The latest smartphones promise a laundry list of upgrades and new features to entice you to part with your cash – or sign up to a lengthy contract. But colours are the unsung addition that keeps things visually interesting, even if the design hasn’t changed all that much from year to year.
I’m guilty of falling for the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s purple and 15 Pro Max’s Natural Titanium, and this year’s iPhone 16 line-up has a few stand-outs too. Apple’s next iPhone is set to come in five different hues, while the Pro variant gets four shades of titanium to tempt you. Here’s how to work out your Desert Titanium from your Blue.
iPhone 16 and 16 Plus colours
Early leaks suggested the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus would mix up its colour palette, and that turned out to be accurate come the big reveal. The standard iPhone models are more colourful for 2024, offering a range of different hues on top of the more mainstream black and white.
Teal, Pink and Ultramarine are the standouts this year. Yellow seems to have fallen from favour, and red is also absent – likely so Apple can introduce a (Product)Red version later down the line. All are made from 85% recycled aluminium and colour-treated glass.
iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max colours
Apple only started using titanium for its Pro iPhones in 2023, so it’s no huge surprise to see a largely familiar colour selection on the iPhone 16 Pro line-up. There are some changes, though. While the 15 Pro line-up offered Natural Titanium, White Titanium, and Blue Titanium, the latter has been ditched. No wonder, really – it didn’t look all that great.
In its place is a colour called Desert Titanium. Press photos make it look like a mix of brown, bronze and gold, but it might lean more towards one than the others in real life. Natural Titanium, White Titanium, and Space Black Titanium complete the range. All use a microblasted titanium frame and toughened rear glass.
