Apple's iPhone 16 Plus is available now, and we think it's Cupertino's best rendition of a larger yet affordable iPhone. As you'll see in our iPhone 16 Plus review, the new Plus takes all the excellent bits of the standard iPhone 16 and puts it in a package that's almost iPhone 16 Pro Max sized but nowhere near as expensive.
So now you can get a big-screened iPhone with upgraded specs, the new Action Button and Camera Control button, some subtle design changes, and more power. The latter means it's ready for Apple Intelligence features when they roll out; Apple's forthcoming suite of AI features is already being marketed as the key upgrade that separates the iPhone 16 Plus and its siblings from last year's iPhone 15 family.
As mentioned, the iPhone 16 Plus is available now, so be sure to check out our iPhone 16 deals roundup to find the best price on Apple's new large iPhone.
So without further ado, read on for all the key things you need to know about the iPhone 16 Plus.
iPhone 16 Plus: what you need to know
- The iPhone 16 Plus was announced on September 9 and released on September 20
- Starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,599 for 128GB of storage
- The camera app now has a dedicated Camera Control button
- It inherits the Action button from the iPhone 15 Pro
- Apple Intelligence is coming in beta in October, with a full launch in December
- Siri will integrate ChatGPT, and the camera is getting new Visual Intelligence features
- The iPhone 16 Plus uses the new A18 chipset
- It comes in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options
- ... and it has 8GB of RAM
- Its cameras are aligned vertically, for Spatial Capture of photos and videos
- It has a 48MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide camera
- The iPhone 16 Plus ships with iOS 18
- It comes in five colors: ultramarine, teal, pink, white and black
Price and release date
- The iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,599
- The iPhone 16 Plus released on September 20, with units shipping and hitting store shelves simultaneously
The iPhone 16 Plus released on September 20, with units shipping and hitting store shelves simultaneously. It was previously available to preorder from Friday, September 13.
However, dates for some configurations of the iPhone 16 Plus are now slipping beyond that. This makes sense, as the iPhone 16 Plus is reportedly proving far more popular at launch than its predecessor.
The iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,599 for the model with 128GB of storage.
The iPhone 16 Plus launches at the same price as its predecessor, the iPhone 15 Plus, except for a AU$50 reduction in Australia.
We've rounded up full iPhone 16 Plus pricing information below.
iPhone 16 Plus specs
- Like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus ships with the A18 chipset
- Apple is claiming 30% faster CPU performance and 40% faster GPU performance
- RAM has been upgraded from 6GB to 8GB, to power Apple Intelligence
The iPhone 16 Plus sees Apple bring some key spec boosts to its cheapest large-format phone. We've rounded up the most crucial ones below.
iPhone 16 Plus: key upgrades
- New Action Button
- New Camera Control touch-sensitive button
- New A18 chipset
- Vertically-aligned cameras for Spatial Capture of videos and photos
- Apple Intelligence is on the way, starting in October (beta release)
Despite looking similar to last year's iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 16 Plus brings a suite of external and internal upgrades to Apple's cheapest large phone.
Most visually striking are the vertically aligned cameras, re-oriented from the diagonal arrangement found on base-model iPhones since the iPhone 13. This is to allow for Spatial Capture, the same photo and video format used by the Apple Vision Pro headset.
The mute switch is gone, replaced by the iPhone 15 Pro's multi-purpose Action Button, which users can assign to one of several functions in Settings.
The all-new Camera Control button gives tactile control over the camera app, acting as a dedicated focus and shutter button, with a capacitive surface allowing for touch gestures.
Under the hood (screen?) Apple has given the iPhone 16 Plus some key spec boosts. While these are incremental as usual, the software power these upgrades unlock makes them some of the most meaningful iPhone spec increases in years.
The new A18 SoC replaces the A16 Bionic chip found in the iPhone 15 Plus, which Apple says brings a 30% performance boost, though we'll test this for ourselves in our review. The A18 supposedly brings a 40% increase in graphics performance, too.
All that said, an early benchmark suggests the A18 chipset might only provide a more modest boost.
In any case, we also know that the iPhone 16 Plus ships with 8GB of RAM, the same as the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup, as this is the minimum amount required to run Apple Intelligence features.
Speaking of which, the iPhone 16 Plus' biggest upgrade will be on the software side: Apple Intelligence brings a ChatGPT-powered Siri that can execute commands across different apps as well as text summarization and generative image creation. Apple Intelligence will not be available at launch, though, with Apple confirming a beta release in October and full launch in December.
The Camera Control button will also enable Visual Intelligence, using AI to analyse the images seen through the viewfinder and find relevant information online.
Apple Intelligence will mark Apple's entry into the AI race, so far populated by packages like Google Gemini and Samsung Galaxy AI. You'll need an iPhone from the iPhone 16 lineup or an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to use these new features.
We found that the iPhone 15 Plus had the best battery life of any iPhone, so we're eager to test the iPhone 16 Plus for ourselves to see if Apple has managed to continue this trend.
The iPhone 16 Plus is available with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. The first units shipped on September 20, following a week of preorders starting September 13.
Camera Control takes charge
- Camera Control button gives the camera app a button that can do much more than just take photos
- The brand-new button comes to all iPhone 16 models
- Blends a tactile button and haptic feedback, and also detects touch gestures
The iPhone 16 Plus, like the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup, gets the brand-new Camera Control button as standard.
The Camera Control is a tactile button that also senses touch input through a capacitive surface, allowing for clicks, half-presses, swipes, and double taps to perform a whole range of camera functions.
These include clicking the button to open the camera app, swiping to zoom in and out, and holding a half press to access more options.
The sensation of the physical button is augmented by Apple's Taptic Engine, providing additional haptic feedback.
The Camera Control also ties in to Visual Intelligence, itself part of the Apple Intelligence suite of AI tools.
Visual Intelligence uses the camera to identify and provide contextual information about things in the user's environment.
For example, pointing the camera at a dog and activating Visual Intelligence will bring up information about the dog's breed from the internet, a similar premise to Google Lens.
Action Button has arrived
- The iPhone 16 Plus gets the Action Button from last year's Pro models
- User-assignable to several simple features or complex customisable shortcuts
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have both inherited the Action Button from last year's iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The Action Button replaces the mute switch present on every base-model iPhone since the very first iPhone in 2007.
In settings, users can assign the Action Button to one of several functions or customisable shortcuts, such as turning on the flashlight, changing focus modes, or (somewhat redundantly) opening the camera.
And, yes, you can still use it as a mute switch if you like.
A nice bright display
- 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display
- 2796 x 1290 resolution
- 2,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness; 1,000 nits typical peak brightness
- Can get as dim as 1 nit
The display on the iPhone 16 Plus seems to be the same as the one on last year's iPhone 15 Plus, bar one very minor adjustment.
Like its precursor, the iPhone 16 Plus comes with a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2796 x 1290 and 60hz refresh rate.
This display supports the P3 color gamut, with a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 and a peak outdoor brightness of 2,000 nits. Peak brightness indoors is set at 1,000 nits.
The only difference we can see between this display and last year's is that the iPhone 16 Plus can reach a minimum brightness of 1 nit.
Other than that, this is the same great panel that graced the iPhone 15 Plus – albeit without a high refresh rate.
Upgraded cameras
- Apple is now calling the main camera on the iPhone 16 Plus the Fusion Camera
- The Fusion Camera has a 48MP sensor and ƒ/1.6 aperture with a 26mm focal length
- The second camera is a 12MP ultrawide with a ƒ/2.4 aperture and 13mm focal length
- Apple considers the Fusion Camera to have a 2x telephoto zoom, though this is actually just a crop of the central 12 megapixels in the 48MP frame
The iPhone 16 Plus makes a major design change with it's camera system, returning to the vertical alignment not seen since the iPhone 12 and ditching the square camera island found on every mainline iPhone since the iPhone 11.
The iPhone 16 Plus has a 48MP main camera, which Apple calls the Fusion Camera, which achieves a 2x telephoto effect by cropping into the central 12MP of the camera sensor.
The second camera is a 12MP ultrawide with a 120° field of view.
The main camera is capable of 10x digital zoom.
Besides their orientation, these cameras are pretty much the same as last year's – but it's that vertical alignment that unlocks a new feature altogether.
Thanks to the side-by-side cameras, iPhone 16 Plus can record 3D photos and video through the Spatial Capture feature.
This is the same format used by the Vision Pro headset, which suggests Apple are beginning to push the iPhone and Vision Pro into eachother's orbit.
A18 chipset
- A18 chipset replaces the A16 Bionic found in the iPhone 15 Plus
- Apple claims the new chipset has a 30% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU
The A18 chipset found in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus offers some major performance improvements, if Apple's claims are to be believed.
The A18 is comprised of a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning and AI processing.
As usual, Apple hasn't given out its frame of reference or testing methods for its percentage-based performance improvement claims, and we are still in the process of testing the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus for ourselves.
That said, Apple says the A18 offers 30% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU performance than its predecessor.
The A18's GPU also supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a way of rendering light that is increasingly used by modern games.
And the A18 chipset includes 'Secure Exclave', which helps ensure the camera and microphone indicators aren't disabled by malicious apps.
As for battery life, Apple never shares the exact battery capacity of any of its products. That said, the company claims the iPhone 16 Plus can sustain 27 hours of video playback or 100 hours of audio playback, which suggests a battery life in between that of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
It also appears the iPhone 16 Plus will charge at up to 45W, which is a big boost on last year, while wireless charging tops out at 25W.
Apple Intelligence
- Apple Intelligence is coming to iPhone 16 Plus in October, with further features in the following months
- iPhone 16 lineup will be empowered by new AI tools, just not at launch
Software-wise, AI leads the way when it comes to notable upgrades for this year's iPhone lineup. Apple Intelligence will not be present at launch, but the new AI feature-set is coming to iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max in a free update.
Apple Intelligence will begin rolling out with a beta release in October, before a full release in December.
Apple Intelligence features include text summarisation and rewriting, audio transcription including phone calls, and notification prioritisation with AI-generated summaries.
Further features will roll out as part of a staggered launch, including generative image creation, generative emoji creation termed Genmoji, and a screen-aware Siri able to complete complex commands across various apps.
Siri is also due to get access to ChatGPT, and you'll be able to write to Apple's personal assistant rather than rely on voice detection.
