This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Unlike Android phone-makers, Apple puts out only four iPhones a year, which makes it incredibly hard to satisfy the wants and needs of every single iPhone user.
And this mission to make everyone happy includes the colors of the iPhone. In fact, believe it or not, the color is one of the first things people notice in a phone. Although I’m not sure how important this is when the vast majority put a case on their phone the minute they get it out of the box.
Either way, if you think back to the colors of the last couple iPhone lineups, you’d find a bunch of “safe”, or as I’d call them, “boring” color options.
The iPhone 15 lineup was the least colorful iPhone lineup in recent years (thanks to Apple’s “special textured glass back”), and while I liked the pastel shades of the iPhone 14 series, they weren’t exactly outstanding.
So… Naturally, my expectations for the iPhone 16 colors were extremely low - not to mention, the leaked iPhone 16 dummy unit photos didn’t make things any better.
But I was wrong… Apple surprised me this time around!
iPhone 16 gives you only three “real” colors to choose from but all of them make me want to carry my iPhone without a case (finally!)
iPhone 16 is the first iPhone lineup in years that makes it hard for me to choose a favorite iPhone color - and this time, not because all of them look boring. I think I like the black, teal, and blue/purple variants equally.
See… For the first in a long, long while, I find the colors Apple has chosen for the new iPhone to be attractive across the board.
The white is an absolute classic, which I've always liked, while the matte black looks at least as attractive as it looked on the iPhone 15 - I loved this finish as it was the most badass iPhone 15 color variant, and the same is true for the iPhone 16.
But the big surprises are the three "real” iPhone 16 colors you can choose from - the Pink, Teal and Blue/Purple - although Apple has "fancy" names for them, which no one cares about. However, what I do care about is how attractive they look!
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Take the Pink iPhone 16, which is dramatically more vibrant than the "pink" of the iPhone 15. I'm 100% sure the right audience is going to love this color - we finally have a REAL pink iPhone! It’s a big deal.
The iPhone 16 in Teal might be my favorite new iPhone color, but it’s very close.
Then, the Blue/Purple iPhone 16 is the biggest pleasant surprise for me as I never ever tend to go for blue phones. I just find them incredibly dull - or at least the shades of blue Apple offered in past years.
This time though, I seriously can't put my finger on what this color is - is it blue, is it purple? And I think that's exactly what I like about it. It's super "vague" or "random" of a color, if that makes any sense.
However, I think the one I'm most fond of is the Teal variant of the iPhone 16 Apple's gone with. It looks simply stunning.It's nothing like any other green iPhone - the dull green of the iPhone 13 Pro, the mint green iPhone 11, or the electric green iPhone 5C - remember this one? It looked like a toy.
Super-colorful iPhone 16 makes iPhone 16 Pro look super-boring - Apple must bring real colors to the iPhone 17 Pro lineup
It's the bright side over the dark side when it comes to the iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Pro.
All in all, I can't believe I'm saying this but although (technically) there are only three "real colors" in the iPhon 16 lineup, Apple nailed all three of them. And this is coming from somebody who heavily criticized the bland iPhone 15 colors.
With that in mind, I can't skip but talk about the gray elephants in the room, which is the iPhone 16 Pro series. And I say "gray" because as "pro-fessional" as they might look, all iPhone 16 Pro colors are simply uninspiring sitting next to the bright iPhone 16.
We have a white, black, gray, and the least "gold" gold iPhone ever - I kinda wish the hero color was the rumored "crap brown", which I liked much better. I mean… At least it had some personality - brown phones are hard to come by.
The iPhone 16 Pro colors are so boring, I’d pick one with my eyes closed. Does it matter exactly what shade of gray your iPhone is?
That’s why I believe it’s time Apple must seriously think about bringing the vibrant colors of the vanilla iPhone lineup over to the Pro lineup - iPhone 17 would be a nice place to start. Samsung lets me get an orange Galaxy S24 Ultra (which I did), while the Pixel 9 Pro comes in green - and I promise you that nobody thinks this makes Samsung and Google's premium flagships look less "professional”.
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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.
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