It was only a few days ago that I pondered about Apple’s lack of pretty hardware. Apple’s phones are beautiful, elegant even, but they’re not pretty. A day later, this rumor resurfaces. Apple may be working on a new “blush gold” finish for the iPhone X, and it’s a mix between gold and pink. It’s still elegant, but it’s also far prettier than Apple’s usual iPhone offerings. Listen, Jony, Tim, it’s great you’re taking my advice, but this is a little creepy!
Rumors of a “blush gold” iPhone X began last year before the reveal of the iPhone X. However, Apple’s reduced color pallet for the iPhone X dropped rose gold and gold, opting for just black and white. Sales of the iPhone X have reportedly been lower than Apple expected. Could Apple revisit an old idea to create consumer interest in the iPhone X?
D21A – “Blush Gold” iPhone in production. pic.twitter.com/l2xGYIYsCh
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) March 19, 2018
Breathing New Life in an Old Rumor
Ben Geskin gave us one of the first looks at the iPhone X last year. Back then, it was a CNC model he apparently got from a source at Foxconn, one of Apple’s manufacturing partners. In the tweet I’ve embedded above, you can see three photos, and you might need some context. The leftmost photo is a mockup of how the iPhone X may look in this new color. It was first shown when this rumor referred to a “copper” iPhone back in 2017.
The top right photo is the leaked part. This supposedly is a part for the blush gold iPhone X, now in production. Below that, you can see the part compared to other Apple gold iPhone sim trays. This allows us to see that this is indeed a different part. The finish is neither pink nor gold, but is somewhere in between the two. This part is likely destined—our leaker claims—for the blush gold iPhone X.
A Blush Gold iPhone X?
Apple has dabbled in “pretty” iPhones before. There’s the rose gold iPhone, and the champagne-like gold iPhone. These are always steeped in elegance, with the color being an afterthought. That’s why Apple refers to their colors as “finishes.” Sure, the glass on the back of your iPhone X or iPhone 8 could be any color under the rainbow, but Apple isn’t looking for vibrancy, they’re looking for class. It does make the iPhone less “fun,” and it means there isn’t a beautiful iPhone to suit everyone’s tastes, but Apple hasn’t completely given up on choice. The iPhone X may have only been released in two finishes, but Apple would be foolish to not offer more. Car manufacturers often do a mid-cycle refresh. This is just a few small tweaks to the design of a car, to make it feel like a brand new model. They do it to increase sales, create new interest, and keep costs down. That’s exactly what a blush gold iPhone X would be for Apple. The iPhone X hasn’t been as popular as Apple would like, possibly due to its high price. However, a new color could be just the thing to bring new users in.
Sources:
- Buster Hein, Cult of Mac
- Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac