Will this gold stay?
An alleged new color will be introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup, but the innovation is being met with criticism from consumers.
The rumored bronze hue — dubbed “Desert Titanium” — will supposedly be replacing the previously offered Blue Titanium as the fourth color available for the highly anticipated iPhone 16 Pro, which is expected to be released this fall.
Leaker Sonny Dickson posted an image on X last week featuring the four potential iPhone 16 Pro colorways, including the golden iteration. Another known leaker, Majin Bu, also posted a snap of alleged iPhone 16 Pro camera lens rims just days later, with one set appearing to be more dark gold than the previously rumored rose gold.
“There are four colors in total in the iPhone 16 Pro Lineup: white, black, gold and gray,” the user wrote. “The desert titanium color is kind of dark gold, similar to the old purple color, relatively discreet and deep.”
While Apple is known to release a new color for its latest iPhone Pro models, Digital Trends writer Christine Romero-Chan called the bronze hue the “worst iPhone color” she’s ever seen.
“I really hope that what we see in the dummy photo isn’t what we’re actually getting because, to put things nicely, it looks hideous,” she wrote, adding that she is holding out hope that the leak “is fake.”
Apple consumers lamented the rumored new hue in the comments of a recent TikTok from Tom’s Guide.
“Ewwwww,” one person simply put it.
“Ear wax gold,” quipped another.
“That color SUCKS,” complained one user.
“It’s s–t brown,” someone else wrote.
Like any new Apple product, rumors have swirled about the forthcoming iPhone 16 models and subsequent iOS 18 release.
CNET reports that there are rumors of larger screens on the Pro models, new camera features and improved processor chips.
Most notably, Apple announced it was planning to release “Apple Intelligence,” the tech giant’s own AI software powered by OpenAI, on its devices that would improve Siri, messages, photos and other functions. Some features, however, may be behind a paywall, according to some reports.
The new operating system will supposedly also feature a “Distraction Control” feature, which allows users to remove unwanted ads and pop-ups that hinder their web browsing experience.