Despite being refreshed compared to its predecessor, the iPhone 16 Plus still did not receive a warm welcome from consumers.
Like every year, the iPhone 16 Plus continues to be the dark spot in Apple's new product line. The Plus line was born to replace the mini line for the first time in 2022 when the iPhone 14 series was launched, but through three generations of products, Apple has truly understood why the saying "Whoever understands iPhone should not buy Plus" has been spread in recent times.
The iPhone 16 Plus only accounts for 11% of iPhone 16 lineup sales.
First, let's talk about the highlights of the iPhone 16 Plus. It has a large 6.7-inch screen size and a large battery capacity (about 20% higher than the standard iPhone 16). However, a very bad point about this product is that it does not support ProMotion or Always-On Display like the Pro Max version. The only attraction for the iPhone 16 Plus is probably the large screen size, suitable for those who like to use their phones for entertainment.
The problem is, iPhone 16 Plus sales are said to account for only 11% of the entire iPhone 16 lineup at the moment, which proves the iPhone 16 Plus' failure to attract users. The main reason for the iPhone 16 Plus' failure is its unclear market position. While other versions of the iPhone 16 lineup have specific user targets, the iPhone 16 Plus has no defined customer group.
The screen still has too many limitations, especially the scan frequency of only 60 Hz.
Although it is larger than the standard version, its price is 3 million VND higher, making the price/performance ratio unattractive. Spending 3 million VND more just to get a larger screen and a larger battery is really not worth it for consumers.
Not stopping there, as mentioned above, the iPhone 16 Plus screen only has a 60Hz refresh rate, which reduces the user experience, especially when compared to the iPhone 16 Pro with a 120Hz refresh rate and ProMotion technology. Meanwhile, the 48MP main camera cannot compare with the high-end photography features of the iPhone 16 Pro series.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max's better price makes the iPhone 16 Plus even more difficult.
In particular, when considering the selling price, the iPhone 16 Plus is even more expensive than last year's iPhone 15 Pro Max - a product with more outstanding features. Specifically, the lowest internal memory variant of the iPhone 15 Pro Max (256 GB) costs about 28.49 million VND for the 100% new VN/A version, while the same capacity, the iPhone 16 Plus costs 28.99 million VND. This may be the reason why Apple decided to kill the iPhone 15 Pro Max after the iPhone 16 series was introduced, although some retail stores still sell the iPhone 15 Pro Max from available sources.
