Apple iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15 | Infinium-tech

The iPhone 16 series is now here. It’s natural to ask yourself how much better the new Apple iPhone 16 is than the previous iPhone 15. And most importantly – is it worth upgrading?

Table of Contents:

For starters, you can compare the full specifications or continue straight to our editor’s assessment In the following text.

To recap, the iPhone 16 comes with a new chip that promises future AI capabilities, an improved screen glass, expanded camera capabilities, and faster wireless charging. Action keys and new camera controls have also been added. But all of this fits on a specific page – let’s see how different the two devices are in real-world use.

size comparison

The iPhone 16 has the same footprint as the iPhone 15, which is hardly surprising. Both phones measure 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm. The iPhone 16 is 1g lighter than the iPhone 15 at 170g.

For one, the new iPhone 16 should have improved durability according to Apple. It features a new generation Ceramic Shield front, which is said to be 50% stronger than the previous one on the iPhone 15.

The iPhone 16 also has two new buttons that the iPhone 15 doesn’t have – the action key used to be exclusive to iPhone Pros, and there’s also a new camera control.

display comparison

The iPhone 16 has the same display as the iPhone 15 – a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with excellent HDR capabilities and high resolution, but a standard refresh rate of 60Hz. Both panels are advertised as capable of up to 1,000 nits normal and 2,000 nits maximum brightness.

Well, as per our display measurements, there is a nominal difference of 50 nits between the two panels. For all intents and purposes, both screens are equally bright.

battery life

iPhone 16 has a 3,500 mAh battery. Specifically, it is rated at exactly 3,561 mAh. The battery is slightly larger than last year’s iPhone 15. It’s a small increase, but we’ll take it.

However, the more significant change comes from the improved efficiency of the new Apple A18 chipset and possibly some under-the-hood improvements in iOS 18.

As a result, the new iPhone 16 achieved a fantastic Active Usage score – a marked improvement over the iPhone 15. iPhone 16 offers up to 7 hours more call time, nearly 4 hours more web browsing and 1.5 hours more video streaming.

charging speed

The iPhone 16 supports fast wired charging, although Apple never reveals a maximum power rating. The company claims a 50% charge in 30 minutes when using a 20W USB-PD charger.

There’s also support for up to 25W fast wireless charging via the new MagSafe charger when plugged into a 30W+ power adapter. If you have a compatible Qi2 charger, the iPhone 16 will max out at 15W. Meanwhile, iPhone 15 MagSafe wireless charging maxes out at 15W.

We conducted our charging test with a 45W PD charger to give the iPhones the best chance. Both phones took almost the same time to charge. Recharged 85% of their iPhones in an hour on that charger and the last 15% took about an hour even without the optimized battery charging option.

speaker test

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 have identical stereo speakers. They are of the hybrid variety where the earpiece is one of the speakers. The second speaker is at the bottom of the phone, next to the USB-C port.

The iPhone 16 scored a Very Good score on our loudness test, while the iPhone 15 received a Good score. However, the differences are minor, and both setups appear to be similar.

Display

This year’s big upgrade for the iPhone 16 is the Apple A18 chipset, which is two generations ahead of the iPhone 15 – the A16. This is a second generation 3nm chip that is both more powerful and more efficient.

The Apple A18 features a faster six-core processor, a better 5-core GPU with better hardware raytracing support. It also comes with more RAM, now 8GB.

The A18 CPU is said to be 30% faster than the iPhone 15 CPU and 60% faster than the iPhone 12 CPU. The GPU should be 40% faster than the iPhone 15 and twice as fast as the iPhone 12.

benchmark performance

In our tests, the new Apple A18 CPU inside the iPhone 16 scores about 20% higher than the A16 inside the iPhone 15. There’s also a jump in GPU performance of between 30% and 60% depending on 3D testing.

The A18 chip has a new NPU, which scores almost double the NPU inside the iPhone 15.

The new iPhone chip allows all those high-end games to run very well on the iPhone 16 that were incompatible with the iPhone 15 and this is probably the most notable upgrade if you are a gamer.

Thanks to the new chipset, you’ll also get access to the Apple Intelligence feature once it’s released – as long as you live in a supported region (outside the EU and China).

camera comparison

The iPhone 16 practically borrows its main camera setup from the iPhone 15. It’s quite powerful – a 48MP sensor with 1/1.56″ size, 1.0µm individual pixels and sensor-shift OIS. There’s a bright f/1.6 lens on the front. The same applies to the selfie camera – the 12MP shooter has already made its mark. Has proven quality and is also equipped with phase detection autofocus.

The only upgrade is the new ultrawide camera. It’s still a 12MP unit. However, this year, there’s a brighter lens with an f/2.2 aperture. Plus, perhaps best of all, it now has autofocus, allowing it to also work as a macro camera for close-ups.

Of course, there are new camera controls too. This is an actual physical button that when pressed causes an actual trip. It also integrates a capacitive sensor that allows touch and swipe interactions as well as a high-precision force sensor that detects light presses.

image quality

There will hardly be any improvement in photo quality in daylight, no matter how hard Apple tries to convince you. The iPhone 16 takes similar photos to the iPhone 15. They are detailed, with natural colors, low noise and superb dynamic range. Foliage rendering isn’t our favorite – especially if you shoot in the default 12MP.

The samples given below were taken at the same place but at different times.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • Selfie

iPhone 15: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • Selfie

The iPhone 16 can now also take macro photos with its new ultrawide camera.

iPhone 16 – Macro with UW camera

The photos we took with the main camera in both 1x and 2x modes in low-light conditions are quite similar. The camera app has not opted for night mode on the iPhone 15, but still, the quality remains the same.

The brighter aperture on the ultrawide camera makes an impact at night and ultrawide photos from the iPhone 16 come out brighter, with more detail and less noise.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

iPhone 15: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

video quality

iPhone 16 adds new video options – studio-grade microphones for better audio quality, as well as spatial video and audio recording capabilities.

Furthermore, the video quality remains the same across all cameras.

Daylight videos from all three cameras are excellent, including stabilization.

Below we have some framegrabs of video taken by both phones at each focal length, so it’s easy to compare them.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • Selfie

iPhone 15: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • Selfie

Low-light videos from ultrawide cameras are now better – they’re better exposed, with more detail and less noise.

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

iPhone 16: 0.5x • 1x • 2x

decision

The Apple iPhone 16 starts at €949 and is a great premium compact phone – it delivers in all the areas that matter – design, screen, battery life, speakers, performance and camera.

The iPhone 16 is the faster phone of the two, with a better ultrawide camera and faster wireless charging. If we believe Apple, battery life has also become better and durability has also improved. Now you also get action keys and camera controls.

Even though it offers almost the same user experience, the iPhone 16 is actually a better phone than the iPhone 15.

However, the iPhone 15 is now around €200 cheaper and has similar features. Choosing between the two will depend on your budget and whether you value the additional features the iPhone 16 can offer.