Apple iPhone 16 Plus vs. Apple iPhone 16 | Infinium-tech

So, you’re looking for a shiny new iPhone? The iPhone 16 is definitely a great device. Of course, a Pro model would be even better, but unless you really need the extra cameras or a higher refresh rate, you’re probably better off sticking with one of the two vanilla models.

If there’s one thing Apple excels at (and it’s definitely more than one thing), it has to be consistency. So, it’s hardly a secret, nor a surprise, that there are very few differences between the iPhone 16 Plus and the iPhone 16. The Plus is simply bigger, with a bigger display and bigger battery pack. Otherwise, the hardware and experience are similar.

So how well is the Apple iPhone 16 Plus worth its premium price? Let’s look into this.

Table of Contents:

For starters, you can compare the full specifications or continue straight to our editor’s assessment In the following text.

size comparison

Let’s address the elephant in the room first – size. The 16 Plus is much larger than the vanilla iPhone 16. The only dimension on both devices is thickness, which is a nice touch. Furthermore, the Plus is longer and wider. This makes sense, given that it has a display diagonal of 6.7 inches compared to 6.1 inches on the iPhone 16.

By today’s standards, we’d actually call the Plus a more “mainstream” form factor. Big phones have become common for some time now. The Plus feels good in the hand and is very comfortable to hold, even if a little slippery without the case.

The regular iPhone 16 is positioned as a “compact” phone. It is very pocketable and very easy to handle with one hand. That being said, be sure to check out both phones in person. We suspect you’ll find the iPhone 16 Plus too big, but you might find the vanilla iPhone 16 a little small. That’s all there is to say on this matter.

display comparison

As mentioned, the iPhone 16 Plus has a significantly larger display than the iPhone 16. Not necessarily big by modern standards, but certainly big. Technically, the Plus also has a higher display resolution. However, Apple has always aimed for the same pixel density across all models without caring too much about resolution. That’s the case here as both phones have a very crisp 460 ppi.

Apple uses very premium panels even on its non-Pro devices. Both phones are nice and bright, with brightness figures very similar. OLED technology means perfect blacks, high contrast and vibrant colors. Apple offers HDR10 and Dolby Vision support on both iPhones and has a very flexible HDR implementation, allowing HDR videos to play in a window, not just the entire display.

The bigger issue with the displays on non-Pro iPhones is that they’re still 60Hz. Unfortunately, the only way to avoid this is to try for the Pro Model.

battery life

Apple has used the extra internal space inside the iPhone 16 Plus to fit the larger battery. To quote Cupertino’s unnecessarily specific figures, the iPhone 16 Plus packs a 4674 mAh, while the regular iPhone 16 gets a 3561 mAh pack.

This means there is about a 30% difference in battery capacity, resulting in a very solid difference in battery endurance in favor of the iPhone 16 Plus. According to our proprietary testing mechanism, the 16 Plus gets an additional active usage score of three hours or more.

That being said, the vanilla iPhone 16 still performs well in the battery department. It manages a pretty impressive stamina for such a compact phone.

charging speed

Apple is incredibly consistent when it comes to charging. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus both officially advertise a wired charging rate of around 50% power in thirty minutes, and both phones manage to exceed said rate with ease, which is good to see. Although there is a slight difference in the charging curves of the two phones, as expected, the pair gets fully charged in about the same total time.

You also get similar charging capabilities on both phones, including wired PD 2.0 charging, 25W wireless MagSafe, 15W wireless Qi2 charging, and 4.5W reverse wired charging.

speaker test

Cupertino engineers are wizards when it comes to speaker tuning, and they’ve given the same level of care and attention to both the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16. Both phones have a hybrid stereo speaker system in which the amplified earpiece acts as the second channel.

Both phones are similarly tuned and achieved very good loudness scores in our testing. Perhaps the Plus is just a little noisier, perhaps due to having a little more space to work with, but the difference is insignificant. Quality-wise, both the phones are at the same level of excellence.

Display

Apple made a two-generation chipset jump from A16 to A18 for non-Pro iPhones this year. This is quite a significant increase in power and performance. It’s also important to note that, unlike last year, all iPhone 16 models this year have 8GB of RAM (both non-Pro and Pro models).

Apple is putting a lot of emphasis on AI, which in this particular case stands for Apple Intelligence. Presumably, Cupertino engineers need extra RAM to better run local AI models, and the fact that this idea has reached non-Pro iPhones makes us very happy because it should also help in the daily use of the phone. Should do.

benchmark performance

Naturally, since the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 use the same Apple A18 chip, it only makes sense that their peak burst performance would be the same. Benchmark scores paint exactly the same picture.

That being said, it’s probably worth noting that the iPhone 16 Plus handles thermal-throttling a little better than the iPhone 16, possibly due to its larger size. It degrades its performance slightly after prolonged stress testing. Still, the difference between the two is not huge, and no real-world app or game would stress the hardware in this way, making it a matter of scientific interest rather than practical.

camera comparison

iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 have exactly the same camera setup. Another point of stability. The main 48MP camera is carried over from the iPhone 15. It’s still quite powerful, with a 1/1.56″ size, 1.0μm individual pixels, and sensor-shift OIS. It has a bright f/1.6 lens on the front.

The selfie is also taken with iPhone 15. The 12MP shooter has already proven its mettle and is also equipped with phase detection autofocus.

The real upgrade is with the new ultrawide camera. It’s still a 12MP unit. However, this year, there’s a brighter lens with an f/2.2 aperture. Plus, perhaps best of all, there’s now phase detection autofocus on the ultrawide, allowing it to double as a macro camera for close-ups.

a few words on the new camera control button. It’s a physical button with actual travel, but it also integrates a high-precision force sensor that enables light press gestures and a capacitive sensor that allows touch and swipe interactions. The button is present on both the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 and enables similar features within the Camera app – primarily quick controls via gestures. Two-stage shutter functionality is coming with a future update.

image quality

We’re looking at two phones with similar camera hardware, similar chipsets and ISPs, and similar processing. Therefore, the shots are also similar. You can check the samples yourself. The iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 capture excellent 12MP images. There is no question about it. There’s plenty of detail in the frame and everything is crisp and clear. Dynamic range is excellent, and shadows, in particular, are well boosted and developed. Leaves and grass look very attractive.

Apple iPhone 16 Plus: Ultrawide • Hand • 2x • Portrait

Apple iPhone 16: Ultrawide • Hand • 2x • Portrait

Low light performance is also similar on both phones. Shocking, we know.

Apple iPhone 16 Plus: Ultrawide • Main • 2x

Apple iPhone 16: Ultrawide • Main • 2x

Autofocus on the selfie cameras of both phones is great. The quality is great.

Apple iPhone 16 Plus: Selfie

Apple iPhone 16: Selfie

video quality

Overall, the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 live up to Apple’s reputation for industry-leading video capture. The main cameras on both phones output clear, sharp video with a wide dynamic range and plenty of detail even in shadow.

Below we have some framegrabs of videos taken by both phones at each focal length, so it’s easy to compare each other.

Apple iPhone 16 Plus: Ultrawide • Main • 2x • Low-light

Apple iPhone 16: Ultrawide • Main • 2x • Low-light

decision

Apple is nothing if not consistent with its lineup. Do you want a compact phone without spending a lot? Get the vanilla iPhone 16. Can you please make it a little bigger? Sure, there’s the iPhone 16 Plus. Exactly the same phone, just bigger. Simple and straightforward.

Either way, you’re getting an excellent premium phone. Of course, we’d love to see higher refresh rates finally come to non-Pro iPhones and the Apple telephoto camera looking as good as ever, if not better. Still, if you don’t need any of these things, you can’t go wrong with the iPhone 16 Plus or iPhone 16.