In 2021 I exchanged my iPhone X for an iPhone 13 Pro. I have to say that I immediately noticed the difference in performance at the time.
The operation was consistently fluid, apps started faster and overall everything felt a good bit of brisk.
I have had that for some time, So the non-Pro model, as a test device here. Three years are between my model and this.
Three years in which something has happened both in the processor and in the RAM (RAM).
My iPhone 13 Pro is still on the A15 Bionic and six gigabytes RAM, while the iPhone 16 comes up with A18 chipset and eight gigabytes of RAM.
Of course I immediately asked myself the question: do I notice the additional performance in everyday life? My result is mixed, but we start at the beginning.
What do the benchmarks say?
I always do some benchmark tests for test devices. With the "Geekbench 6" tool, I measure the CPU performance in single and multi-core.
"Antutu Benchmark" measures the overall performance of a smartphone and also takes into account the GPU and memory speed.
In the end, both tools spend a score so that cell phones can be compared so well.
The results:
| Model | Geekbench 6 Single Core | Geekbench 6 Multi Core | Antutu Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 13 Pro | 2,355 points | 5.848 punke | 1,179,236 points |
| iPhone 16 | 3,068 points | 7.804 Punke | 1,450.003 points |
The difference between the cell phones is not as big as I would have expected.
Differences of 700 and 2,000 points at Geekbench are really not huge, even with Antutu Benchmark there are no worlds between the models.
The iPhone 16 is obviously not much more powerful than the iPhone 13 Pro-at least according to the benchmark apps. And in everyday life?
Operating system
In my opinion, the performance in the operating system itself is identical. Wiping through the home screens, opening folders or scrolls through menus works on both cell phones without any stipper.
I only notice the difference on the display, because my iPhone 13 Pro screen delivers 120 Hertz, the iPhone 16 "only" 60 Hertz.
So everything looks soft and smooth on the Pro model, especially with fast movements like when scrolling.
Apps
In everyday life I use the iPhone primarily for social media, emails, music streaming, smart home control or simply surfing.
Of course, weather apps, calculators or other programs are also used.
I have to admit: I also notice no difference between iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 16.
Both devices quickly load apps and the newer iPhone 16 has a lead of a few milliseconds for some apps.
Games
Actually, I play relatively little on the iPhone, I use my iPad for it, if at all. However, I always installed my purchased games on my smartphone to play a few minutes from time to time.
For the comparison, I tried the following games on both smartphones:
And? What about here? Sobering.
I could only see a difference in "Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake".
On my iPhone 13 Pro, the graphic was minimally regulated so that the game runs smoothly.
The resolution was a little lower, so that the screen content was not quite as sharp as on the iPhone 16. With the other games, on the other hand, I found no deviations.
Video editing
I was actually disappointed with the minimal differences in apps and games. So I asked the two cell phones a bit, with video editing.
I have provided the same video clip in 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on both devices in Imovie with effects and then exported.
Here there was a very clear difference between the cell phones:
- The iPhone 13 Pro needed 3:07 minutes to export the 4:16 minutes long clips.
- The iPhone 16 was ready after 2:04 minutes, so around a minute faster.
Conclusion
At the end of last year I was flirting with the iPhone 16, but looked at it because I was still very satisfied with the performance and camera of the iPhone 13 Pro.
I am really glad that I saved the money, because with the performance the difference is really hardly noticeable - at least in the operating system, apps and games.
The situation is different with video editing. Anyone who uses this intensively on the iPhone can save a lot of time with a new model.
Of course, you have to decide for yourself whether this justifies the purchase of a new iPhone, which is truly not a bargain.
If you also use an iPhone 13 Pro, maybe an iPhone 12 - I would wait at least up to the iPhone 17, maybe even up to the iPhone 18.
Which iPhone do you currently use and which is you coming from? Have you noticed the difference in performance or were you maybe disappointed because both devices felt equally quickly? Give me your experience in the comments.
