The iPhone 18 Pro’s main camera has a variable aperture that steps between f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4; the iPhone 16 Pro’s main camera is fixed at f/1.78. On zoom, the 16 Pro carries a 12MP 5x tetraprism telephoto at 120 mm, while the 18 Pro uses a 48MP 4x tetraprism at 100 mm and crops it to a 12MP 8x frame at 200 mm that Apple calls optical-quality.
Two years separate the phones. The 16 Pro launched on September 20, 2024 at $999 for 128GB; the 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for 256GB, and Apple’s trade-in page currently values a 16 Pro at up to $510. This comparison covers cameras only, lens by lens, using Apple’s tech specs for both phones. The full iPhone 18 Pro vs 16 Pro comparison handles the rest.
Key facts: every lens side by side
| Camera | iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Main | 48MP Fusion, 24 mm, f/1.78 | 48MP Fusion, 24 mm, variable aperture f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 or f/4.0, OIS |
| Ultra Wide | 48MP, 13 mm, f/2.2 | 48MP Fusion, 13 mm, f/2.2, 120-degree field of view |
| Telephoto | 12MP 5x, 120 mm, f/2.8, tetraprism | 48MP Fusion 4x, 100 mm, f/2.8, tetraprism, 3D sensor-shift OIS |
| 2x crop | 12MP, 48 mm, f/1.78 | 12MP, 48 mm |
| Longest optical-quality reach | 5x, 120 mm | 8x, 200 mm |
| Optical zoom range | 10x (5x in, 2x out) | 16x (8x in, 2x out) |
| Front | 12MP, f/1.9 | 18MP Center Stage, f/1.9 |
Main camera: fixed f/1.78 vs four aperture stops
Both phones use a 48MP Fusion sensor behind a 24 mm lens, so the resolution and field of view match. The difference is the iris. The 16 Pro’s aperture is fixed at f/1.78; the 18 Pro’s opens wider, to f/1.48, and closes down through f/1.8 and f/2.8 to f/4, using six laser-cut blades. Wider lets in more light and thins the depth of field; narrower keeps more of the scene sharp.
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Apple exposes that choice in the Camera app with manual aperture and shutter speed controls, alongside Smart Focus subject tracking, a faster Night mode and Photographic Styles with new texture and grain controls. None of those aperture options exist on the 16 Pro. The variable aperture explainer walks through how the four stops behave.
Telephoto: 5x at 120 mm vs 4x at 100 mm with an 8x crop
This is the one place the older phone holds a specification the new one does not. The 16 Pro’s tetraprism is a true 5x lens at 120 mm, and every pixel of its 12MP output comes from the full sensor. The 18 Pro’s tetraprism is a 4x lens at 100 mm, so its native reach is shorter, but the sensor behind it is 48MP. Apple crops that sensor to produce a 12MP 8x image at 200 mm, which it lists as optical-quality, and states the overall range as 16x against the 16 Pro’s 10x.
On paper, the 18 Pro reaches further at 8x, and its 48MP telephoto sensor captures four times the pixels of the 16 Pro’s 12MP unit. What Apple has not published is how the 18 Pro handles 5x itself, which falls between its two listed focal lengths. The 18 Pro’s telephoto is listed with 3D sensor-shift optical image stabilization; Apple has not published a stabilization comparison between the two phones.
Ultra Wide and front camera
The Ultra Wide is effectively unchanged on paper: 48MP, 13 mm and f/2.2 on both phones, with Apple listing a 120-degree field of view for the 18 Pro. Apple did not announce Ultra Wide changes this year, and the spec sheet bears that out.
The front camera is a bigger jump than most of the rear. The 16 Pro has a 12MP f/1.9 camera; the 18 Pro has the 18MP Center Stage camera at f/1.9 that arrived with the 17 generation. Apple has not framed the two against each other beyond the resolution.
Video and software the 16 Pro does not get
Apple’s 18 Pro spec sheet lists 4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 or 120 fps, Cinematic mode up to 4K Dolby Vision at 60 fps, ProRes up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording, and spatial video at 1080p and 30 fps. New this year are Cinematic effects up to 60 fps, 4K Dolby Vision HDR time-lapse and an Audio Mix upgrade with music isolation. Apple has not published a line-by-line video comparison with the 16 Pro, so the figures above stand on their own.
Apple Reference Image, which stores an untouched original with verification metadata alongside edits, appears in both the 18 Pro press release and on Apple’s iOS 27 page, and Apple has not said whether it needs the new hardware. Both phones qualify for full Apple Intelligence under Apple’s iOS 27 compatibility list, which includes every iPhone 16 or later, so the software features that ship on September 14, such as Siri mode in Camera and Spatial Reframing in Photos, reach the 16 Pro too.
What Apple has not said
- Sensor sizes for any of the cameras on either phone.
- How the 18 Pro produces intermediate zoom levels such as 5x between its 4x lens and 8x crop.
- Whether any of the 18 Pro’s camera-app features, including manual aperture control, depend on iOS 27 rather than the hardware.
- A direct comparison of video capabilities between the two generations.
The iPhone 18 Pro goes on pre-order Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT, from $1,199, and ships Friday, September 18. If you are trading in, the iPhone 16 Pro trade-in guide has Apple’s current value, and the announcement roundup has the complete spec list.
