Arguably, one of the hardest choices to make when picking up a new phone is what color to select. While you will eventually buy a case to protect your phone, and that will cover up essentially any major color varieties, it's still an important decision to make. However, the choice of which color to get for the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t have to be a chore.
While there have been many rumors regarding the iPhone 16 series design in the last few months, including the increased size for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, the color options have remained pretty consistent. According to the rumors, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will have seven color options — while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have 4 different options.
While we didn't see much about the next generation of iPhones during Apple's 2024 WWDC presentation, we expect to get all the information in September. This will include the full list of finalized color options. However, we have seen a fair few leaks and rumors about the upcoming options for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. As such, we have gathered together everything we know about the color options for both phones.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
As stated, the iPhone 16 will come with seven overall colors, five of which are the same as the iPhone 15. The Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow and Green colors will all be similar to the prior generation, but rumors indicate that there will be two new colors, white and purple.
If the colors are the same as the prior models, we can expect the colors to be quite bright. For instance, the green color is more of a “mint” green and the blue is more like a sky blue. Sadly we don’t know what the two new colors look like, but they will likely follow a similar trend with the Purple being quite bright. It's also possible that the white option will look more silver than white.
A post on X from known Apple Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has indicated that Apple could be planning on replacing two colors on the iPhone 16 series. According to a post on X, Apple will be removing the yellow option and replacing it with white, although Apple could change the name back to Starlight like the iPhone 13's white shade.
Five of the tipped colors appear in the leaked image below, posted by Sonny Dickson. Not sure where the tipped yellow or purple options are, but every other color's accounted for here.
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max Colors
So far there are four rumored colors for the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, three of which are Black, white, and grey. However, the fourth color is currently under some debate, either a cement gray and desert yellow mix, or a gray and rose mix instead.
It has been reported that the Space Black is very similar to the iPhone 14 Pro Max Space Black, while the white color is reminiscent of the silver option we saw on the iPhone 14 Pro. However recently uncovered dummy units suggest that we're getting very prominent versions of black and white, rather than some kind of silver or dark gray. Meanwhile there looks to be a lighter gray color reminiscent of the iPhone 15 Pro Max's natural titanium coloring.
There are also rumors that the iPhone 16 Pro will drop the brushed titanium style present in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Instead, Apple could be going with a smoother, glossier finish. This would mean that the iPhone 16 Pro devices would look more like the stainless steel of the past, but maintain the durability that comes with titanium. However, it should be mentioned that the rumor is unsubstantiated at this point, so it should be taken with a grain of salt.
In the same post that mentioned the removal of the yellow option for the base iPhone 16, it appears that Apple will not include the Blue Titanium color option for the iPhone 16 pro series, and will instead offer a Rose color for customers.
A recent rumor has doubled down on the return of the Rose color, with leaker Baby Sauce stating that the iPhone 16 Pro could include a Rose Gold option, once again stating that it would replace the Blue Titanium option. however a more recent report from Chinese social network Weibo claims that the 4th color may be closer to bronze than any kind of rose or gold.
iPhone 16 colors: How they compare to what Apple has done recently
Now that we have a good idea of the color options, we can add them to our table of recent iPhone color options for comparison to phones dating back to the iPhone 12.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Standard Models | Pro Models |
| iPhone 16 | Black, blue, pink, yellow/white, green, white, purple | Rose/desert yellow, gray, space black, white |
| iPhone 15 | Black, Blue, Pink, Green, Yellow | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium |
| iPhone 14 | Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, [Product] Red | Space Black, Gold, Silver, Deep Purple |
| iPhone 13 | Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Pink, [Product] Red | Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue |
| iPhone 12 | Black, White, Purple, Green, Yellow, [Product] Red | Space Gray, Gold, Silver, Midnight Green |
It should be mentioned that the table above does not include the later addition for the iPhones, such as the yellow iPhone 14.
The biggest difference is the pure amount of options available for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. While most other models have around 5 options, the next generation of iPhones comes with seven. It looks like Apple will continue its trend of keeping the names simpler than the older models. The more color options are certainly a benefit for consumers, although there is always the chance that some options will be dropped before release.
For now, all we can do is wait until the official announcement from Apple, which will likely come at the official release which we expect to happen in September, but in the meantime keep an eye on our iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro hubs which we update with news and rumors up until the eventual release.
More from Tom's Guide
- Apple sends out iPhone 'Mercenary Spyware' warnings in 92 countries — what you need to know
- Best iPhone 15 Pro Max deals for April 2024
- iPhone 16 Pro Max rumored to feature an upgraded camera — and extra-long battery life
