iPhone 16 Pro performance tested: How much faster is the new A18 Pro processor?

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iPhone 16 Pro performance tested: How much faster is the new A18 Pro processor?
The new iPhone 16 series come with new chipsets – the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max get an A18 Pro chipset, while the regular iPhone 16 models make the jump to the base A18 chip.

Both are considerably faster than before, and especially the base model that was a generation behind, now makes a bigger leap, but just what is the improvement?

And is the iPhone 16 Pro faster than rivals such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL?

We finally have the answers with benchmark results which reveal a lot about the new iPhone 16 and their performance.

iPhone 16 CPU Performance


Geekbench 6
SingleHigher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max3331
Apple iPhone 16 Pro3330
Apple iPhone 16 Plus3257
Apple iPhone 163264
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max2958
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra2187
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL1967
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max2423
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max2409
Geekbench 6
MultiHigher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max8106
Apple iPhone 16 Pro8044
Apple iPhone 16 Plus7842
Apple iPhone 167899
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max7288
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra6669
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL4775
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max6306
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max5941

First, we indeed see minimal difference in CPU performance between the regular and the Pro iPhone 16 models.

Comparing the iPhone 16 Pro Max to the 15 Pro Max from last year, we see a single-digit, 8% improvement in single core speed. For multi-core performance, the 16 Pro Max model performs nearly 15% faster. That's not a crazy jump forward, but a small and steady step up.

iPhones also remain the fastest in the industry when it comes to CPU performance. The iPhone 16 Pro Max scores 50% higher than the Galaxy S24 Ultra in single-core performance (the difference is even more stark when you compare the iPhone to the latest Pixel). For multi-core performance, the gap is smaller, but the iPhone still scores nearly 22% higher.

iPhone 16 GPU Performance


3DMark Extreme(High)Higher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max4567
Apple iPhone 16 Pro4479
Apple iPhone 16 Plus4055
Apple iPhone 164029
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max4236
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra4960
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL2569
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max3382
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max2990
3DMark
Extreme(Low)Higher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max3009
Apple iPhone 16 Pro2383
Apple iPhone 16 Plus2580
Apple iPhone 162397
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max2632
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra2710
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL2044
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max2327
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max2266

Qualcomm took the lead in GPU performance in the last couple of years, so that is one area where Apple had to play catch up.

The Pro models here benefit from an extra GPU core, so that is why they are faster than the regular iPhone 16 and the 16 Plus.

Arch-rival Galaxy S24 Ultra scores higher for the first few minutes, but both the 16 Pro Max and the S24 Ultra quickly throttle.

The more important number here is the "Low" score, which is what you actually get after playing for a few minutes. The iPhone scores 3009 points compared to 2710 points on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, so we see that Apple has now taken the lead in GPU performance as well.

At least for now, though. Let's not forget that the Galaxy S25 series are not that far off with an expected launch in January 2025.

iPhone 16 AI Performance


AI-SingleHigher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max4478
Apple iPhone 16 Pro4498
Apple iPhone 16 Plus4262
Apple iPhone 164279
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max3799
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra2597
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL2129
AI-HalfHigher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max7675
Apple iPhone 16 Pro7693
Apple iPhone 16 Plus7334
Apple iPhone 167366
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max5492
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra2644
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL2115
AI-QuantizedHigher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max6136
Apple iPhone 16 Pro6126
Apple iPhone 16 Plus5879
Apple iPhone 165873
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max4761
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra3843
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL3210

We have not measured AI performance before, but we decided to include this component here with the growing importance of AI.

The iPhone 16 series are the leading performers here with a welcome jump over the previous generation and ahead of the latest Galaxy and Pixel phones. 

iPhone 16 Storage Speed


Sequential Read(MB/s)Higher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max1590
Apple iPhone 16 Pro1454.5
Apple iPhone 16 Plus1561
Apple iPhone 161565.7
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max1556
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra2270
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL790.3
Sequential Write(MB/s)Higher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max1450.4
Apple iPhone 16 Pro944.6
Apple iPhone 16 Plus937.7
Apple iPhone 16953.4
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max1442
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra1180
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL344.3
Random Read(MB/s)Higher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max41.6
Apple iPhone 16 Pro43.4
Apple iPhone 16 Plus43.6
Apple iPhone 1643.4
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max43.84
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra38.66
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL29.2
Random Write(MB/s)Higher is better
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max32.2
Apple iPhone 16 Pro25.7
Apple iPhone 16 Plus25.9
Apple iPhone 1625.7
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max33.74
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra35.08
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL32.9

Finally, we have the storage speeds above, if you are curious to know the sequential and random read/write speeds.

Conclusion


While we don't have power efficiency numbers yet, we can at least safely say that the A18 and A18 Pro chips in the iPhone 16 series deliver steady growth and bring back Apple to the number one spot in performance.

The company has held this place for years in CPU performance, but now it's also back being in the lead for graphics/gaming performance as well.

Ball is now in Qualcomm/Samsung's corner.

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