Hands-on iPhone 16 Plus review: Two-minute preview

If you were to stumble upon an iPhone 16 Plus from the front, looking directly at the screen, I’d hedge that you might think it’s the 15 Plus or even the 14 Plus. It sticks with being the big-screen iPhone that doesn’t cost an arm or leg, offers fast performance, and has two excellent cameras.

When you flip it over, though, or examine the left or right sides, the story begins to change. That’s what I did when I first saw the iPhone 16 Plus in the hands-on area shortly after Apple’s “It’s Glowtime.” event concluded.

It’s still a large 6.7-inch iPhone with a vibrant OLED display and the Dynamic Island at the top for cool Live Activities and unlocking with Face ID. But turning it to see the left-hand side reveals the Action Button, which I like to think is the iPhone’s superpower of sorts. You can set it for whatever you like through a Shortcut – albeit with some work – or pick from several presets like a flashlight or setting a timer. You can also change the preset based on the device’s orientation.

Even though the arrival is exciting, it’s not an entirely new feature. Action Button premiered on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in 2023. However, just like the iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and even the iPhone 16, the new “Camera Control” is here.

By definition, it’s not really a regular button, though it is recessed and can be pressed in. It’s a slightly recessed piece of sapphire glass that you can press in, light press, or even swipe on.

When the iPhone is locked, you can click it in to open the camera, and another press lets you snap a shot. A swipe to the left or right enables you to zoom in or out, and a slight press-in lets you play around with camera options. It takes a little bit to get the hang of, but no doubt it’s one of the most exciting parts of the new iPhone 16 Plus, and it’s really awesome that Apple is including this on the standards and the Pros from the start.

Thanks to the A18 chip inside, the iPhone 16 Plus will also have plenty of power to handle this new form of input and snap photos with the new 48-megapixel main and 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. It’s also plenty powerful to handle the forthcoming Apple Intelligence features – the very first of which should begin to arrive next month – and all of the new iOS 18 features like customizations. If you enjoy gaming on the iPhone, A18 means that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus can tackle AAA titles and even support hardware-accelerated ray tracing.