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

This is the worst iPhone color I’ve ever seen

Add as a preferred source on Google
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max's camera and logo.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Hot off the heels of the Google Pixel 9 event, the rumor mill for Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup continues to churn steadily. We’re just about a month away from the next generation of iPhones, so it’s just on the horizon.

The latest report involves a new color for the iPhone 16 Pro models, as dummy units have surfaced. We’ve already seen dummy units for the regular iPhone 16, and usually, what we see for dummy units is a very close representation of the final product.

Recommended Videos

But from what we have in this latest batch, I think I may be looking at one of the ugliest iPhone colors I’ve ever seen.

Introducing the ugliest smartphone color

iPhone 16 Pro dummy units.
Sonny Dickson

A leaker named Sonny Dickson recently showed off a photo of the iPhone 16 Pro dummy units, which feature four colors: white, black, gray, and a new brown or “bronze” color. There have been some rumors that Apple may be bringing back a “rose” or “gold” shade, though it seems like that may not be happening. Instead, we have whatever this is.

Typically, Apple releases a brand new color for the Pro lineup each year. The iPhone 11 Pro gave us Midnight Green, the iPhone 12 Pro had Pacific Blue, the iPhone 13 Pro had Sierra Blue with a new Alpine Green color midway through the cycle, the iPhone 14 Pro had Deep Purple, and the iPhone 15 Pro had Natural Titanium and Blue Titanium.

There have been rumors for a while that Apple would one day add bronze to the lineup, but wow, I was not expecting it to look so … bad. From that photo, it seems more like a brown color, maybe something similar to leather. Perhaps it wouldn’t look so bad if the phone were actually made of leather, but on a glass back? This is not good at all.

I really hope this is fake

The back of a blue iPhone 15 Pro.
Prakhar Khanna / Digital Trends

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve upgraded my iPhone every year to get the latest model. I also tend to pick up the new color because, otherwise, how will people know you have the latest one? I jest, of course, but I always like to have the newest color because they’re usually pretty good.

But if this is the new flagship color for the iPhone 16 Pro, that’s not happening this year. Nope. Absolutely not.

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. It reminds me of, well, you know what. It rhymes with hit.

The Google Pixel 9 in green, pink, white, and black colors, all laying on a white table.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

After seeing Google’s incredibly fun color lineup this year with the Pixel 9 series, it’s hard to believe that this is what Apple might follow up with. In a year when Google nailed its color lineup, getting an unpleasing brown color for this year’s new iPhone would be a tough pill to swallow.

If this is the new iPhone 16 Pro color, I’ll skip picking it up and go with white this year. Black is boring, and gray isn’t my color either. I’m hoping and praying the leaks got it wrong here, because this is the last thing the iPhone 16 Pro needs.

Christine Romero-Chan
Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…
You no longer need Willow’s Pro plan for unlimited AI dictation on your iPhone
Willow says its iOS keyboard app now offers free, unlimited AI dictation, though the change hasn't fully rolled out yet.
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

AI dictation app Willow launched its voice keyboard on iOS last November, giving iPhone users a more reliable way to type with their voice than Apple's built-in dictation feature. At launch, the app had a capped weekly word limit on dictation, with unlimited use reserved for the $15 per month Pro plan. That limit is now gone, and iPhone users no longer have to subscribe to the Pro plan to get unlimited AI dictation.

No more weekly word limit on AI dictation

Read more
Samsung’s new Flex Titanium tech could make foldable creases less noticeable
Foldable lock screen in Samsung One UI 8 on Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Samsung just gave us our first real look at what's coming to the next generation of Galaxy foldables, and it involves titanium. The company unveiled its new Flex Titanium display technology today, and it actually sounds like a genuine step forward and not just another buzzword.

What exactly is Flex Titanium?

Read more
Opera’s growth shows users will switch browsers when given a choice
Turns out people love having options, and Opera is reaping the rewards.
Opera browser open on iPhone

When was the last time you thought about switching your phone's browser? For a long time, most people just stuck with whatever came preinstalled, which was Safari on iPhone and Google Chrome on Android. But Opera's latest numbers suggest that changing, and the company is riding a nice wave of growth.

In a blog post, Opera shared that the combined monthly active users of its Android and iOS browsers grew 66% in the UK and 40% in the US year over year during the second quarter. That’s a big jump in two of the most competitive markets out there.

Read more