iPhone 11 to iPhone 16: What has changed in 5 years?

“What are the differences between iPhone generations?” someone asked. “iPhones in the past few years have been the same!” others exclaimed.

It’s true that most iPhone upgrades are incremental, but in Apple’s defense, why overhaul something that’s already good? Innovation is exciting, but it also comes with risks. Sometimes, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

That being said, to prove that no iPhone is the same, here are the changes Apple has implemented on every product line from iPhone 11 to iPhone 16.

iPhone 11

The iPhone 11 starts at $699, edging out the iPhone XR with a new camera, improved audio, and a better display.

iPhone 11
Credit: Apple

The 2019 smartphone shoots 4K video at 60 frames per second, which is higher than 1080p video at 60 frames per second. Let’s take a deeper look at all the other features Apple has to offer with the iPhone 11.

camera function

• Introducing night mode

• New slow motion videos for selfie cameras

• Click as shortcut for video recording (in photo mode)

• Upgraded wide-angle lens with faster autofocus and better low-light performance

• Upgraded ultra-wide-angle lens, wider field of view (120 degrees)

• “Semantic Rendering” – the process of intelligently detecting subjects before re-adjusting lighting

• “Stereoscopic depth” in portrait mode enables better depth of field

• Added “High Key Monochrome” effect to Portrait Mode

• Updated telephoto for better light gathering (Pro and Pro Max only)

• New ‘Deep Fusion’ computational photography feature reduces noise and improves detail (Pro and Pro Max only)

iPhone 11 Pro
Credit: Apple

exhibit

vocal

iPhone 12

Despite the chaos the coronavirus pandemic has brought to the world, Apple launched its new iPhone 12 in 2020, albeit later than its usual September release date.

Zlata Ivleva/mashable
Credit: Apple

The iPhone 12 series was released in October and was the first to launch the new short-lived “mini” series. The successor to iPhone 11 also brings 5G support. However, many critics were unimpressed at the time because 5G was not yet widely available. Let’s take a look at what’s new in the series.

camera

• Updated wide-angle camera, improved low-light performance

• Night mode is now enabled all Camera (not just wide angle camera)

• New “Night Mode Delay” feature

• Deep Fusion is now available on all four cameras, including wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle, selfie and telephoto shooters

• longer telephoto lens (Pro Max only)

• Updated wide-angle lens features improved optical image stabilization (also known as “sensor shift”) and better low-light performance (Pro Max only)

• Apple ProRAW, option to access minimally processed photos (Pro and Pro Max only)

• HDR video recording allows you to shoot more vivid videos (Pro and Pro Max only)

• New LiDAR Scanner Unlocks New Depth Perception Capabilities and AR Functions (Pro and Pro Max only)

exhibit

• Higher resolution Super Retina XDR display

• Ceramic shield increases display durability

• larger display (Pro and Pro Max only)

Connectivity

iPhone 13

It is reported that the bangs of iPhone 13 have been reduced by 20%, but personally, I don’t like this change.

iPhone 13
Photo credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Sure, it’s smaller in width, but it goes further into the display. On the plus side, phones in this series debut with larger batteries, which means runtime on a single charge should improve over the iPhone 12. Let’s take a look.

camera

• Movie Mode, a rack focus feature that changes the depth effect of video through bokeh

• Updated wide-angle camera, making photos and videos look brighter

• “Sensor Shift” is now available for entry-level phones (mini and standard iPhone)

• Better night mode

• Telephoto now offers up to 3x optical zoom (Pro and Pro Max only)

• New autofocus, ultra-wide camera has better low-light performance (Pro and Pro Max only)

• Provides better light gathering effects for wide-angle cameras (Pro and Pro Max only)

• photography style (Pro and Pro Max only)

• ProRes Video, an Apple video codec that preserves HDR image detail

Movie mode in action
Credit: Apple

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iPhone 14

Goodbye, Mini! Apple has replaced the mini, which entered the iPhone lineup along with the 12 series, with the new iPhone 14 Plus. Another feature Apple has eliminated is physical SIM cards.

iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max
Credit: Apple

Take a look at other surprises coming to the 2022 iPhone 14.

camera

• Newer wide-angle camera with bigger sensor, better low-light performance (Standard and Enhanced editions only)

• Updated ultra-wide-angle camera to improve low-light performance

• New 48MP wide-angle lens, upgraded from 12MP (Pro and Pro Max only)

• The selfie camera also gets low-light improvements; plus, for the first time, it has autofocus

• New “Photon Engine”, an improved version of Deep Fusion

• New action mode allows users to capture exciting moments on the move

Credit: Apple

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design

• The iPhone 14 Plus replaces the future iPhone 14 mini and is about the same size as the iPhone 14 Pro Max but has fewer features

• Dynamic Island – a feature that makes your interactions with your iPhone more vivid – and make better use of that controversial notch (Pro and Pro Max only)

Credit: Apple

Connectivity

• eSIM replaces physical SIM card

• Call for emergency help via satellite, allowing users to seek help in areas with poor signal coverage

Security

iPhone 15

Cue Sia, because one of the biggest draws of the iPhone 15 is that I’m passionate about: titanium! Oh, and let’s not forget the USB-C port and the debut of the Apple Intelligence beta (Pro model only).

Photo credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Let’s see what other features Apple has packed into the iPhone 15.

camera

• The iPhone 14 series’ 48MP wide-angle camera now works on all phones, not just Pro models

• 48MP wide-angle lens with wider sensor, reduced lens flare, longer focal length and better low-light performance (Pro and Pro Max only)

• Spatial video recording with Apple Vision Pro (Pro and Pro Max only)

• New 5x optical zoom (Pro Max only)

• New ProRes 4K at 60 frames per second (Pro and Pro Max only)

design

• New USB-C port

• Dynamic Island works on all phones, not just Pro models

• New “Grade 5” Titanium Case (Pro and Pro Max only)

• Thinner bezels (Pro and Pro Max only)

• New customizable action buttons (Pro and Pro Max only)

Connectivity

gamble

iphone 16

iPhone 15 introduces action buttons, which are only available on Pro models.

Photo credit: Kimberly Gedeon/Mashable

But with the launch of the iPhone 16 series, the action button is now included in all four phones. In addition, Apple has also added new camera control buttons to iPhone 16; this new feature also covers the entire product line.

Apple also claims that the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the best battery life yet.

camera

• New camera controls give you easy access to zoom, photography style, exposure, tone and more

• New Vision Intelligence (located on the camera control button) lets you use your camera to gain information about surrounding objects

• New “optical quality” 2x zoom on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus

• The 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus now has autofocus, macro photography support and better light capture

• All iPhone 16 models now support spatial video and photo capture

• New photography styles (e.g. golden, cozy, quiet, amber, etc.)

• New 48MP ultra-wide lens, upgraded from 12MP (Pro and Pro Max only)

• 120Hz 4K video recording, and faster slow-motion options (Pro and Pro Max only)

exhibit

• Bigger displays, now 6.3 inches on the Pro and 6.9 inches on the Pro Max, and the thinnest bezels of any Apple product (Pro and Pro Max only)

design

• The second generation “Ceramic Shield” provides better glass display durability (50% tougher than the first generation)

• Action buttons are now spread across the lineup

vocal

• Delivers more “realistic” audio with improved studio-quality microphones (Pro and Pro Max only)

• spatial audio capture (Pro and Pro Max only)

• New audio mixing feature reduces unnecessary noise during video capture (Pro and Pro Max only)

• Overlay one track onto another in Voice Memos (Pro and Pro Max only)

gamble

• Apple claims sustained gaming performance is “30 percent better” thanks to the new A18 chip and improved thermal management on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus

• Supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, increasing frame rate by 5 times

• iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus can now play some native AAA games that were once Pro-only, including Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Assassin’s Creed Phantoms.

• Improved thermal capacity of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max and new A18 Pro chip