Apple
iPhone 16 Pro
A18 Pro · 6.3″ LTPO · Titanium
94
/ 100
From $999
VS
iPhone 16 Pro wins by 2
Apple
iPhone 17 Air
A19 · 6.6″ · 5.4 mm thin
92
/ 100
From $999
Specdex verdict
iPhone 16 Pro takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, iPhone 16 Pro lands at 94 and iPhone 17 Air at 92. That puts iPhone 16 Pro ahead by 2 points — a narrow margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick iPhone 16 Pro if…
- ✓Class-leading single-core CPU
- ✓Stellar video pipeline
- ✓Seven years of updates
Pick iPhone 17 Air if…
- ✓Thinnest iPhone ever (5.4 mm)
- ✓Light in hand (165 g)
- ✓Still 120Hz ProMotion
Score breakdown
iPhone 16 Pro
94 cpu 98
gpu 94
camera 95
battery 86
display 93
design 96
iPhone 17 Air
92 cpu 97
gpu 94
camera 86
battery 76
display 92
design 100
Specs side-by-side
Spec
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 17 Air
Display
6.3″ LTPO OLED, 120Hz, 2622×1206
6.6″ LTPO OLED, 120Hz
Chipset
Apple A18 Pro (3 nm)
Apple A19 (3 nm)
RAM
8 GB
8 GB
Storage
128 / 256 / 512 GB / 1 TB
256 / 512 GB / 1 TB
Rear camera
48 MP + 48 MP UW + 12 MP 5× tele
—
Front camera
12 MP TrueDepth
—
Battery
3582 mAh
3200 mAh
Charging
27W wired, 25W MagSafe
—
OS
iOS 18
iOS 19
Weight
199 g
165 g
IP rating
IP68
—
iPhone 16 Pro
Pros
- +Class-leading single-core CPU
- +Stellar video pipeline
- +Seven years of updates
Cons
- −Charging still slow
- −Premium pricing
- −No 8K video
iPhone 17 Air
Pros
- +Thinnest iPhone ever (5.4 mm)
- +Light in hand (165 g)
- +Still 120Hz ProMotion
Cons
- −Single rear camera
- −Battery smaller than Plus (3200 mAh)
- −No telephoto
FAQ: iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 17 Air
Which is better, iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 17 Air? +
iPhone 16 Pro scores 94 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 2. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is iPhone 16 Pro worth the price? +
At $999, iPhone 16 Pro delivers a Specdex score of 94 — strongest in cpu.
Is iPhone 17 Air worth the price? +
At $999, iPhone 17 Air delivers a Specdex score of 92 — strongest in design.
Does iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 17 Air last longer? +
Based on our long-term update and support ratings, both ship with multi-year support. Battery and reliability scores are visible in the breakdown above.