The iPhone 16 sports a new design, a faster A-series chip, a longer battery life and comes in snazzy new colors. It's possibly the biggest upgrade to the non-Pro iPhone lineup in the last few years. But are these improvements enough for you to ditch your iPhone 15 and upgrade to iPhone 16? Find out in this iPhone 15 versus iPhone 16 comparison.
As our iPhone 16 Pro versus iPhone 16 comparison detailed, the gap between the Pro and non-Pro iPhones is smaller than ever this year. Besides the usual yearly upgrades, the iPhone 16 gets a customizable Action button, Apple's innovative Camera Control and a new A18 processor for better performance and efficiency. While these are all compelling changes, they don't make the 2023 iPhone 15 any worse. The latter can still hold its own, with no slowdown in its performance. The only chink in its armor is the missing support for Apple Intelligence, the upcoming AI features coming to iPhone (and iPad and Mac) later this year.
So, should you upgrade to the iPhone 16 from the iPhone 15 just for AI features? Are the other changes big enough to warrant an upgrade? Find out in this comparison.
Note: Our comparison applies to the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus as well, except for display size and battery life. The Plus models provide longer battery life thanks to their bigger batteries.
Table of contents: iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15 comparison
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 look the same from the front, although the former now comes with a more durable Ceramic Shield cover glass. On the rear, the iPhone 16 features a revamped vertical camera layout, but that's about it. The camera setup itself also remains mostly unchanged. Apple seemingly changed the camera positioning to enable the iPhone 16 to capture spatial photos and videos.
Like its predecessor, the iPhone 16 ships in multiple colors, including black, white, pink, teal and ultramarine. The last three color options stand out, giving the phones a snazzy and modern vibe that should attract youngsters.
The other two notable iPhone 16 design changes are the addition of the new Camera Control and the Action button, which first appeared in the iPhone 15 Pro. The latter replaces the Mute/Silent switch on iPhone 16 models. If you can get used to its location, you can use the Shortcuts app to trigger powerful tasks using the Action button.
As for Camera Control, it provides quick access to the Camera app and lets you change various things like zoom and depth of focus using slide and swipe gestures.
The iPhone 16 packs basically the same Super Retina XDR display panel as its predecessor. You get True Tone, Dynamic Island, Dolby Vision and HDR10 support. Even the peak brightness remains the same at 2,000 nits. The only improvement is that the iPhone 16's panel can hit a lower minimum brightness of 1 nit. This should reduce eye strain if you scroll on your phone in a dark room.
Apple used older-generation A-series chips on its last few regular iPhones, with technology frequently trickling down from iPhone Pro models. Thankfully, that's not the case with the iPhone 16. It uses Apple's new A18 SoC, fabricated on TSMC's 3nm fab, featuring a faster CPU and GPU. Apple says the iPhone 16's A18 delivers 30% faster CPU performance while the GPU is 40% faster. Even better, the chip is more power-efficient, delivering that performance boost while consuming less power. The Neural Engine is also up to 2x faster, boosting AI and machine-learning tasks.
Another upgrade on the iPhone 16 is more RAM. It ships with 8GB of RAM, 2GB more than the iPhone 15. This is likely a key reason why the phone supports Apple Intelligence. The extra RAM should also help with multitasking.
Lastly, Apple kept the storage configurations unchanged for another year on its non-Pro iPhones. Both iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 come with 128GB base storage, with 256GB and 512GB storage upgrades available.
Although it looks different, the iPhone 16 uses almost the same camera setup as the iPhone 15. The rear 48MP primary shooter remains unchanged, sporting an f/1.6 aperture and sensor-shift stabilization. Still, it should capture slightly better pictures due to a faster image signal processor and other improvements.
The Ultra Wide camera received minor upgrades, with macro support and a faster f/2.2 aperture. The latter should help boost the image quality in low-light scenarios. As for macro support, it allows the iPhone 16 to capture macro pictures and videos, like its Pro sibling.
On the processing front, the iPhone 16 packs some big changes. It supports Apple's new customizable Photographic Styles, allowing you to tweak the color, tone and intensity of your images. More importantly, you can apply a Photographic Style after clicking a picture, which is not possible on iPhone 15.
Another minor but important upgrade for content creators is the iPhone 16's ability to record QuickTake videos in 4K resolution. And if you own a Vision Pro, you'll be happy to know the iPhone 16 can record both spatial photos and videos.
Lastly, while the iPhone 16 does not house a four-mic array like the iPhone 16 Pro models, it supports Audio Mix and wind noise reduction for improved audio capture quality.
Both iPhones pack all the important safety and connectivity features, including satellite connectivity for Emergency SOS. Compared to the iPhone 15, the iPhone 16 sports three key upgrades: Thread networking support, faster Wi-Fi 7 and a new Qualcomm modem. Apple did not talk about the new baseband. However, early tests indicate the iPhone 16 delivers faster 5G speeds thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem. That also should help with connectivity in areas with patchy network coverage.
Despite the same-size chassis and a faster SoC, Apple says the iPhone 16 delivers longer battery life than its predecessor. It supposedly can provide an additional two hours of video playback. In real-life use, this should translate into the iPhone 16 providing about an extra hour of runtime.
More importantly, the iPhone 16 supports faster 25W MagSafe wireless charging. So, topping up its empty cell should take considerably less time than the iPhone 15. However, you must purchase Apple's upgraded MagSafe wireless charger to enjoy faster charging speeds.
Despite the typical yearly improvements and inflationary pressures, the iPhone 16 retains the same starting price as the iPhone 15. The base model costs $799 before taxes. The iPhone 16 Plus commands a $100 premium. You can upgrade to the higher 256GB or 512GB variant by paying an extra $100 or $300.
The iPhone 16 packs some impressive new features -- longer battery life, the new Camera Control and Action button, and support for Apple Intelligence. Still, if you own an iPhone 15, you don't necessarily need to upgrade. Yes, the iPhone 16 is a great phone -- and the new colors look gorgeous. However, it's not really worth upgrading from the iPhone 15 ... especially while we wait for Apple Intelligence. The changes are not significant enough that you will see any noticeable difference in daily use.
Upgrading only for Apple Intelligence support also doesn't seem worth the upgrade. Who knows how handy Apple's AI tools will prove in daily use? This will only become clear a few weeks (or months) after Apple Intelligence rolls out as a part of iOS 18.1 and other, future versions of iOS 18. (Read our post on when you can expect various Apple Intelligence features to roll out.)
Ideally, if you own an iPhone 15, you should save your money for the iPhone 17 in 2025. Early reports suggest Apple plans some big upgrades for next year, including introducing a slimmer new iPhone Slim or iPhone Air model and bringing a 120Hz ProMotion display to the entire lineup.