iPhone 16/Plus Need help to decide: iPhone 16+ or iPhone 16P (non-Max)

[Niodoc]

Hi everyone,
the time is coming and I would like to replace my iPhone 13 Pro. Nevertheless I’m really in two minds, moving to the bigger iPhone 16+ or to the overall better iPhone 16 Pro (No Max). Actually, before the launch of the new iPhone 16 series, I was 100% convinced about the Plus mainly for the size, though after the release and seeing that the new pro series went bigger by 0.2 inches, I start doubting about my initial thought, especially since I love the fluidity of 120hz display.
My actual needs are: a good battery life and a big screen for watching videos, social networks, email, websites and gaming from time to time, since I travel a lot. Not really interested in cam stuffs.
For the people already owning the new iPhone 16 pro, are the 0.2 inches really making the difference vs the 6.1?

Many thanks and sorry for any potential misspellings, english is not my first language.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

I actually bought and tried the 16 Plus, because just like you I was convinced I should be going bigger this year, and subsequently exchanged it for a 16 Pro. (Basically making me go from originally 6.1" to 6.7" to 6.3").

First things first: for me, personally, the 120 Hz is not crucial, but it's good to know that 60 Hz is more noticeable on a bigger display than a smaller display. I noticed it more on the 6.7" 16 Plus than my previous 60 Hz 6.1" iPhone. Since you mentioned you love 120 Hz, you'll surely notice it.

Secondly: 6.1" vs 6.3". It's good to note that the new 6.3" display is mostly taller and just very, very, very slightly wider. I like the size. It does feel a tad bigger than the 6.1" model, but not too big like the Plus.

Three: screen content difference... 6.7" (16 Plus) vs 6.3". Some on-screen items are just bigger, while sometimes you see more. It depends a bit from app-to-app. I compared them side-by-side and quite often you don't see that much more. In one of the news apps I've got, I literally saw only one headline more on the 6.7" than on the 6.3" display. In some apps, it's even less than that.

Four: watching movies screen size difference. The 16 Plus obviously wins here. The display is bigger, so the video is bigger. But the difference is not extremely big. To give you an indicator: a 'zoomed in' video on the 16 Pro (so the dynamic island covering part of the video) results in a bigger viewable video than a 16 Plus without zoom in. (Obviously not a fair comparison, but it's a good indicator that the difference isn't extremely big).

Five: battery life. Didn't try the 16 Plus long enough for a fair comparison. The 16 Pro is good enough for me, though.

Six: design. I like the 16's design more. The camera island looks nicer. It's got nice colours. It's lighter than the Pro.

Conclusion
After trying the 16 Plus, I decided to exchange it for the 16 Pro. The 16 Plus was just a tad too big for me, while the benefits (e.g. more screen content) weren't always as big as you'd expect. The 60 Hz display is more noticable on a 6.7" display than on a 6.1", so you could factor that in if the frame rate is really important.

The choice between the 16 Pro and 16 Plus should, in my opinion, be fully based on the screen size. The other differences between the 16-models and 16 Pro-models aren't that big. Go to the store and try them both out.

 

[Niodoc]

Really appreciated your feedback.
Just to understand how are the bezels compared to the non-pro devices?
Is the reduction noticeable?

 

[ThatsMeRight]

A little bit, but don't expect wonders: we're talking about differences not even the size of a millimeter.

 

[Carlsberg69]

My actual needs are: a good battery life and a big screen for watching videos, social networks, email, websites and gaming from time to time, since I travel a lot. Not really interested in cam stuffs.

This clearly sounds like a plus to me. And if you have to have 120hz, well, Pro Max. I did switch up myself from 13 to 14 PM mainly because of this. Had a really good 2y run with it.

For the people already owning the new iPhone 16 pro, are the 0.2 inches really making the difference vs the 6.1?

To be honest, it’s not much noticeable and shouldn’t be a decisive point. I do notice the smaller bezels which is nice.

I did go for a 16 Pro this time, hoping I can go at least 3y with it. Having a 15 plus (what an absolute battery champ that phone is) as a work phone since 1/2 y back helped me with that decision, for travel and screen size. The 16 Pro feels refreshingly light and big enough for personal use, worried about the battery time though.

Ultimately you need to fork out what is most important, but sounds like a 16 PM might be ticking all your boxes.

 

[Niodoc]

As somebody suggested, I went today to the apple store to materially see and try the devices. Result: I’m 100% convinced on the Plus model, especially for me that I was looking for a size increase, coming from 13 Pro.
Obviously the bezels are better on the Pro models and for sure I‘ll miss the 120hz, though the increase of 0.2 inches is very subtle and not matching with my need of more screen estate.
Additionally the display was brighter on the Plus model than on both iPhone Pro, like for like basis. Perhaps just the display lottery?
Anyway the best choice would have been the Pro Max, as Carlsberg suggested, but I don‘t want to invest such amount of money just for having 120hz and thinner bezels, since not interested in the other features.
Thanks to all of your for the valuable and helpful advices.

PS: the best screen of the 16 models in the store, in term of nits, was my current 13 Pro.

 

[Carlsberg69]

Sounds like you did a really well balanced decision, the plus is a really great phone, a battery monster! Good luck with it!!

 

[Niodoc]

Hey folks,
I’m back on this topic. At the end I got the 16 Plus but coming from 13 Pro I can really see the difference in terms of hz, the promotion feature makes a real difference for me.
On the other hand the Plus has an amazing screen, despite the lack of 120hz, and the battery is really amazing too.
I can still return the Plus within the 15 days of full refund and buy a 16 Pro 6,3’’. Nevertheless currently I’m worried about:
- Temperature and throttling, my old 13 pro became very hot during summer. Is that still an issue with the 16 pro model?
- Screen brightness, since all the 16 pros in the Apple Store had dimmer screen than my current 16 Plus.
- Screen real estate, which is also a positive point for me.
- Size of keyboard, beaung a bit clumsy with my figures, I feel more comfortable with bigger keys.
- Battery life, since my prior 13 pro was not that good.
- Screen touch issue, having no problems with the current Plus.

On the other hand, I would really like the following elements:
- better portability with a slight display increase vs the prior pro;
- 120hz, since the 60hz are very unbearable, especially during iOS animations. Even disabling all of them, the system still keeps the Safari parallax animation and some others.

Then not really interested in:
- cams and photo improvements;
- better gpu;
- titanium material.

Pls help me to decide. Really appreciated you suggestion.

 

[iamthedudeman]

Went from.a 16 pro 512gb black to a 16 plus 512gb black. I like the fact the 16 plus is both thinner and the same weight at 199 grams as the smaller 16 pro with better weight distribution.
It is a much more comfortable device to use. Everyone is waiting for a 17 iphone "air". But not realizing they have a preview of one in the 16 plus. At 7.8mm thick, the iphone "air"is rumored to be at 5.5mm thick. That is a 2.3 mm difference. Weight is rumored to be at or below 180 grams. That's only a 18 grams less than the 16 plus.

 

[iamthedudeman]

Hey folks,
I’m back on this topic. At the end I got the 16 Plus but coming from 13 Pro I can really see the difference in terms of hz, the promotion feature makes a real difference for me.
On the other hand the Plus has an amazing screen, despite the lack of 120hz, and the battery is really amazing too.
I can still return the Plus within the 15 days of full refund and buy a 16 Pro 6,3’’. Nevertheless currently I’m worried about:
- Temperature and throttling, my old 13 pro became very hot during summer. Is that still an issue with the 16 pro model?
- Screen brightness, since all the 16 pros in the Apple Store had dimmer screen than my current 16 Plus.
- Screen real estate, which is also a positive point for me.
- Size of keyboard, beaung a bit clumsy with my figures, I feel more comfortable with bigger keys.
- Battery life, since my prior 13 pro was not that good.
- Screen touch issue, having no problems with the current Plus.

On the other hand, I would really like the following elements:
- better portability with a slight display increase vs the prior pro;
- 120hz, since the 60hz are very unbearable, especially during iOS animations. Even disabling all of them, the system still keeps the Safari parallax animation and some others.

Then not really interested in:
- cams and photo improvements;
- better gpu;
- titanium material.

Pls help me to decide. Really appreciated you suggestion.

I just traded a 16 pro 6.3 for a 16 plus. The screen is dimmer on the pros, probably due to the decreased thermals. it seems in ios 18 the pro models are real aggressive in dimming the screen when its set to auto.

if you turn this off the screen brightness is the same. So yes, thermal throttling is still an issue. Not so on the plus.
Battery life not really a contest here. The plus lasts a-lot longer.
As for 120hz i see zero differenc, never did. Always had it turned off on all my pro models.

Screen touch is not an issue on the plus.

The biggest feature of the Plus is the weight. At 199 grams it is thinner and lighter and provides a much more comfortable experience. People are waiting on the iphone Air but forget the 16 plus has alot of those features already.

i went with the plus and glad i did. As 120hz on the pros only runs at 80hz i dont see a big difference between the two.

 

[Devyn89]

I will say this, if I was upgrading this year I’d go for the 6.3” Pro, I think that’s truly my goldilocks size

 

[Vivian125]

iPhone 16 Pro Max/Plus is definitely much better for watching Youtube videos only as most aspect ratio there still stands between 4:3 or 16:9 which is both 16 Pro Max and 16 Plus the same size as iPhone 8 Plus… that causes both of them to shrink as small as 5.5” inch black bars on the side

They are good enough for 30mins to 1 hour max, but still both of them are so small for extended use for more than an hour, they can cause eye strain… even the mighty 6”9 inch display with that elongated aspect ratio is super small watching a 16:9 content on Youtube that is barely half the size of an iPad Mini 7

 

[funinhounslow]

I replaced my 8 Plus last week… Yep I’ve been happy with it for 7 years…

Like you I was torn between 16 pro and plus. I was drawn to the plus for the screen size and battery life. I’d read complaints about 60hz refresh rate but dismissed them I have not had issues with my 8’s display

However comparing the plus and pro side by side in the shop the difference was jarring. Scrolling on 60hz just seemed choppy compared to the buttery smooth pro. As I tend to “run my devices into the ground” I wasn’t sure I could tolerate this.

The 16 pro is also much for comfortable and convenient to carry round and use after the 8 plus. It really is the ideal size.

I’m also enjoying the AOD and 5x lens although they weren’t priorities for me.

For the sake of £100 premium and slight reduction in screen size the pro is the better option I think.