Is Red the New Orange? The iPhone 18 Pro Could Get a Bold Burgundy Finish
Concept render of a burgundy/red iPhone 18 Pro [FrontPageTech / YouTube]
Toggle Dark Mode
While Apple’s (PRODUCT)RED iPhones seem to have become a thing of the past, it seems the company may be thinking of bringing back the color, even if it’s not part of the iconic Global Fund branding.
For over 15 years, Apple offered red-emblazoned devices as part of a longstanding partnership with (RED), donating more than $270 million to the global charity that seeks to end the HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics in third-world countries. While the initiative launched with the iPod nano in 2006, it took over a decade for Apple to debut its first (PRODUCT)RED iPhone, a special edition of the iPhone 7 released in early 2017 that also marked the first time it ever did a mid-year color refresh.
It repeated that with the iPhone 8 the following year, but the (PRODUCT)RED version became a staple color a few months later when the iPhone XR was released in a whole array of fun colors. Apple continued to offer the special edition shade for four more generations, from the iPhone 11 through to the iPhone 14, although it was always confined to the standard models. However, it was conspicuously absent when the iPhone 15 came along with its new color-infused glass, and hasn’t been seen since.
Apple also discontinued the (PRODUCT)RED Apple Watch with the Series 10 the following year, and the last of the red iPhones that Apple still sold rode off into the sunset when the iPhone 16e arrived to replace the 2022 iPhone SE and iPhone 14.
Making Way for a Deeper Red?
Although we heard rumors three years ago of a “Crimson Red” iPhone 15 Pro, Apple may have wanted to steer clear of that to avoid conflicts with the iconic (PRODUCT)RED special edition models. However, now that the (PRODUCT)RED iPhones are clearly in the rearview mirror, the company may finally have room to consider adopting its own take on that shade.
Rumors of new iPhone colors have become an annual event, and it’s especially common to hear buzz around what the next iPhone Pro shade will be. That’s because Apple has traditionally only released one unique shade for its Pro models each year. From the iPhone 11 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro those were Midnight Green, Pacific Blue, Sierra Blue, Deep Purple, Blue Titanium, and Desert Titanium. The lone exception until last year was the iPhone 13 Pro, which got the only mid-cycle color refresh in iPhone Pro history when Apple added an Alpine Green model in early 2022.
Apple shook things up last year when it not only introduced two new colors — Deep Blue and Cosmic Orange — but also dropped black from the lineup entirely, marking the first time since the original iPhone that a dark neutral hasn’t been available.
That break with tradition has left many folks speculating on what Apple will do with the iPhone 18 Pro this year, and some suggested there could be three colors on offer. Rumors and renders of purple, coffee, and burgundy shades began making the rounds last fall, although later reports suggested that these were merely possibilities being tested by Apple, and that it was unlikely we’d see all three.
Although we most often hear these color predictions from supply chain leakers, in an interesting twist this year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has weighed in, saying that his own sources have confirmed Apple is testing a deeper red version that could actually be released alongside the Cosmic Orange, which he believes Apple could keep in the lineup due to its overwhelming popularity, especially in China, where it’s been associated with the fashionable “Hermès Orange.”
That’s why it’s so interesting that Apple is now considering a deep red color for its next lineup. Given the success of orange, I wouldn’t be surprised if the company keeps that option around and just adds the red as an additional choice. But red and orange might be a little too close on the color wheel to have both. We’ll see how this plays out exactly, but I can at least tell you that, as of now, red is the new flagship color in testing for the next iPhone Pros.
Mark Gurman
That said, red is also considered a lucky color in many Asian markets, which would make it the best possible color to replace Cosmic Orange if Apple wants to keep up the same status appeal momentum for this year’s flagship models.
Gurman adds that he believes the rumors of purple and brown (aka “coffee”) finishes aren’t separate colors Apple is aiming for, but just “variants of the same red idea.” In other words, leakers who may have seen or heard about the three shades are conflating them as separate, but they’re actually just part of a wide spectrum of anodized aluminum color treatments that Apple is testing to perfect the deep red that it’s actually looking for.
On the flip side — or maybe we should say the “fold” side — Gurman says that Apple isn’t planning to go with any fun colors for its first foldable device. Instead, it’s likely to stick to “the more utilitarian hues” that graced the early iPhone models: variations on black/grey and silver/white.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
