Apple iPhone 16 Pro vs Apple iPhone Air
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro and the Apple iPhone Air, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Our rating | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 3,582 mAh | — |
| Wired charging | 25W | — |
| Storage (max) | 512 GB | — |
| Screen size | 6.3 in | 6.5 in |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | — |
| Main camera | 48 MP | 48 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 199 g | — |
| Released | Sep 2024 | Jul 2025 |
Summary: Apple iPhone 16 Pro is ahead on our rating. Apple iPhone Air is ahead on screen size.
Display
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion (120Hz adaptive refresh rate), HDR10, True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch | Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion |
| Size | 6.3 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 2622‑by‑1206 pixels at 460 ppi | Not specified |
| Brightness | 1000 nits (typical), 2000 nits (peak) | — |
| Features | Dynamic Island, Always-On display | Rounded corners, follows curved design |
| Protection | — | Ceramic Shield |
Platform
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| OS | iOS 18.x (upgradable to iOS 26.6.1) | iOS (latest version at launch) |
| Chipset | Apple A18 Pro | Apple A19 Pro |
| CPU | 6-core CPU (2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores) | Not specified |
| GPU | 6-core Apple GPU | Not specified |
| Neural Engine | 16-core Neural Engine (35 TOPS) | — |
Memory
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| RAM | 8 GB LPDDR5X | — |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB NVMe | — |
| Card Slot | No | — |
| Card slot | — | No |
| Internal | — | Not specified (likely multiple storage options) |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Triple | 48 MP, f/1.78, 24mm (wide), second-generation sensor-shift OIS, dual-pixel PDAF; 48 MP, 120° (ultrawide); 12 MP, (telephoto), 5x optical zoom | — |
| Features | LiDAR Scanner, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5, ProRes video recording, Cinematic mode, Action mode, Spatial Video | No ultrawide, 10x digital zoom (limited performance) |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60/100/120fps Dolby Vision HDR | Not specified |
| Modules | — | 48MP Fusion Main camera with optical-quality 2x Telephoto |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), PDAF | — |
| Features | Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5 | Leverages square sensor for landscape selfies |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60fps | Not specified |
| Modules | — | 18MP Center Stage front camera |
Battery
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Type | Li-Ion 3582 mAh, non-removable (13.94 Wh) | Non-removable Li-Ion |
| Charging | Fast charging (50% in ~30 min with 20W adapter), MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W, Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W, Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W | All-day battery life |
| Endurance | Video playback: Up to 27 hours; Audio playback: Up to 85 hours | — |
| Wireless charging | — | MagSafe |
Body
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Dimensions | 149.6 × 71.5 × 8.25 mm (5.890 × 2.815 × 0.325 in) | Ultra-thin profile (exact dimensions not specified) |
| Weight | 199 g (7.0 oz) | Lightweight (exact weight not specified) |
| Build | Titanium frame, Ceramic Shield front, Textured matte glass back | Premium titanium frame, Ceramic Shield front and back |
| SIM | Dual eSIM (US); Dual nano-SIM (Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China); nano-SIM and eSIM (elsewhere) | Not specified (likely eSIM + physical SIM or dual eSIM) |
| Durability | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) | — |
Comms
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO | Not specified |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | Not specified |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS | Not specified |
| NFC | Yes, with reader mode | Not specified |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | USB-C | Not specified (likely USB-C) |
| Other | — | MagSafe |
Launch
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Apple iPhone Air |
|---|
| Announced | September 9, 2024 | Late 2025 |
| Status | Available. Released September 20, 2024 | Available |
Frequently asked questions
Which is newer, Apple iPhone 16 Pro or Apple iPhone Air?
Apple iPhone Air — Sep 2024 for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro versus Jul 2025 for the Apple iPhone Air.
Is the Apple iPhone 16 Pro or the Apple iPhone Air rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone 16 Pro 9/10 and the Apple iPhone Air 8/10.
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