Apple has announced the iPhone 16 collection, but what’s the difference between the regular iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus?
While there’s only £100/$100 difference between the two models of iPhone, they each offer a very different experience. The iPhone 16 is more compact and way more lightweight than the relatively heavy iPhone 16 Plus, for example, but the latter benefits not only from a larger screen but a bigger battery too.
While we’ve not yet gone hands-on with the iPhone 16 collection, here’s how the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus compare on paper ahead of our full, in-depth comparison coming very soon.
If you’re curious, you can read about how the iPhone 16 compares to the iPhone 16 Pro separately.
Pricing and availability
Though there was some speculation ahead of the launch that Apple could raise prices with the iPhone 16 collection, that thankfully wasn’t the case.
Instead, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus cost the same as their predecessors, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
That means that the iPhone 16 starts at just £799/$799 with 128GB of storage, and it’s available to pre-order from Apple now ahead of release on 20 September.
The iPhone 16 Plus comes in at £100/$100 more at £899/$899, and like its compact sibling, is available to pre-order now ahead of general release on 20 September.
The iPhone 16 Plus has a larger screen
One of the key differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, as the latter’s branding suggests, is the size of the screen.
The iPhone 16 has always been a relatively compact phone with a 6.1-inch screen. The iPhone 16 Plus, on the other hand, looks to emulate the big-screen experience of the Pro Max model with a much bigger 6.7-inch screen.
There is a slight difference in resolution, with the iPhone 16 offering 2556 x 1179 while the 16 Plus sports a 2796 x 1290 resolution, though with the difference in screen size, both equate to the same pixel-packed 460ppi.
Elsewhere, however, the screens are very much in line with each other, sporting the same OLED screen tech, peak brightness of 2000nits and Dynamic Island tech. Both are capped at 60Hz too – it’s only the Pro models that get the 120Hz ProMotion treatment.
The iPhone 16 is lighter
The iPhone 16 Plus might have a larger screen than the regular iPhone 16, but there’s a benefit to sporting a smaller display; it’s more compact.
The iPhone 16 measures in at 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8mm compared to the taller 160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8mm of the iPhone 16 Plus.
It also means that the iPhone 16 is the lighter of the two smartphones measuring in at a relatively lightweight 170g compared to the 199g iPhone 16 Plus. That’s a not-insignificant 29g difference between the two, which could make all the difference in everyday use – especially when using the phones one-handed.
The iPhone 16 Plus has a bigger battery
With a bigger chassis and larger screen than its more compact sibling, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that the iPhone 16 Plus has a larger battery. It not only has a bigger screen to power, but it has more space within its larger chassis to store a larger battery.
More specifically, Apple claims that the iPhone 16 can deliver 22 hours of video playback on a single charge, while the iPhone 16 Plus delivers an additional five hours of performance, up to 27 hours.
In fact, the Plus model of the last few generations of iPhone have offered the best battery life of their respective collections, and that could very much be the same here, with the combination of a large battery and 60Hz screen that’s more battery-friendly than the 120Hz screen of its Pro-level predecessor.
The two iPhones are otherwise identical
Aside from the differences in design, screen and battery departments, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus offer the same experience. That means you’ll be getting both the Action button and Camera Capture button, access to Apple Intelligence and an ultra-fast A18 chipset regardless of the model you opt for.
It really does boil down to whether you want a big iPhone or a little iPhone.
Early Verdict
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are fairly similar in most regards, with both offering the same A18 chipset, new hardware in the form of the Action button and Camera Controls and access to Apple Intelligence.
Instead, the differences boil down to screen size, with the iPhone 16 offering a more compact experience, and that means it’s quite a bit lighter too. However, the iPhone 16 Plus offers a bigger screen and better battery life as a result.
It looks like it’ll mainly come down to what size iPhone you want to use, but we’ll reserve our final thoughts for our in-depth comparison coming very soon.
