iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: How are they different?

This iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15 face-off will help you understand the differences between the two.

The recently dropped iPhone 16 comes with several notable (yet familiar) updates, including a new vertical camera layout. 

Announced at Apple’s September event, the new iPhone 16 delivers a fresh design with Action and Camera Control buttons, improved camera support for fancier pics, bigger battery capacity with faster charging speeds, and an upgraded A18 chip.

Oh, and the major addition of Apple Intelligence, no less. 

Is this all enough to warrant an upgrade over the still commendable iPhone 15, though? Possibly, but for a better answer, let’s break down the differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15. 

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Price and specs

The iPhone 16 starts at $799 and is available at the Apple Store, whereas the iPhone 15 starts at $699.

Apple iPhone 16 lineup
Credit: Apple

You can expect the following specs in the iPhone 16:

• A18 Bionic chip

• 6.1‑inch, 60Hz, 2,556 x 1,179-pixel, OLED display

• 128G, 256GB, or 512GB storage

• Up to 22 hours (video playback) battery

• IP68 rating

iPhone 15
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Now, here are the iPhone 15’s specs:

• A16 Bionic chip

• 6.1‑inch, 60Hz, 2,556 x 1,179-pixel, OLED display

• 128G, 256GB, or 512GB storage

• Up to 20 hours (video playback) battery

• IP68 rating

Apart from their chips, batteries, and memory, there are too many glaring changes. But that’s doing the iPhone 16 an injustice, as the subtle improvements offer more processing power and longer battery life. Moreover, a few more traits are trickling down from the previous Pro models to the iPhone 16 that the iPhone 15 missed out on.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Display

Like the size of the iPhone 15’s 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR (2,556 x 1,179 resolution) OLED display? You’ll be happy to know the iPhone 16 is sticking with the exact same size, along with a few other specs that many hoped to see improved.

This includes the 60Hz refresh rate, which is a shame to see since its competitors’ base flagship smartphones have now upgraded to a 120Hz display. Onscreen visual appeal isn’t as smooth, so you’ll have to look at the iPhone 16 Pro models for a stutter-free experience. 

There’s also the same 2,000 nits of peak brightness and Dynamic Island as per last-gen models.

iPhone 15 sports the iconic Dynamic Island, finally
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Still no always-on display, though, meaning Apple’s StandBy feature is still fairly useless unless you have one of the Pro models. 

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Design

Apple already pulled off a minor redesign with its iPhone 15, bringing its Dynamic Island over to the “regular” iPhone models. However, we also saw more rounded edges and aerospace aluminium color-infused glass. This time, the iPhone 16 sticks with this motif, but brings other features from its Pro model siblings and an all-new button.

Apple iPhone 16’s Camera Control button
Credit: Apple

Instead of the usual Ring/Silent switch, Apple decided to put the Action button in its place. Going forward, we’re likely to see the Action button as a staple on all iPhone models, which is ideal news if you enjoy being able to customize any action with one simple press. 

Interestingly, Apple introduced another handy button to mess around with: the Camera Control button. Placed right under the Power button, this focuses on helping to access camera features on the iPhone 16. Not only can it activate the shutter so you can snap away, but it can also zoom in and out of photos or videos with swiping gestures and allows you to focus on subjects. This will come in handy for the snap-happy ones out there. 

iPhone 15’s pale colors
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

You may have noticed the rear cameras are now aligned vertically on the iPhone 16, rather than diagonally as with the iPhone 15. It’s almost as if Apple is reintroducing the design of the iPhone 12, with a few modern design traits as previously mentioned. 

As for colors, the iPhone 16 comes in the following: Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, White, and Black. A couple more than the iPhone 15’s color options, which include Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Performance

The iPhone lineup gets more powerful with each annual release, and that’s no different with the iPhone 16. Instead of the trickle-down effect of getting last year’s iPhone 15 Pro chipset, the iPhone 16 models will get their very own A18 Bionic chip. 

It goes without saying that this is a step up from the iPhone 15’s A16 processor, which is already one of the fastest chips on the market. With the A18, there’s even more processing power to play around with, and this will come in handy with Apple Intelligence now in play (more of this later). With a 6-core CPU, it is 30% faster than the iPhone 15 and uses 30% less power. There’s also a 5-core GPU for 40% faster efficiency.

To support Apple’s AI, the iPhone 16 also supports more cores in its Neural Engine, with the iPhone 15 sporting a 16-core Neural Engine. Suffice it to say, the iPhone 16 will be yet another blazing-fast smartphone that tops its predecessor. 

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Battery life

We’re finally getting a notable bump in battery life with the iPhone 16, as it brings a bigger battery capacity and faster charging speeds compared to the iPhone 15. Not that it’s exactly needed; the iPhone 15 is rated at 20 hours, so around a full day of use. 

With the iPhone 16, that number is set to go up. It’s equipped with a bigger battery, and this boost should bring around 22 hours, which is a nice improvement to see especially compared to the iPhone 15. It’s also nearly double the speeds, as the last-gen phone has 27W wired charging and 15W wireless. 

Not a major boost, but enough to eke out an extra couple of hours before needing to be plugged in. And yes, it’s still through the universally favored USB-C port. 

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Cameras

Here’s a quick look at the iPhone 16’s specs

• Rear camera: 48MP main (fusion with 12MP 2x Telephoto), 12MP ultra-wide

• 12MP TrueDepth front camera

Now take a look at the iPhone 15’s specs:

• Rear camera: 48MP main, 12MP ultra-wide

• 12MP TrueDepth front camera

The iPhone 15 models already received a worthwhile camera upgrade, which includes a 48MP with ƒ/1.6 aperture.

This iPhone 16 follows this trend, but this time it arrives with a 12MP ultra-wide with ƒ/2.2 aperture and autofocus for improved low-light photography. This will put the ultra-wide lens to good use, as the iPhone 15’s ƒ/2.4 ultra-wide often blurred pictures, especially in low-light conditions.

That’s not all that’s changed; we can also expect macro photography support, giving close-up snaps more detail than the last-gen iPhone. Otherwise, it’s the same capable dual-camera system that the iPhone 15 presented, now with some fine-tuning in the iPhone 16.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Software and AI

Arguably the biggest difference between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 is being able to utilize Apple Intelligence, the tech giant’s very own security-focused generative AI (with the help of ChatGPT). Unfortunately, it’s only reserved for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and later with an iOS 18 update. 

AI will put the most important notifications first
Credit: Apple

As shown off at WWDC 2024, it comes with several AI-enhanced features. This includes prioritized notifications, which can put the most important notifications at the top of your iPhone’s feed and even offer brief summaries of stacked notifications. 

It will also be able to rewrite, summarize, and proof blocks of selected text in a flash, which will especially come in handy when writing emails or texts. What’s more, there’s AI image generation and easy image search by typing a description, automatic audio transcriptions, and even Genmoji, which allow you to create your very own emojis. You’ll also find Private Cloud Compute, protecting your personal information any time you access Apple Intelligence. Basically, your data is never stored.

Genmoji in action
Credit: Apple

There’s a lot on offer here, and that’s where the iPhone 15 will struggle to keep up. Until they’ve been used in the wild for a while, though, there’s no telling if these Apple Intelligence features will be a defining reason to upgrade to an iPhone 16. 

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15: Worth the upgrade?

With the iPhone 16, Apple not only brings a few Pro features to its baseline iPhone models, but it also introduces its own brand of generative AI. Minor hardware differences aside, which now include an Action button, a new Camera Control button, a bigger battery, and vertical rear cameras, the real reason to upgrade to an iPhone 16 is to utilize everything Apple Intelligence brings to the table. 

Sure, it isn’t as if you can’t use AI features by simply visiting ChatGPT on your browser, but having it fully integrated into the iPhone 16’s software can offer new ways to interact with your smartphone.

Will Apple Intelligence be the next big reason to get the latest iPhone? It’s hard to tell, but so far the iPhone 16 looks to impress — especially since there’s no bump in price. 

Mashable’s currently on the ground in Cupertino for the Sept. 9 “Glowtime” Apple event. Check out our live blog to keep track of all things iPhone 16 (and more) before, during, and after the event.