Apple’s new thought for the iPhone 17 Pro is straightforward: paint it the identical shade as Cheeto mud, development cones, and that Nissan you solely see tragically sitting idle at rental automotive dealerships. Apple could name it “cosmic orange,” however there’s completely nothing celestial about it.
Yes, the iPhone Pro has formally turned flashy orange… and I feel we’re alleged to fake that is thrilling.
Also learn: Pumpkin, Fanta or Cheetos: What orange taste is the iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange?
Bold colours can work. Red Ferrari? Iconic. Deep midnight blue? Elegant. I even actually just like the iPhone 15 which is Barbie pink. But a fluorescent orange visitors signal? That’s an announcement that may appear to be a seasonal accent left over from Halloween in precisely three months. Or, as my editor so astutely identified, it seems that Tim Cook is pushing his alma mater‘s hideous shade palette on the world’s harmless smartphone-using inhabitants.
A brand new paint job does not repair an previous story. Underneath the tangerine shell, you may discover the identical iPhone Pro components: barely higher cameras, barely higher battery, barely costlier. Apple is aware of the checklist of improvements is not superb or, properly, “superior” this 12 months, so it is leaning on shock worth. You do not buy an orange iPhone for subtlety. You purchase it since you need individuals to note you (after which perhaps query your style).
Here is my actual downside. The iPhone has at all times been about steadiness. Style and substance, {hardware} and design, magnificence and intelligence. With orange, Apple gives neither. It’s loud with out being elegant and complicated with out including substance. This just isn’t daring minimalism. It’s a pumpkin cosplay.
And the half that bothers me essentially the most is that Apple has nailed colours earlier than. The rose gold was iconic and the iPhone 12’s purple was contemporary with out being vulgar. Even Product Red has aged gracefully.
But who remembers the yellow iPhone 14? Nobody. Or at the least they do not bear in mind it with any trace of affection. That shade seemed like an Apple sell-off experiment from day 1.
Instead of going for the class of highway cones, why not give us the colours that individuals actually need?
I’ve been begging for an ethereal sage inexperienced iPhone for years, and Apple lastly gave us this with the common iPhone 17 line, however not for the Pro. A cobalt can be a welcome change or, heck, give us any blue that is truly blue. Even a matte bronze would really feel premium. Apple is the corporate that obsesses over design, however in some way its most sought-after finishes by no means see the sunshine of day.
Apple will flip this right into a vibrant new character to your iPhone. In actuality, it is a advertising gimmick disguised as bravery. True bravery is pulling out an orange iPhone at a gathering 5 years from now and convincing everybody that it nonetheless appears to be like good. (I’m so sorry to my CNET colleagues who love the orange shade. I hope you continue to prefer it after studying this.)
But I’ll offer you one factor. At least if you drop it face down on the road, you may discover it rapidly. It will likely be one thing that may shine like a hazard sign.
