Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. Mobile
  4. Features

If this is the iPhone 16 color lineup, I couldn’t be happier

Add as a preferred source on Google
Purple iPhone 14 (left) and a green iPhone 15 in hand.
Apple iPhone 14 Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

We’re just a few weeks away from Apple’s next big iPhone event. That means it’s almost time for new iPhones — specifically, the iPhone 16 series.

From the rumors that we’ve heard so far, the iPhone 16 is shaping up to be an interesting one. The base models should be getting a redesigned vertical camera layout that is more akin to the iPhone 12, and Apple appears to be adding a new Capture button to the entire lineup. We should also expect processors that are powerful enough to handle Apple Intelligence, and the smaller iPhone 16 Pro could get some nice camera upgrades this time around.

Recommended Videos

Some of the latest rumors have also revealed the iPhone 16 color options, at least for the base models, and I’m quite excited.

The return of actual color? Say it ain’t so!

iPhone 16 dummy units.
iPhone 16 dummy models Sonny Dickson

If you take a look at the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, you’ll probably be disappointed unless you’re a very big fan of muted pastels. Apple has five colors for the iPhone 15: black, blue, green, yellow, and pink.

However, at least for me, the only good-looking one is pink. The green is quite faint, like a mint green. I’m not a big fan of yellow in general, and this is also quite muted. And the blue? It doesn’t even look anything like blue! It’s more like a “hospital white” than anything. The iPhone 15 colors were some of the worst yet, coming after the much more saturated colors of the iPhone 14 and earlier models.

After a year of disappointing colors, the latest leak of the iPhone 16 color lineup looks quite exciting. A photo of iPhone 16 dummy units recently surfaced, and it shows them off in five colors: white, black, blue, green, and pink. Out of those, the non-black-and-white options look much better than the iPhone 15 color options.

It appears that the white could be replacing the yellow color that has been around for a while, but we’ll still have a traditional black color. The blue and green appear to be very dark and saturated, with the pink also a bit darker than the iPhone 15’s version of pink.

Of course, these are just dummy units, so the final colors could still be very much up in the air. But this should be a good indicator of what to expect when Apple reveals the iPhone 16, and these saturated colors excite me.

Google’s Pixel 9 event is just a few days away, but from what we’ve seen so far in terms of rumors, the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro/Pro XL will come in some beautiful pink hues. I think I like the base model Pixel 9 pink color more than that of the Pro version, as it is more saturated and vibrant, but they’re both quite stunning.

I’m a fan of phones that are fun and colorful, so if this is indeed what Apple could have in store for the iPhone 16, it could finally bring back some much-needed fun colors.

What about the iPhone 16 Pro?

Blue Titanium (left) and Natural Titanium iPhone 15 Pros on a concrete bench.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Apple has a history of only offering fun colors for the base model iPhones while giving the power users with the Pro models more muted, neutral color options. Unfortunately, that may not change much this year with the iPhone 16 Pro.

The current iPhone 15 Pro lineup comes in four colors: Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium. Honestly, aside from the blue option, it’s more like, “Which shade of gray do you prefer?” Apple took away the gold color and replaced it with Natural Titanium, to the dismay of gold iPhone fans around the world.

The whispers about the iPhone 16 Pro color lineup aren’t as exciting as the base models, at least for me. Rumors indicate that it will once again come in black, white, or silver and a gray (Natural Titanium). The fourth color option may end up being “rose,” but don’t get your hopes up if you’re expecting a pink iPhone Pro. It seems that “rose” could be a rose gold or even a bronze color.

While I’m excited about the base iPhone 16 colors, it pains me once again that Apple doesn’t seem likely to give us a pink iPhone Pro. I’m not even a big fan of the gold color. What I miss is the “rose gold” from the iPhone 6 days, which was definitely more pink than gold. One day, maybe, Apple will give that back to us.

Not too long now

A photo showing four dummy models of the iPhone 16 series.
Sonny Dickson / X

Even if I don’t get the pink iPhone Pro that I’ve been dreaming of for years, I am still excited to see what the iPhone 16 will look like once it’s announced. Just seeing some more bold and saturated colors in the base model is a good thing because the iPhone 15 colors mostly, well, stunk, to say the least.

We expect Apple to hold its iPhone 16 event sometime later this fall, likely in September. And, fingers crossed, we’ll finally be back to the days of bold, saturated, and good colors.

Christine Romero-Chan
Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…
Apple’s lease program is just a soft landing for you to spend on pricier iPhones this year
Hand holding iPhone 17 Pro.

A few days ago, Apple introduced a new "Upgrade" program that is essentially a lease program for buying Apple hardware. Instead of paying the full cost up front, you space the monthly installments (12, 24, and 36 month spells), and at the end of the lease period, you can choose to return the device, upgrade to a new one, or pay the remainder cost and keep it forever.

The broad idea is simple. Instead of taking a thousand-dollar hit on the wallet, you space the hit across small monthly payments. For a flagship iPhone, that broadly comes down to a dollar per day, and for budget phones such as the iPhone 17e, it's just half a dollar each day, if you do the breakdown. At least Apple is looking at it that way.

Read more
Pixel 11 leak predicts a weird mix of upgrades and downgrades for a higher price
The Pixel 11 may start at $899 with 256GB of storage, but its camera setup remains unclear.
Google Pixel 10a smartphone

Google may ask Pixel 11 buyers to pay $100 more for a phone that improves the parts they can’t see while leaving a conspicuous camera question unresolved. A new leak from Android Headlines puts the base model at $899, up from the Pixel 10’s $799 starting price.

The extra money would at least buy more capacity. The Pixel 11 reportedly starts at 256GB rather than 128GB, while the leaked specifications list both 12GB and 16GB RAM options. Yet the same list mentions only a main camera and an ultrawide, even though other leaked renders still appear to show three rear camera openings.

Read more
Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold could offer Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra specs for $200 less
Google’s leaked foldable could match the Fold8’s price with Ultra-sized screens and 5x zoom
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

Google may be preparing to challenge Samsung’s most expensive foldable without charging Ultra money. According to Android Headlines, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold will start at $1,899, matching the Galaxy Z Fold8 and undercutting the $2,099 Fold8 Ultra by $200.

Its rumored hardware makes that pricing especially interesting. Google’s foldable appears much closer to Samsung’s Ultra model in display size, even though it would cost the same as the smaller Fold8.

Read more