The new finishes for iPhone 16 Pro
It’s 2024 iPhone launch day, and we got our hands on all the new iPhone 16 Pro colors to compare. Here’s what they’re like outside of Apple’s pristine marketing images.
This year’s batch of iPhone 16 Pro phones technically received four new finishes, but the most notable is the Desert Titanium that has replaced the outgoing blue hue.
Now the four titanium colors in the range are the aforementioned Desert, White, Black, and Natural. Let’s take a closer look.
Naturally, everyone is going to have their favorite — although Tim Cook would again probably praise all of them equally — but personally, we’re loving the new white one. It’s much brighter and cleaner than before.
The new white is very bright and clean
It’s been ages since we’ve actually seen a true white for the Pro models, which makes it even more welcome. It harkens back to the days of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s, and we’re here for it.
On this white model, the sides are bright silver that have a uniform matte finish. That compares nicely to the brush look last year or the glossy ones we saw prior to that.
Some of the new iPhone 16 Pro finishes (from bottom to top: natural, desert, white)
Next we have the natural titanium, which, frankly, matches the last model almost exactly. We compared these in the Apple Store and it was maybe a hair darker.
Just to prove the point, we photographed the iPhone 15 Pro Max in natural titanium. It’s indistinguishable from the iPhone 16 Pro Max, at least in color. Obviously the new model has the Camera Control button, but it’s the same color as last year’s version.
The new iPhone 16 Pro Max in desert titanium
Despite our preference for white, it’s probably desert titanium that is the most interesting, or at least the most anticipated, because it is the only wholly new color in the range.
“Desert” is a good name. But we’d describe it more as titanium with a slight copper tint.
It looks great overall, however, and it can also be very subtle depending on the lighting. In the Apple Store’s bright lights, for instance, we couldn’t even identify the desert titanium model until it was next to the others.
The desert titanium color is more subtle in some light than others
Back in the studio, though, it became much more apparent under natural lighting. Warm light brings out the warm hues of the Desert Titanium finish.
So it’s new, it’s subtle, and it looks great. We can easily see why so many people have gravitated to this new option.
The black is darker than before
Finally, there was the new black titanium. In a similar way to the white model, Apple took an existing color and improved rather than changed it.
So now the black titanium iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max is a true black. It’s no longer the dark gray color it was before.
The lighter lineup of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
All of these colors look and feel quite premium, if a bit muted. Apple seemingly doesn’t believe that what it calls Pro devices should come in vivid colors.
Instead, colors are more the preserve of the regular models. So where the iPhone 16 Pro range comes in three muted colors, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus come in ultramarine blue, teal, pink, white, and black.
Following both the “It’s Glowtime” announcement and the pre-order week, all of the iPhone 16 range — regular and Pro — is now available to order immediately. It’s also all now in Apple Stores around the world.
