With the launch of the new iPhone 16 family just weeks away, Apple fans will soon have to decide which model to upgrade to. The smartphones will be closer to each other than ever before, but there are still some notable differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro.

Apple will release four models in the iPhone 16 family this year. In fact, the two lines – the standard vanilla line and the Professional line – will each come with the base phone and a larger-display model. I’m looking at the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus together, and the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max together as our two comparisons.

Why the election is closer

Unlike previous years, when Apple worked hard to create a distinction between the standard iPhone and the professional iPhone Pro models, there will be significantly more similarities between the two handsets in 2024. Both will ship with the latest Apple Silicon A18 chipset and have more RAM. The increased power and workspace that comes with it is required to run the generative AI software (also known as Apple Intelligence).

Of course, Apple Intelligence won’t be available on any iPhone 16 family device at launch; a limited set of features will be available via an iOS update in October, with the full suite not expected until late Q1 2025. You’ll have to wait for Apple’s iteration of the revolution.

It’s unlikely that Apple will fully sync the two models. The company has yet to promote and upgrade the Pro level, so expect the iPhone 16 Pro’s chipset to adopt the A18 Pro branding and offer more cores (especially graphics cores) and more memory. As always, don’t expect Apple to list memory in the specs.

While the base model of the iPhone 16 is expected to start with 128GB of storage and be upgraded to 256GB or 512GB, the iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to start at 256GB and be upgraded to 512GB or 1TB.

The camera will make the big difference

There is one obvious difference between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, and that’s the camera. The iPhone 16 will get a new camera lens orientation to enable stereoscopic video recording. Still, it will remain a two-lens affair compared to the iPhone 16 Pro’s three-lens setup. That third lens will be a telephoto lens, which should allow the iPhone 16 Pro to offer 5x optical zoom. It’s the same tetraprism periscope lens seen in the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year… whether the iPhone 156 Pro Max will get its own optical zoom upgrade remains to be seen.

No difference with the new external keys

Last year, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max first introduced the Action button, which allowed users to select one of several actions or app launches that could be triggered. That was a key difference last year, as it was only available on the Pro models. This year, it will be available across the entire lineup, as will the new Record button, which is tied to the camera functions. There’s no difference there.

Faster and larger displays

Apple hasn’t changed the display size of the iPhone or iPhone Pro since the iPhone 12 family. The iPhone 16 is expected to have nothing but the same 6.1-inch display as previous models, while the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to see a slight increase to up to 6.3 inches.

The refresh rate remains the same on both phones, with the iPhone 16 having a slower refresh rate of 60Hz compared to the 16 Pro’s 120Hz.

Battery and charging

The iPhone 15 family currently offers 27W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. There are reports that Apple wants to increase these numbers, but all signs point to the new power solutions only coming to the Pro models. In this case, wired charging could increase to 40W while wireless charging increases to 20W.

Price

Apple has maintained the iPhone family’s price range for the past few years. The company could keep the same prices this year, or risk raising prices by $100 across the board. With sales flat year-over-year, the latter could be a risk Apple may not want to take. Whether they do it or not, the price difference between the standard and Pro models is even more consistent. Expect the iPhone 16 Pro to be $200 more expensive than the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus to be in the middle of those two models, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max to cost another $200 more than the base iPhone 16 Pro.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 16 family on Tuesday, September 10, with sales in the US beginning on Friday, September 20.