Here’s What the ‘Gold Titanium’ iPhone 16 Pro Will (Probably) Look Like
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Although several possibilities have been bandied about over the past few months regarding this year’s “special” color for the iPhone 16 Pro, the consensus has settled on some flavor of bronze or gold.
Apple had taken a stab at fun colors with the ill-fated iPhone 5c, but it seemed to give up after that brief 2013 attempt. It shied away from anything beyond blacks, greys, silvers, whites, and golds until 2018, when the iPhone XR debuted in four colors beyond the usual black and white finishes. That kicked off a trend of releasing standard iPhone models in similar color assortments and introducing a single unique color for each year’s iPhone Pro.
For the iPhone 11 Pro, that was Midnight Green, followed by a Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro, the Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro, and Deep Purple iPhone 14 Pro. With last year’s switch to titanium on the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple revisited Pacific Blue with a similar Blue Titanium finish. The iPhone 13 Pro also received a mid-cycle Alpine Green update, making it the only Pro model (so far) to get a second color.
Still, except for the Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro, the rumor mill has often been wrong about Apple’s more colorful plans. In 2021, many leakers predicted an orange or bronze iPhone 13 Pro, possibly in a hue known as Sunset Gold. To be fair, 2021 was a lousy year for leakers all around, but Sierra Blue was a color that seemingly came out of nowhere.
Needless to say, we’ve taken most early reports of iPhone colors with a grain of salt. A February leak suggested “Desert Yellow” and “Cement Gray,” while a subsequent March report pointed to “Rose Titanium.” That last one seemed like it might have been closer to the mark, but it wasn’t until two weeks ago that some leaked photos of dummy iPhone 16 models pointed to a much deeper bronze color that leaned more heavily toward brown than gold.
It’s not hard to see how this could have been the “Desert Titanium” referred to in the February report, but that leak may not have been entirely accurate. It could be lighting or a poorly-made dummy unit, but a new leak from a reliable source shows us a much lighter shade that seemingly qualifies as some form of gold.
The new information comes from 9to5Mac, which notes that the same unnamed source was correct about the Natural Titanium iPhone 15 Pro. They didn’t necessarily identify the name (“Titan Gray” was suggested at the time), but the color was spot-on. The report also showed up around the same time last year, only days before Apple’s September iPhone event.
Along the same lines, we likely have no idea what Apple will call this color — “Desert Titanium” could still fit — but the mockup provided likely shows an accurate shade.
The image shows the iPhone 16 Pro in a case, which suggests it’s also coming from an accessory partner. As 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall points out, there’s an extra cutout on the same side as the Side button that’s likely there to accommodate the much-rumored Capture button. That’s not surprising, especially for an iPhone Pro; rumors suggest all four models will get the new Capture button, but even if those aren’t accurate, it’s almost certainly coming to the two Pro models.
[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.]
