iPhone 16 Pro and 13 Pro cameras

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are Apple’s latest smartphones equipped with the most capable cameras. So how much have they improved in three years? Here’s a detailed look at the iPhone 16 Pro and 13 Pro cameras.

Check out these guides for all our iPhone comparisons, otherwise read on for all the camera details :

iPhone 16 Pro and 13 Pro cameras

rear cameras

Both iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max devices feature new 48 MP main rear cameras. This is a notable upgrade over the 13 Pro/Max 12MP main lens.

There’s also a new 48MP ultrawide lens, a 12MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, an all-new Camera Control button/sensor, and the latest generation Photo Styles.

Here are all the features of the rear cameras of 16 Pro and 13 Pro:

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 13 Pro Max
Camera Control
main lens	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.5 aperture	48MP, ƒ/1.78 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.5 aperture
main lens sensor	2.44 µm four pixels	1.9 µm pixels	2.44 µm four pixels	1.9 µm pixels
Main lens focal length	24mm	24mm	24mm	24mm
Ultra Wide lens	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.8 aperture	48MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.8 aperture
telephoto lens	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 3x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 5x zoom)	12MP, ƒ/2.8 aperture (up to 3x zoom)
stabilization	2nd generation Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	2nd generation Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
optical zoom	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x
digital zoom	up to 25 times	up to 15 times	up to 25 times	up to 15 times
Flash	Adaptive True Tone Flash	True Tone Flash with Slow Sync	Adaptive True Tone Flash	True Tone Flash with Slow Sync
Photonic Engine
Deep Fusion
Smart HDR 4	–		–
Smart HDR 5
Next generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control
Six-effect Portrait Light
night mode
Night mode portraits
Latest Generation Photo Styles
spatial photographs
macro photography
Apple ProRAW

If you haven’t delved into Camera Control yet, here’s everything you need to know:

video recording

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max step up video recording with 4K Dolby Vision/HDR video recording at up to 120 fps.

You can also record up to 120 fps with 16 Pro/Max for 1080p and ProRes recordings. Other new features are wind noise reduction and Audio Mixing.

And compared to the 13 Pro/Max, the 16 Pro/Max provides spatial video recording and journaling.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 13 Pro Max
4K Dolby Vision/HDR recording	– at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 or 120 fps	– at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 or 120 fps	– at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps
1080p recording	– at 25, 30, 60 or 120 fps	– at 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 25, 30, 60 or 120 fps	– at 25, 30 or 60 fps
cinematic mode	– Up to 4K HDR at 30fps	– Up to 1080p at 30fps	– Up to 4K HDR at 30fps	– Up to 1080p at 30fps
action mode	– Up to 2.8K at 60fps		– Up to 2.8K at 60fps
ProRes recording	– up to 4K at 120fps with external recording	– Up to 4K at 30fps (1080p at 30fps for 128GB storage)	– up to 4K at 120fps with external recording	– Up to 4K at 30fps (1080p at 30fps for 128GB storage)
Log video recording
Academy Color Coding System
Macro video recording
Spatial video recording	– 1080p at 30 fps		– 1080p at 30 fps
slow motion recording	– 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps	– 1080p up to 240 fps	– 1080p up to 240 fps and 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps	– 1080p up to 240 fps
Time-lapse shooting with stabilization
Night mode Time-lapse shooting
QuickTake video	– Up to 4K at 60fps in Dolby Vision		– Up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision
stabilization	2nd generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor-shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)	Dual optical image stabilization for video (Telephoto and Wide) Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video (Wide)	2nd generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video 3D sensor-shift optical image stabilization and autofocus for video (Telephoto)	Dual optical image stabilization for video (Telephoto and Wide) Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video (Wide)
Cinematic video stabilization	– For 4K, 1080p and 720p	– For 4K, 1080p and 720p	– For 4K, 1080p and 720p	– For 4K, 1080p and 720p
audio zoom
stereo recording
4 studio quality microphones
True tone flash
Wind noise reduction
Audio Mix
Continuous autofocus video
Playback zoom

selfie camera

Apple’s TrueDepth front camera has been upgraded on iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max with the latest generation of Photo Styles, Smart HDR 5 for photos, logging video recording, and more.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 13 Pro Max
TrueDepth front camera	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture	12MP, ƒ/1.9 aperture	12MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Auto Focus with Focus Pixels
Retina Flash
Photonic Engine
Deep Fusion
Smart HDR 4 for photos	–		–
Smart HDR 5 for photos
Next generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control
Six-effect Portrait Light
Animoji and Memoji
night mode
Night mode time-lapse shooting
Latest Generation Photo Styles
lens correction
automatic image stabilization
Wide color capture for Photos and Live Photos
4K Dolby Vision/HDR recording	– at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps
1080p Dolby Vision recording	– at 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 25, 30 or 60 fps	– at 25, 30 or 60 fps
cinematic mode	– Up to 4K HDR at 30fps	– Up to 4K HDR at 30fps	– Up to 4K HDR at 30fps	– Up to 4K HDR at 30fps
Apple ProRAW
ProRes recording	– up to 4K HDR at 60fps with external recording	– Up to 4K at 30fps (1080p at 30fps for 128GB storage)	– up to 4K HDR at 60fps with external recording	– Up to 4K at 30fps (1080p at 30fps for 128GB storage)
Log video recording
slow motion recording	–1080p at 120 fps	–1080p at 120 fps	–1080p at 120 fps	–1080p at 120 fps
QuickTake video	– Up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision		– Up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision
Cinematic video stabilization	– For 4K, 1080p, 720p	– For 4K, 1080p, 720p	– For 4K, 1080p, 720p	– For 4K, 1080p, 720p
Spatial Audio and stereo recording

iPhone 16 Pro and 13 Pro I/O comparison

Compared to the iPhone 13 Pro/Max, the 16 Pro/Max has a USB-C port instead of Lightning with transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps and new features such as capturing videos and photos directly to external storage.

There are other upgrades beyond the new Camera Control, like WiFi 7 support, MagSafe support for up to 100 25W or wireless powerand more.

	iPhone 16 Pro	iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 16 Pro Max	iPhone 13 Pro Max
USB-C	– USB 3 up to 10 Gbps		– USB 3 up to 10 Gbps
Lightening	–	– up to 480Mbps	–	– up to 480Mbps
wifi	7	6	7	6
bluetooth	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.0
UWB	– 2nd Generation	– 1st Generation	– 2nd Generation	– 1st Generation
NFC with reader mode
Thread
Cellular	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA	GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA
5G	Sub-6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO	Sub-6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO	Sub-6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO	Sub-6 GHz and mmWave with 4×4 MIMO
4G	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA	Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA
GPS	Precise dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC)	Precise dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou)	Precise dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC)	Precise dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou)
play audio	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos	Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos
play video	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG	HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG
SHIMMER	Dual eSIM in the USA	eSIM and nanoSIM	Dual eSIM in the USA	eSIM and nanoSIM
MagSafe	With 25W charging	With 15W charging	With 25W charging	With 15W charging
Qi and Qi2

iPhone 16 Pro and 13 Pro cameras comparison: Buying guide

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth the upgrade overall, here’s a more comprehensive summary of the 16 Pro vs. 13 Pro.

Note that both the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro feature the new Camera Control button/sensor (and support for Apple Intelligence).

Reasons to buy iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max

• The most powerful and capable cameras for both photo and video
• Camera Control
• Longer battery life
• Titanium construction with very thin bezel
• USB-C with 10 Gbps speed, WiFi 7 support
• Fastest chip, most powerful GPU for video and mobile gaming

Reasons to buy iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 or keep what you have

• If the above features aren’t important, save your money and get the iPhone 16, which includes most of the other new features this year (or keep your old iPhone ).
• You may also consider grabbing or hiding something. iPhone 15 Pro If you want Apple Intelligence support and an improved camera over the iPhone 13/Pro, but don’t want/need the latest 16/16 Pro features.

You can order iPhone 16 and 16 Pro from appleyour carrier and more.

What are you thinking? Update? Should you keep your current iPhone? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for reading our guide between iPhone 16 Pro and 13 Pro cameras!