Apple has unveiled its latest high-end smartphones with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Typically, one would expect these new devices to be faster than their predecessors. Apple promises exactly that. However, an initial benchmark comparison with the iPhone 15 Pro shows the opposite.
iPhone 16 Pro disappoints in first benchmark
Although Apple won’t launch its new iPhone 16 models until September 20, the iPhone 16 Pro has already been spotted in a Geekbench benchmark. The results of the new model with the A18 Pro chip haven’t quite met the high expectations. The phone achieves a single-core score of 3,114 points and a multi-core score of 6,666 points. This is partly less than the iPhone 15 Pro (Source: Gizchina). The predecessor reaches a score of 2,900 points in the single-core test and 7,440 points in the multi-core test in the same benchmark. The new iPhone 16 Pro does have slightly more power in single-core applications but loses out in multi-core applications.
Looking at Apple’s website, you’ll see at first glance a 6-core CPU that’s up to 60 percent faster. However, the company knows how to play with numbers. This is actually a comparison with an iPhone 12 Pro. Compared to the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 16 Pro is said to be only up to 15 percent faster. It could be less or not faster at all. The difference between the two iPhone generations is therefore marginal when it comes to pure computing power.
Does the iPhone 16 Pro need to be faster?
This is the question that really matters. Probably not. Because just like Google and Samsung before, the performance of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) will be crucial for calculating the many new AI functions. The iPhone itself works fast enough and can handle everything. And if the NPU improves compared to its predecessor, that could be the decisive point that counts for this generation.