iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15 Buying Guide: Which Device to Get?

Now that the much-awaited iPhone 16 is officially released, you must be wondering how the iPhone 16 is different from the iPhone 15. Well, that’s a fair question. The iPhone 15 is only a year old and it’s still one of the most capable smartphones out there. If you’re confused between the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16, you’ve landed at the right place. We’ve done an iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15 comparison on the grounds of their technical specifications and features. This will help you decide if you should stick to the iPhone 15 to save money or upgrade to the new iPhone 16 to unlock new experiences. Let’s see if the iPhone 16 is a worthy upgrade over the iPhone 15 or not.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15 Specs

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Design

Last year, Apple made some significant design upgrades that instantly differentiated the iPhone 15 from the iPhone 14. We saw the debut of Dynamic Island on vanilla models, a stunning color-infused back glass, and a USB-C charging port. The latest iPhone 16 inherited all of them from the iPhone 15 features, but Apple also glazed a layer of design changes that give the new iPhone the identity of its own.

The new iPhone 16 is made from Aerospace grade aluminum with a second-gen Glass Ceramic Shield on the front that’s 2x tougher than any smartphone glass. One of the major design changes between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 is the addition of new buttons. Unlike the iPhone 15 which features the classic Mute switch, the iPhone 16 gets the programmable Action Button that we first saw on the iPhone 15 Pro models. The new iPhone 16 also features a brand-new sapphire crystal, Camera Control Button on the bottom right that brings an array of dedicated camera functions. This new capacitive button lets you open the camera app, zoom in/out, adjust focus, and do a lot more while you’re shooting in the landscape mode.

Another noticeable design difference between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 is the rear camera bump. Compared to the square-shaped camera module with diagonally placed lenses on the iPhone 15, the latest iPhone 16 sports a redesigned pill-shaped camera module with vertically stacked lenses. This change alone is enough to instantly recognize the new iPhone 16. You’ll get to choose from five iPhone 16 colors – Pink, White, Black, Teal, and Ultramarine.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Display

Well, there’s nothing much to compare the iPhone 16 to the iPhone 15 in terms of the display. Once again, the non-Pro iPhone model has the same 6.1” Super Retina XDR display display with HDR support and 2,000 nits of peak brightness. Sadly, Apple has continued the ’60Hz’ refresh rate trend with the iPhone 16 & iPhone 16 Plus. So, no matter if you buy an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16, you’ll still be stuck with that 60Hz display.

Also, just like the iPhone 15 series, you get an option to opt for a bigger 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus that gives you more real estate to enjoy videos and other stuff.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Camera

Last year, we saw Apple making dramatic camera upgrades with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. We saw the debut of the 48MP primary camera on the base models and improvements to the Night Mode. As a result, you can capture brilliant shots on the iPhone 15 with sharper details and more vivid colors.

Interestingly, Apple has made some significant camera upgrades this time as well. The iPhone 16 also features a dual camera setup on the rear panel that houses a 48MP Fusion Camera with 1x and 2x optical zoom capabilities. Thanks to the improved primary camera, you can capture stunning shots with greater details. The secondary 12MP ultra-wide camera now comes with Autofocus and Macro photography for the first time. This will level up the night photography game by allowing users to capture more detailed low-light shots. You can capture incredibly sharp and detailed photos and videos, even at night.

That’s not all. The iPhone 16 also supports Spatial Capture which lets you take photos and videos in 3D for your Apple Vision Pro. Powered by AI and Spatial Audio capture, the new Audio Mix feature lets you adjust the way voices sound in your videos. You get to choose from In-frame, Studio, and Cinematic options. With the new generation of Photographic Styles, you can add, remove, or change a style so your photo looks more like you.

Talking about the front camera, you’ll continue to see the 12MP TrueDepth camera on the iPhone 16.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Performance

This is the area where the new iPhone 16 clearly dominates the older iPhone 15. After using the old chipsets in the new vanilla models for consecutive two years, Apple has finally ditched that annoying habit and launched the entire iPhone 16 lineup with brand-new SoCs. The latest iPhone 16 & 16 Plus are powered by the brand-new A18 chipset with a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, and a more powerful 16-core Neural Engine to support Apple Intelligence. Compared to 6GB RAM on the iPhone 15, you get 8GB of RAM on the new iPhone 16. This means, processing times will be faster, gaming will be better, and you’ll get to enjoy other meaningful performance upgrades.

Apple claims the new iPhone 16 offers 30% faster CPU performance compared to the previous iPhone 15. Thanks to the A18 processor, the iPhone 16 now supports AAA titles and delivers an improved gaming experience. On top of it, there’s a New thermal design that improves heat dissipation and offers 30% higher sustained performance for graphics.

The iPhone 15 also offers a nice performance that you would expect from a smartphone. That said, the new iPhone 16 will offer you a fantastic performance boost, all thanks to the A18 chipset. This would make the iPhone 16 the ultimate choice for users who need a faster processor for mobile gaming and other tasks.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Apple Intelligence

One of the most important features that put the iPhone 16 one step ahead of the iPhone 15 is Apple Intelligence support. We all know that even last year’s iPhone 15 and 15 Plus do not support generative AI capabilities. So, if you’re looking to upgrade to iPhone 15 or iPhone 16, you must know that you can’t access any AI feature on the iPhone 15. Whereas, the new iPhone 16 offers complete access to all the Apple Intelligence features like a more capable Siri with ChatGPT integration, Writing Tools, phone call recording, and more.

Unarguably, this is the biggest differentiator between the new iPhone 16 and last year’s iPhone 15 model. If you’re holding on to a super-old model and are planning to buy a new phone, Apple Intelligence would be an intelligent reason to upgrade to the new iPhone 16.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Battery & Charging

Both iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 are equipped with a USB-C charging port. That said, the ‌iPhone 16‌ brings improvements in battery technology and charging. Apple has designed the iPhone 16 to fit in a bigger battery that works together with the capable A18 chipset to deliver a nice boost in battery. Compared to 20 hours of video playback on iPhone 15, the new iPhone 16 offers a 22-hour battery life. So, you get an additional two hours of video playback.

iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: Price

Now, let’s compare the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 in pricing. After all, it’s one of the most important factors a user takes into account while buying a new phone. The iPhone 16 starts from $799 for the base variant of 128GB. It’s nice to see Apple sticking with the same price tag. With the debut of the new iPhone 16, Apple has reduced the iPhone 15 by $100, which makes the iPhone 15 starting price at $699. So to say, the iPhone 16 is $100 more expensive than the iPhone 15. Since you get a bunch of new features, upgrades, and more importantly Apple’s AI features, spending that extra $100 makes all the sense.

Should You Upgrade to iPhone 16 from iPhone 15?

Last year, the iPhone 15 brought some dramatic upgrades over the iPhone 14 like the Dynamic Island, a 48MP primary camera, a USB-C port, and more. The new iPhone 16 also brings an array of noteworthy upgrades like improved rear cameras, an Action Button, a Camera Control Button, a new A18 processor, and boosted RAM. That said, if you already own an iPhone 15, the new iPhone 16 won’t be a game-changer, except for the Apple Intelligence support. Also, if you’re into mobile photography, you’ll find the new Camera Control button pretty useful. If you have no or little interest in AI features, you may want to stick with the iPhone 15. It might be a slightly older, but still capable smartphone.

On the flip side, if you’re using a years-old model like iPhone 11 or iPhone 12, and are planning to get yourself a new phone, we would recommend going for the new iPhone 16. Frankly, it’s more capable and packed with some brilliant upgrades, with AI being the prime attraction. The lack of AI support would make even the one-year-old iPhone 15 quite outdated.

Are you planning to buy to buy the new iPhone 16? Or, would you stick to your iPhone 15? Tell us in the comments below!