Apple has finally revealed the iPhone 16 Plus, alongside the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, at its latest Apple event.
We’re expecting these new phones to make our list of the best iPhones, with upgraded specs, the new Action Button and Camera Control button, subtle design changes.
As noted in the now-concluded “It’s Glowtime” event, the iPhone 16 series is the first “designed from the ground up for Apple Intelligence“. 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.
This guide covers everything you need to know about the iPhone 16 Plus, specifically, with the latest information on price, preorder and shipping dates, specs, and features. We’ll keep this article updated with the latest iPhone 16 Plus news as we hear it. For a recap of the entire Apple Event, head over to our Apple Event live blog.
iPhone 16 Plus: what you need to know
- The iPhone 16 Plus was announced on September 9
- Starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,599 for 128GB of storage
- Preorders start Friday, September 13, with the first units available on Friday, September 20
- 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 we think 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, release date and preorders
- The iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,599
- Pre-orders open on September 13, with shipping from September 20
The iPhone 16 Plus will be available to preorder from Friday, September 13, and that the first units will ship on Friday, September 20.
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.
| Storage | US price | UK price | AU price |
| 128GB | $899 | £899 | $1,599 |
| 256GB | $999 | £999 | $1,799 |
| 512GB | $1,199 | £1,199 | $2,149 |
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
- We think 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 Specs
iPhone 16 Plus | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions: | 160.9mm x 77.8mm x 7.80mm |
| Weight: | 199g |
| Display: | 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED |
| Resolution: | 2796 x 1290 |
| Pixel density | 460ppi |
| Refresh rate: | 60hz |
| Chipset: | A18 |
| Rear cameras: | 48MP main (26 mm, ƒ/1.6), 12MP ultrawide (13 mm, ƒ/2.2) |
| Front camera: | 12MP (ƒ/1.9) |
| OS: | iOS 18 |
| Storage: | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
| Battery life: | Up to 27 hours of video playback, up to 100 hours of audio playback |
| Charging: | 20W wired charging confirmed, 25W MagSafe wireless charging, 7.5W Qi wireless charging |
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.
We’re assuming that the iPhone 16 Plus also 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. Preorders go live Friday, September 13, with units shipping on Friday, September 20.
Keep reading for details on the key improvements to this year’s bigger base-model iPhone.
Camera Control
- 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
- 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.
Apple Intelligence – but not just yet
- 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
