Apple iPhone 16 Plus review

Introduction

The Apple iPhone Plus model has been the odd one out in the iPhone portfolio since its introduction and this does not change with the iPhone 16 series. The Apple iPhone 16 Plus brings a refined design, more powerful hardware and more advanced cameras, and it is touted as being the iPhone with the best battery life. Yet, it costs almost as much as the Pro.

It has a much bigger screen and battery to show for it, and it is notably less expensive than the iPhone Pro Max, so it makes quite a lot of sense for someone who values these two features but is not so much into photography with the rear cameras.

The iPhone 16 Plus has a refreshed design with slimmer bezels and a reimagined camera bump. It retains the same 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED from the iPhone 15 Plus together with its Dynamic Island, high resolution and brightness, HDR capabilities, and its standard 60Hz refresh rate.

There is a new Apple A18 chip at the heart of the new iPhone 16 Plus with a more powerful processor, more advanced graphics, and faster AI thanks to increased and improved memory.

The camera department has seen a big update even if you cannot tell right away. The 48MP primary camera has sensor-shift stabilization and Fusion capabilities, which promise 2x optical quality zoom, better than on the 2x zoom on the iPhone 15 Plus. Then comes the improved 12MP ultrawide camera with a brighter aperture lens and autofocus support that enables macro photography.

Finally, the iPhone 16 Plus supports the next generation MagSafe and Qi charging, which allows for up to 25W wireless charging via the new MagSafe charger and up to 15W with any Qi2 pad.

Apple iPhone 16 Plus specs at a glance:

• Body: 160.9x77.8x7.8mm, 199g; Glass front (Corning-made glass), glass back (Corning-made glass), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min), Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified).
• Display: 6.70" Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 2000 nits (HBM), 1290x2796px resolution, 19.51:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi.
• Chipset: Apple A18 (3 nm): Hexa-core; Apple GPU (5-core graphics).
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM; NVMe.
• OS/Software: iOS 18.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 0.7µm, dual pixel PDAF.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm, 1/3.6", PDAF; Depth: SL 3D.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec; Front camera: 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4674mAh; Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min (advertised), 25W wireless (MagSafe), 15W wireless (China only), 15W wireless (Qi2), 4.5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.3; NFC.
• Misc: Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer; stereo speakers; Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip), Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite.

There is no dancing around the elephant in the room. Without a high refresh rate, the iPhone 16 Plus screen feels dated despite its high resolution and high max brightness and its HDR capabilities.

With the iPhone Pro inching closer to the Plus size, there will soon be no reason to buy the Plus.

Unboxing the iPhone 16 Plus

The Apple iPhone 16 Plus ships in a thin paper box that contains a braided USB-C cable and a SIM ejection tool.

The paperwork is still here, but the Apple's sticker is now gone.