iPhone 16 Plus Review: Exploring Apple’s New Powerhouse

The iPhone 16 Plus wants to be the go-to option for people looking for a big-screen iPhone at a lower price point, and this year’s model certainly fits the bill. The 16 Plus boasts a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display in a lightweight, robust body available in a variety of colors, as well as two buttons that enhance the experience. For individuals who enjoy shooting photos, I highly recommend the 16 Plus for its huge screen for reviewing shots and the Camera Control button, which considerably improves how you can shoot.

Years and years ago, “Plus” was a trademark of something added, a symbol of addition. Remember the iPhone 6 Plus? Companies chose to separate phones into professional and amateur categories. Anyway, for the past few years, the iPhone Plus served as a bridge between the standard iPhone and the Pro Max, the flagship model in the lineup. It was a non-Pro iPhone with a large screen and a hefty battery.

Now that we’ve reached the third iteration of this notion, it’s time to determine whether we truly need such a gadget. The Plus models have been the worst-selling models in the lineup over the last two years, with 10% and 9%, respectively, for the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus, now it’s time to see if the iPhone 16 Plus will follow suit.

IPHONE 16 KEY FEATURE

Since its launch, the Apple iPhone Plus model has stood out in the iPhone portfolio, and this trend continues with the iPhone 16 series. The Apple iPhone 16 Plus features a streamlined design, more powerful technology, and better cameras, and it is marketed as the iPhone with the best battery life. However, it costs nearly as much as the Pro.

The iPhone 16 Plus boasts a new design with thinner bezels and a reinvented camera bump. It retains the iPhone 15 Plus’s 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, as well as Dynamic Island, high resolution and brightness, HDR capabilities, and 60Hz refresh rate.

The new iPhone 16 Plus is powered by a new Apple A18 chip, which features a more powerful processor, enhanced graphics, and faster AI thanks to larger and upgraded memory.

Even if you can’t tell, the camera section has undergone significant changes. The 48MP primary camera features sensor-shift stabilization and Fusion capabilities, promising 2x optical quality zoom, which is superior to the iPhone 15 Plus’s 2x zoom. The enhanced 12MP ultrawide camera features a brighter aperture lens and autofocus capability for macro photography.

Finally, the iPhone 16 Plus supports next-generation MagSafe and Qi charging, enabling up to 25W wireless charging with the new MagSafe charger and up to 15W with any Qi2 pad. There’s no dancing around the elephant in the room. The iPhone 16 Plus screen feels obsolete without a high refresh rate, despite its high resolution, maximum brightness, and HDR capabilities. With the iPhone Pro getting closer to the Plus size, there will be no need to purchase the Plus.

IPHONE 16 UNBOXING

The Apple iPhone 16 Plus comes in a tiny paper packaging with a braided USB-C cable and SIM extraction tool.

The paperwork remains, but the Apple sticker is no longer present.

CAMERA

Like the iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 16 Plus has two cameras and a similar megapixel count. The main lens is now a 48MP Fusion camera with an f/1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization, which does an excellent job of preventing blurry shots.

The ultra-wide camera remains 12MP, but it now functions as a macro lens, letting in far more light for improved clarity when shooting at night. Its improved technology is carried over from the iPhone 15 Pro, and the Apple A18 chip powers new software and picture processing capabilities.

The 48MP main lens will still combine every four pixels into one, resulting in 24MP photos. In my testing, as shown in the gallery below, these are detailed and use a realistic, middle-of-the-road approach to color reproduction. The iPhone 16 Plus, like the iPhone 15 Pro, will auto-identify people or pets in the image and let you to apply the Portrait (aka bokeh) effect; this is useful.

You may still zoom in with the entire 48MP camera to create a closer, digital 2x telephoto image. It’s particularly useful for portraits or groups of people, and it doesn’t sacrifice much clarity, if any.

You may explore the new Photographic Styles that Apple is introducing with each iPhone 16 mode by either tapping the screen or softly double-pressing the Camera Control button. These are like filters on steroids, allowing you to do more with the Camera or Photos apps. You may swipe between them and watch how they are rendered in real time, as well as alter and tweak them yourself.

You can also use Camera Control to modify skin tones so that the iPhone captures them appropriately. The adjustments made here are only for the subject’s skin tone and have no effect on the remainder of the image. There are five to choose from, which you can further customize and pair with the standard photographic styles.

Photo effects render instantly, which I presume is due to the iPhone 16 Plus’s GPU, Neural Engine, and increased RAM. Camera Control also allows you to click in and slide to modify magnification, exposure, and depth (this is useful for seeing how much blur there is in real time before pressing the capture button). You can also use it to shoot, and while it isn’t available at launch – and trust me, I wish it was – you’ll ultimately be able to focus and shoot with two presses of the camera joystick.

The ultra-wide 12-megapixel camera is no longer limited to wide-angle photos. Apple has officially restricted macro photography to the more cheap iPhone models, and it’s as enjoyable as ever. You may get up close to objects and see them in varied light. I especially appreciated the improved low-light performance during a nighttime outdoor concert, as the 16 Plus handled roaming spotlights with ease.

From a video viewpoint, the iPhone 16 Plus can now capture up to 4K at 60 frames per second in Dolby Vision, which is great news for content creators. The true standout feature here, however, is the ability to slow down films after recording to 30 frames per second for dramatic slow-motion effects. This tool works quickly and is found in the Photos app under modifications.

The new Audio Mix feature works in tandem with the iPhone 16 Plus’s built-in microphones, allowing you to remix whatever you captured. You may choose from a few settings, including Standard, In-Frame, Studio, and Cinematic, and each can be further tweaked with a slider that allows you to eliminate or add background noise. This works surprisingly well, and for some designers, it may eliminate the need to bring additional equipment. At the very least, forgetting your microphone isn’t the end of the world.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

Apple has been hesitant to make major design changes since the iPhone 12 series, and the first significant update will come with the iPhone 16 devices, specifically the non-Pro variants.

The square-is camera hump is gone, and in its place is a vertical arrangement of the dual camera system, similar to the iPhone X design, but with much larger lenses. Aside from that, the overall design and feel remain consistent, as does the formula. The iPhone 16 Plus is a glass sandwich consisting of an aluminum frame and tempered glass sheets.

But it’s more than just tempered glass; it’s also Ceramic Shield, which is new. The iPhone 16 series includes a second-generation Ceramic Shield that is 50% stronger than the first generation, whatever that means (we attempted to research the case here).

However, there is another minor detail that we should not overlook. There’s a new button on the block, and it’ll take over camera duties. The Camera manage button is a capacitive, pressure-sensitive button that functions as a dual-action shutter button. You can also use swipe motions to manage various camera app settings, such as zoom and exposure.

The size and weight are nearly identical to last year’s model; it’s a big and weighty phone at 200+ grams, but that’s to be expected, and it comes with a large 6.7-inch display.

Speaking of which, the iPhone 16 Plus’ display is one of the most disappointing in the entire lineup. The display is a 60Hz panel. That’s correct, phones like the Galaxy A55 midranger and the Pixel 8a, which costs $499, have faster refresh rates. We’re not sure why, but it appears that Apple believes it can get away with 60Hz for one more time (we hope it’s THE last time). For what it’s worth, the brightness is now comparable to the figures for the Pro versions, with up to 2000 nits HDR and 1 nit minimum brightness.

Further down the display specs sheet, we find a panel that is quite identical to the previous generation: an OLED panel with a resolution of 1284 x 2800 pixels and a 20:9 aspect ratio, as well as the familiar Dynamic Island camera cutout in front.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

In the early days of modern iPhones, the entire line received the same chip, and all was well with the world. Then, in 2022, the iPhone 14 trailed the Pro by a complete generation, which was disappointing. This year, Apple has no choice but to cram a new processor into every iPhone, since they must be prepared for Apple Intelligence, even if you are not.

What if you don’t care if your phone can condense your email ramblings with a single swipe or deliver precise notification summaries? You’ll still be concerned about the A18. It breezes through tasks and even allows the iPhone 16 Plus to run AAA games – provided you have a good controller. They’re less smooth than on the Pro Max, which has more powerful A18 Pro graphics. In everyday use, however, most people will not notice the difference between the A18 and its Pro counterpart.

Other than that, the battery life is outstanding. Apple claims you can get up to 27 hours of video playback if you watch particularly long movies. During my testing, the Plus easily powered through a day of usual use, though AAA games drained the battery faster. At that moment, the ability to charge to 50% in half an hour with a 20W charger was welcome. What wasn’t: the phone’s USB 2 wired speeds, not USB 3. But, hey, most people won’t care about that.

Buy it if...

• Subtle update, camera island is more simple than last year.
• Excellent build quality, up to 6m of water resistance, and industry-leading scratch and shatter resistance on the front glass.
• Bright OLED screen with HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
• Outstanding battery life.
• Excellent speaker quality.
• Excellent all-around performance.
• In general, the camera performed well.
• Every iPhone includes at least five years of iOS updates.

Don't buy it if…

• Significantly more pricey than comparable Android solutions.
• The display is 60Hz, there is no Always On option, and the bezels are bigger than on Pro models.
• Charging isn’t very fast.
• Apple’s iOS restrictions can be discouraging to newbies to the ecosystem.
• There’s no dedicated telephoto camera.

FULL SPECIFICATION