Apple iPhone 16 Plus

At Rs. 353,999, the Apple iPhone 16 Plus is a large-screen iPhone that sits below the Pro Max on price but shares much of its everyday experience.

Main advantages: a 6.7-inch OLED screen, the A18 chip with 8GB of RAM, the new Camera Control button and Action Button, a 48MP main camera with a 2x option, 25W MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging, Wi-Fi 7 and IP68 water resistance.

Main compromises: a display with no 120Hz and no always-on mode, a 12MP ultrawide instead of the Pro Max's 48MP, no telephoto lens, an aluminium frame, USB-C limited to USB 2 speeds, and no charger in the box.

Price is the deciding factor in Pakistan. Once PTA charges are included, the difference to the Pro Max shrinks, so buyers who want the best camera and a 120Hz screen often find the stretch worth it. If you want a cheaper big-screen iPhone with a smoother screen, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Rs. 318,699) offers 120Hz and a 3x telephoto, but with an older chip and a Lightning port.

Verdict: good value for buyers who want a big screen, current features and strong battery life without Pro pricing; less convincing if a 120Hz screen matters to you.

The iPhone 16 Plus has a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a 1290 x 2796 resolution, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, and the Dynamic Island at the top. Apple rates it at 1000 nits typical and 2000 nits in high brightness mode, and GSMArena's measurement came close to that outdoor figure, so it stays easy to read in strong sunlight.

For videos, reading and photos, most people will not see a difference between this screen and the 16 Pro Max's. The gaps appear in motion and standby:

• No 120Hz refresh rate: scrolling and animations are less fluid than on 120Hz phones, which is most noticeable if you are switching from a high-refresh Android phone or a Pro iPhone.
• No always-on display: the screen switches fully off when locked, so you cannot glance at the time or notifications.

The front is protected by the 2024-generation Ceramic Shield glass.

The iPhone 16 Plus runs on the Apple A18 (3 nm) with a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU and 8GB of RAM. This is the full A18, with one more GPU core than the iPhone 16e's version.

For everyday use, this is a fast, current-generation iPhone chip: apps open quickly, switching between apps is smooth, and the chip supports Apple Intelligence.

Limitation: the lack of a 120Hz screen caps how smooth games and scrolling look, even though the chip itself is far from the bottleneck. Detailed gaming frame rates and heat under long sessions could not be verified for this model, so expect strong performance but judge long gaming sessions with that in mind.

The rear setup is a 48MP main camera (f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS) and a 12MP ultrawide (120°), now arranged vertically. The selfie camera is 12MP with autofocus.

• Main camera: this is the strongest part of the system, and it delivers almost all the photo features of the 16 Pro for everyday shots. A 2x option uses the centre of the 48MP sensor for closer framing.
• Ultrawide and macro: the 12MP ultrawide also handles macro close-ups, but it has lower resolution than the Pro Max's 48MP ultrawide.
• Zoom: there is no telephoto lens, so zoom beyond 2x relies on digital cropping.
• Video: up to 4K at 60fps with Dolby Vision HDR, plus spatial video recording at 1080p.
• Camera Control: the new button works exactly as it does on the Pro models.

Most buyers will not miss the Pro Max's extra ultrawide resolution, but anyone who shoots a lot of zoom photos should look at a Pro model.

The iPhone 16 Plus has a 4674mAh battery, and in GSMArena's active-use battery test it posts a very high endurance score, so heavy users can expect long battery life.

Charging:

• Wired: about 50% in 30 minutes with a suitable USB-C adapter. No charger is included, only a USB-C cable.
• Wireless: up to 25W with MagSafe or Qi2, which needs a higher-wattage adapter to reach full speed.
• Reverse wired: 4.5W through the USB-C port, useful for topping up AirPods or an Apple Watch.

Charging speeds are average next to Android phones at a similar price, but fast MagSafe wireless charging is a real convenience.

The iPhone 16 Plus launched with iOS 18 and is upgradable to iOS 26, so it already runs Apple's newer software.

• Apple Intelligence: supported, including writing tools and photo editing features, though Apple first released it as a beta and features have arrived gradually.
• Camera Control: a dedicated camera button that works the same way as on the Pro models.
• Action Button: replaces the old mute switch and can launch shortcuts, the torch or other functions.

Updates: as a current-generation iPhone, it will keep receiving the latest iOS releases for years. Apple does not publish a fixed number of iOS upgrades per model, so any exact number of years is an estimate rather than a promise.