Apple iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.3-inch Apple iPhone 18 Pro (with Apple A20 Pro) that was released on September 9, 2026, against the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, which is powered by Apple A18 Pro and came out 2 years before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 18 Pro
  • 90% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (3428K versus 1801K)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
  • Supports higher wattage charging (60W versus 30W)
  • The phone is 2 years newer
  • Comes with 706 mAh larger battery capacity: 4288 vs 3582 mAh
  • 31% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 4719 and 3591 points
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16 Pro
  • Delivers 38% higher peak brightness (1778 against 1291 nits)
  • The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
DeviceFacts Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 43% Yes
Mostly no. The difference is too small to matter in everyday use.
The overall difference between Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Apple iPhone 18 Pro is not big enough to justify updating.
Main improvements: gaming, performance, and battery life.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.3 inches 6.3 inches
Resolution 1206 x 2622 pixels 1206 x 2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
PPI 458 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max rated brightness 3000 nits 2000 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1600 nits 1600 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection Ceramic Shield 2 -
Screen-to-body ratio 90.4% 91.1%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 99.7% 99.9%
PWM 60 Hz 239 Hz
Response time 1 ms 1 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
1291 nits
1778 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 150 mm (5.91 inches) 149.6 mm (5.89 inches)
Width 71.9 mm (2.83 inches) 71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness 8.75 mm (0.34 inches) 8.25 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 211 g (7.44 oz) 199 g (7.02 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Advanced cooling Vapor chamber -
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Silver, Blue, Burgundy White, Black, Silver, Gold
Fingerprint scanner No No
Repairability - Average (2.83/5)
Drop resistance - Good (C) · 90 drops
Screen-to-body ratio
91.1%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Apple iPhone 16 Pro
SoC
Chipset Apple A20 Pro Apple A18 Pro
Max clock 4930 MHz 4040 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 2.64 GHz:
- 2 cores at 4.93 GHz:
- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 2 nanometers 3 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics 7 core Apple GPU 6 core Apple GPU
GPU shading units 896 640
GPU clock 1620 MHz 1490 MHz
FLOPS ~2903 GFLOPS ~2289 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
4719
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
12677
Compute Score (GPU)
54892
Compute Score (GPU) 54892 33278
Single-core score 4719 3591
Multi-core score 12677 9090
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
3428810
1801176
CPU 878447 555276
GPU 1412240 546980
Memory 421127 176885
UX 716996 522035
Total score 3428810 1801176
Samples Less than 3 [9 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Stability - 71%
Graphics test - 13 FPS
Graphics score - 1732
3DMark Solar Bay
Graphics test - 29 FPS
Section 1 - 35 FPS
Section 2 - 30 FPS
Section 3 - 21 FPS
Graphics score - 7585
Sources: 3DMark [5]

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPhone 18 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-25 -> LiberoGeekbench 6 CPU4707 / 12705
📘 2026-09-25 -> LiberoGeekbench 6 GPU65077
📘 2026-09-24 (Ianzzzz)AnTuTu 113659652
📘 2026-09-20 (Théo's)AnTuTu 113428810
📘 2026-09-12 (hiya)Geekbench 6 GPU64915
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-27 (FontFrontPromptORG)Geekbench 7 CPU3087 / 8369
📘 2026-08-21 (Neuron)AnTuTu 111500141
📘 2026-07-04 (Lks jaay)Battery lifeBattery report
📘 2026-06-15 (Anton)AnTuTu 111782199
📘 2026-06-04 (Rain)Geekbench 6 CPU3656 / 9628

Memory

RAM
RAM size 12 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory clock 4800 MHz -
Channels 3 4
Storage
Storage size 256 GB 128 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 27 iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 27)
OS size 24 GB 18 GB
OS updates 7 years 7 years
Security updates 7 years 7 years

Battery

Capacity 4288 mAh 3582 mAh
Max charge power 60 W 30 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (25 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse charging Yes Yes
Bypass charging No No
Fast charging Yes (80% in 30 min) Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time 0:50 hr 1:38 hr
Battery cycles - 1000 cycles
Battery life tests
Web browsing - 11:41 hr
Watching video - 17:46 hr
Gaming - 05:35 hr
Standby - 132 hr
General battery life

Main camera

Matrix 48 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 8064 x 6048 8064 x 6048
Zoom Optical, 4x Optical, 5x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 120FPS Up to 120FPS
1080p video recording Up to 120FPS Up to 120FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 120° 120°
Lenses 1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Telephoto: 48 MP
3) Ultrawide: 48 MP
4) Depth
1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Telephoto: 12 MP
3) Ultrawide: 48 MP
4) Depth
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 48 MP 48 MP
Aperture f/1.5 - 4.0 f/1.8
Focal length 24 mm 24 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX803
Sensor size 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch) 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch)
Pixel size 1 micron 1.22 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution 48 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/2.8 f/2.8
Focal length 100 mm 120 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX913
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch)
Pixel size 0.7 micron 1.12 micron
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 48 MP 48 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 13 mm 13 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX972
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch)
Pixel size 0.7 micron 0.7 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh 175 80
Preview - 93
Zoom 143 142
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone 18 Pro from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 Pro from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 18 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4896 x 3672 4032 x 3024
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.9
Focal length 20 mm 23 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX714
Sensor size - 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch)
Pixel size 1 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) Yes Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 6.0 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Type of SIM card eSIM eSIM
Multi SIM mode Standby -
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
89.4 dB
79.6 dB

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced September 2026 September 2024
Release date September 2026 September 2024
Launch price (MSRP) $1199 $999
Successor - - Apple iPhone 17 Pro
SAR (head) - 1.24 W/kg
SAR (body) - 1.48 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger Not included Not included
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16 Pro:
    - In the US, the smartphone only supports eSIM, while the international model comes with 1 physical SIM slot plus eSIM capability.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 18 Pro is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
22 (43.1%)
29 (56.9%)
Total votes: 51

User opinions

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