A ‘Rose’ iPhone 16 Pro May Still Be in the Cards
Credit: Peng Store / Twitter
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Following a rumor in March that Apple was working on a “Rose Titanium” color for this year’s iPhone 16 Pro lineup, another leaker has thrown their support behind the notion that this year’s special Pro color may indeed be another brighter hue.
This latest leak, which comes from a leaker going by the handle OvO Baby Sauce OvO on Weibo, might just be another passing theory were it not for the fact that it corroborates an earlier leak by ShrimpApplePro, but also a May report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who’s well connected into Apple’s supply chain.
The original leak suggested “Rose Titanium” would be the name but admitted that it could also end up being simply “Rose,” which is what we’ve been hearing more lately. However, those earlier reports weren’t sure whether this would be closer to Apple’s classic rose gold finish of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 era or if it would lean even more toward pink with little to no signs of gold.
If this latest report is accurate, there may be no gold hues at all. The Weibo leaker insists this is nothing like the previous Rose Gold of the iPhone 6s era.
A name like “Rose Titanium” could imply some metallic coloring, but if Apple plans to go with simply “Rose,” it could be a purely pinkish hue. Still, “rose” covers a lot of ground, so a slightly darker hue isn’t entirely out of the question.
Apple’s Colorful iPhones
While the first decade or so of iPhone colors were pretty bland, Apple changed things up in 2018 with the iPhone XR, offering its new lower-cost model in an array of four fun new colors for a total of six shades when adding in the more traditional black and white finishes.
While some feared that would be a one-off like the ill-fated iPhone 5c, Apple continued the trend in 2019 when it adjusted its product naming to the new standard and “pro” models we know today. The iPhone 11 became the successor to the iPhone XR, and the iPhone 11 Pro models replaced the iPhone XS in both 5.8-inch “normal” and larger 6.7-inch “Max” sizes.
The iPhone 11 continued the tradition of keeping the standard models more colorful and began a trend of year-over-year changes to the color palettes:
- iPhone XR: Black, White, Yellow, Coral, Blue, (PRODUCT)RED
- iPhone 11: Black, White, Yellow, Green, Purple, (PRODUCT)RED
- iPhone 12: Black, White, Green, Blue, Purple, (PRODUCT)RED
- iPhone 13: Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Pink, Green, (PRODUCT)RED
- iPhone 14: Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, Yellow, (PRODUCT)RED
- iPhone 15: Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink
While the names sometimes remained the same, the hues typically didn’t. The iPhone 15 in blue looks nothing like the blue of the iPhone 14, which is also distinct from the blues that came before. Only the (PRODUCT)RED has remained consistent throughout, but that’s a branding thing — and one that oddly disappeared with the iPhone 15 lineup, possibly because of the new color-infused glass process that doesn’t seem to allow for the higher levels of saturation that would be needed to make the deep (PRODUCT)RED work.
However, Apple also surprised us in 2019 by adding an elegant Midnight Green finish to the iPhone 11 Pro. That began a similar trend of adopting at least one classy new color for its Pro models each year:
- iPhone 11 Pro: Midnight Green
- iPhone 12 Pro: Pacific Blue
- iPhone 13 Pro: Sierra Blue and Alpine Green
- iPhone 14 Pro: Deep Purple
- iPhone 15 Pro: Blue Titanium
The iPhone 13 Pro was an outlier in two ways: It’s the only iPhone Pro to get a lighter color and the only one to get a second color later. Apple started the tradition of adding new spring colors to its standard models with the iPhone 12 and continued with the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, making this year the first time since early 2020 that we haven’t gotten a mid-cycle color update.
The iPhone 15 Pro lineup emphasized Apple’s new Titanium design by making it part of every color name: Natural Titanium, Black Titanium, White Titanium, and Blue Titanium. While an early February report suggested the iPhone 16 Pro would continue that tradition with new names like “Desert Titanium” and “Titanium Gray,” the whole “Titanium” branding is already getting old, especially since Samsung began overdoing it with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple abandon it this year and return to simpler color names.
Reports suggest that the new “Rose” iPhone 16 Pro will replace Blue Titanium, which isn’t surprising as Apple typically only has one special color per year for its pro lineup. Still, there’s a possibility that Natural Titanium will also go away.
This makes sense if Apple wants to avoid using the word “titanium” in any of its colors. However, unless Apple replaces that one with something else, this would also mark the first time any iPhone Pro model has only come in three colors rather than four.
[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.]
