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iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras – 9to5Mac

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iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras – 9to5Mac

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

For our full iPhone comparisons, check out these guides, otherwise, read on for all the camera details 😁:

iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras

Rear cameras

iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras

Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max devices have new 48MP main rear cameras. That’s a notable upgrade over the 13 Pro/Max 12MP main lens.

And there is also a new 48MP ultra wide lens, 12MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, the all-new Camera Control button/sensor, and the latest-gen Photographic Styles.

Here are all the specs for the rear camera of the 16 Pro vs 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 quad pixel 1.9 µm pixels 2.44 µm quad pixel 1.9 µm pixels
Main lens focal length 24 mm 24 mm 24 mm 24 mm
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 gen Sensor-shift optical image stabilization Sensor-shift optical image stabilization 2nd gen 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 25x Up to 15x Up to 25x Up to 15x
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-gen portraits with Focus and Depth Control ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Portrait Lighting with six effects ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Night mode ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Night mode portraits ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Latest-gen Photographic Styles ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Spatial photos ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Macro photography ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Apple ProRAW ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

If you haven’t checked out Camera Control in-depth yet, here’s everything you need to know:

Video recording

Video

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 at up to 120 fps for 1080p and ProRes recordings with 16 Pro/Max. Other new features are wind noise reduction and Audio Mix.

And compared to 13 Pro/Max, the 16 Pro/Max deliver spatial video recording and log recording.

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 30 fps ✅ – up to 1080p at 30 fps ✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps ✅ – up to 1080p at 30 fps
Action mode ✅ – up to 2.8K at 60 fps ❌ ✅ – up to 2.8K at 60 fps ❌
ProRes recording ✅ – up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording ✅ – up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage) ✅ – up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording ✅ – up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage)
Log video recording ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Academy Color Encoding System ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Macro video recording ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Spatial video recording ✅ – at 1080p at 30 fps ❌ ✅ – at 1080p at 30 fps ❌
Slo-mo 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 with stabilization ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Night mode Time-lapse ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
QuickTake video ✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision ✅ ✅ – up to 4K at 60 fps in Dolby Vision ✅
Stabilization 2nd-gen 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-gen 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 mics ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
True tone flash ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Wind noise reduction ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Audio Mix ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Continuous autofocus video ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Playback zoom ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

Selfie camera

Apple’s TrueDepth front camera is upgraded on iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max with the latest-gen Photographic Styles, Smart HDR 5 for photos, log 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
Autofocus with Focus Pixels ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Retina Flash ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Photonic Engine ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Deep Fusion ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Smart HDR 4 for photos – ✅ – ✅
Smart HDR 5 for photos ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Next-gen portraits with Focus and Depth Control ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Portrait Lighting with six effects ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Animoji and Memoji ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Night mode ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Night mode time-lapse ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Latest-gen Photographic Styles ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Lens correction ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Auto 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 30 fps ✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps ✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps ✅ – up to 4K HDR at 30 fps
Apple ProRAW ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
ProRes recording ✅ – up to 4K HDR at 60 fps with external recording ✅ – up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage) ✅ – up to 4K HDR at 60 fps with external recording ✅ – up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage)
Log video recording ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Slo-mo 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 vs 13 Pro I/O

iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras I/O

Compared to the iPhone 13 Pro/Max, 16 Pro/Max have a USB-C port instead of Lightning with up to 10 Gbps transfer speeds and new capabilities like shooting video and photos directly to external storage.

Beyond the new Camera Control, there are some other upgrades like WiFi 7 support, MagSafe supporting up to 25W or wireless power, and more.

iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max
USB-C ✅ – USB 3 up to 10Gbps ❌ ✅ – USB 3 up to 10Gbps ❌
Lightning – ✅ – Up to 480Mbps – ✅ – Up to 480Mbps
WiFi 7 6 7 6
Bluetooth 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.0
UWB ✅ – Gen 2 ✅ – Gen 1 ✅ – Gen 2 ✅ – Gen 1
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 Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavIC) Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou) Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavIC) Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)
Audio playback Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos Spatial audio/Dolby Atmos
Video playback 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
SIM Dual eSIM in US eSIM and nanoSIM Dual eSIM in US eSIM and nanoSIM
MagSafe ✅ with 25W charging ✅ with 15W charging ✅ with 25W charging ✅ with 15W charging
Qi and Qi2 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras: Buyer’s guide

If you’re curious whether it’s worth upgrading overall, here is a broader summary of 16 Pro vs 13 Pro.

Keep in mind both iPhone 16 and 16 Pro feature the new Camera Control button/sensor (and Apple Intelligence support).

Reasons to buy iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max

  • Most powerful and capable cameras for both photos and video
  • Camera Control
  • Longer battery life
  • Titanium build with very slim bezels
  • USB-C with 10Gbps speeds, WiFi 7 support
  • Fastest chip, most powerful GPU for video and mobile gaming

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

  • If the features above aren’t a big deal, save your money and grab the iPhone 16 which includes most of the other new features this year (or keep your older iPhone 😁).
  • You could also consider grabbing or keeping an iPhone 15 Pro if you’d like Apple Intelligence support and an improved camera over iPhone 13/Pro but don’t want/need the latest 16/16 Pro features.

You can order iPhone 16 and 16 Pro from Apple, your carrier, and more.

What are you thinking? Upgrade? Keep your current iPhone? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for reading our guide on iPhone 16 Pro vs 13 Pro cameras!

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