Settings





Single-layer battery technology

Stacked battery technology for increased energy density and prolonged lifespan





iPhone 13 Pro: 3,095 mAh battery

iPhone 13 Pro Max: 4,352 mAh battery

iPhone 16 Pro: 3,355 mAh battery

iPhone 16 Pro Max: 4,676 mAh battery





Up to 20W wired charging

Up to 40W wired charging





15W charging via MagSafe

20W charging via ‌MagSafe‌



Other Features and Changes

The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models will also offer support for Apple Intelligence, Apple's new suite of personal AI features, later this year, as well as satellite connectivity, Crash Detection, and more storage.



‌iPhone 13‌ Pro

‌iPhone 16 Pro‌







Apple Intelligence support





Emergency SOS via Satellite



Microphone

Upgraded microphone with improved signal-to-noise ratio and water resistance





Crash Detection





Improved audio quality on phone calls





Lightning connector with USB 2 transfer speeds (up to 480Mb/s)

USB-C port with USB 3 transfer speeds (up to 10Gb/s, 20x faster)







DisplayPort support for up to 4K HDR video output





Up to 1TB of storage

Up to 2TB of storage



Release Date

The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max are expected to be announced at Apple's 'It's Glowtime' event on Monday, September 9. Pre-orders are likely to open on Friday, September 13, with launch following one week later on Friday, September 20. For more information about the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models, see our comprehensive roundup.

Will It Be Worth Upgrading?

The ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ was a fairly significant upgrade over the ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro, introducing a vast array of significant features including a titanium chassis, much slimmer bezels, the Action button, and a USB-C port. The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ will build on these upgrades, offering larger displays, the Capture button, improved cameras, and Apple Intelligence support. With a total of over 65 upgrades likely to be in store, many ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro users will find upgrading to an ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ model worthwhile.Related Roundup: iPhone 16 ProRelated Forum: iPhoneThis article, "iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: 65+ Upgrades to Expect" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums