Apple Could Match the iPhone 17 Pro to Its New iOS 26 Design
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With Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup expected to arrive in September, rumors are heating up about everything from the chips inside to the materials outside. We’ve already seen a few of the usual color predictions for this year’s models, but now a new rumor suggests that Apple might have something of a curveball in mind.
Recently, a series of purported lens covers from the entire iPhone 17 lineup hinted at the shades we might see for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and new “iPhone 17 Air” models. Although the colors shown won’t necessarily correspond directly to the marketing names, what’s most notable is that they suggest Apple could be planning to release the iPhone 17 Pro in five colorways this year, instead of the usual four.
Since the advent of the iPhone Pro lineup in 2019, Apple has traditionally offered its flagship models in three neutral shades — variants of black, silver, and gold or white, joined by a single unique color. That began with Midnight Green for the iPhone 11 Pro, and most recently culminated in Desert Titanium for the iPhone 16 Pro.
Over the years, we’ve only had a fifth option once, but it wasn’t available at launch. The iPhone 13 Pro came out in gold, silver, graphite, and Sierra Blue, but Apple surprised us a few months later when it added Alpine Green to the lineup mid-cycle.
In a surprise twist, this year’s iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could come in variations of black, gray, silver, dark blue, and an orange shade, assuming the leaked lens covers accurately reflect Apple’s plans. Gold is notably absent here, but Apple abandoned that finish when it switched to titanium with the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023, opting instead for White Titanium, which has been the norm for the past two years.
It’s hard to determine what the neutrals will be from the lens covers, as the silver one could still represent the White Titanium. However, Apple is also expected to abandon titanium for its Pro models this year in favor of aluminum. That would be a first for its highest-end models, but rumor has it that titanium could be exclusive to the new “iPhone 17 Air.”
That change in materials introduces another variable into the colors we might see, but a new rumor suggests Apple could have something particularly bold in mind.
In a recent Weibo post, leaker Instant Digital (also known as Setsuna Digital) claims that the iPhone 17 Pro will feature a special color scheme designed to herald the arrival of Apple’s new iOS 26 Liquid Glass design.
The leaker acknowledges they haven’t seen the color, but have only heard about it. They say it’s expected to be essentially white, but will have “different effects under different light,” according to a machine-translated version of the Chinese post.
Instant Digital has accurately leaked color information in the past, including the yellow iPhone 14. However, their track record isn’t perfect, so unless we hear further corroboration, it would be best to take this one with a grain of salt for now.
Some confusion persists about the number of colors we’ll see. While multiple sources are aligning on the dark blue and copper orange, there’s disagreement on whether we’ll see five colors or only four. Earlier this week, Filipe Esposito reported at Macworld that independent sources had confirmed to them that the five colors shared by Sonny Dickson’s camera lens covers were indeed accurate.
This was backed up by “an internal document with the Pantone colors” that Apple used as a reference, which Esposito listed as Pantone 19-4025 TPG Mood Indigo and Pantone 1501243 TCX Papaya for the dark blue and orange models, respectively.
As the color chips above suggest, the blue will likely be very similar to the Blue Titanium color of the iPhone 15 Pro. However, Macworld’s source says that the orange will have a more “fluorescent” look.
Leaker Majin Bu offers a slightly dissenting opinion on the number of shades we can expect to see. While they confirm the orange and blue, their sources say those will be joined by only black and silver, rather than the black, white, and gray variants that Macworld has been told are coming, which are supposedly the same as those found on the iPhone 16 Pro.
Of course, there’s a fine line between these shades, and the switch to aluminum might change the equation. The gray and white shades, known as Natural Titanium and White Titanium, respectively, were a product of Apple’s titanium years; the stainless steel models that came before were shades of black, silver, and gold.
Nevertheless, Majin Bu doesn’t consider this to be the latest word. “There might still be a surprise,” Bu says, as “Apple is currently testing another color for its devices.” This could be the same Liquid Glass shade that Instant Digital shared on Weibo, which seems like it might fill in the white variant that’s missing from Bu’s list.
[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.]
