At least once a year (and frequently twice) Apple shakes up the colors of its iPhone range. This is the subject of surprisingly feverish speculation: Is yellow going to face the axe in 2024? Will white make the cut? What’s the fate of green?
The latest word, in fact, is that white is in and yellow is out, at least on the standard iPhone models. On the Pro and Pro Max for 2024, meanwhile, we’re believed to be getting a new “rose” finish. This is all according to Ming-Chi Kuo, a reputable analyst with a long history of decently accurate predictions.
In Apple land, rose generally means a pinkish gold. It was highly popular back in the days of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7, but has been scarce since then.
The rest of the colors will stay largely the same, although Kuo warns that some finishes will keep the same name but look slightly different, while others will look the same but get a new name.
That leaves us with the following changes, with the new or discontinued colors in bold:
- iPhone 16 (predicted): black, green, pink, blue, white
- iPhone 15: black, green, pink, blue, yellow
- iPhone 16 Pro (predicted): black, white/silver, gray/Natural Titanium, rose
- iPhone 15 Pro: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium
The iPhone 15’s color palette is notably very pale, so the inclusion of white could mean that Apple will be injecting brighter shades into the iPhone 16. Furthermore, the iPhone 16 Pro’s rumored color options suggest Apple will be moving away from highlighting the use of titanium.
While his accuracy is generally strong, Kuo is quite a cautious analyst: he rarely sticks his neck out with radical, eye-catching predictions. And these claims have been proposed before. The theory that rose would replace Blue Titanium was first spotted on Chinese social media back in March, while white’s comeback was being discussed in April. In other words, Kuo’s post is best regarded as corroboration rather than new speculation.
For all the latest news and rumors about this fall’s announcements, check our regularly updated iPhone 16 superguide.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.