iPhone 16 Pro's new gold color tipped to be a 'stand out' shade, rather than a 'terrible' brown

At this point, we have a fairly clear idea of most of the colors that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are likely to be offered in. Thanks to leaks and rumors, we’re expecting some version of black, white or silver, and gray, but there’s also a fourth rumored shade, and there’s slightly less agreement on this one.

Some sources have suggested that this mystery color will be bronze, while others have pointed to a brown or gold shade, possibly set to be called ‘Desert Titanium’, and while we’re still not certain which of these colors it will be, a dark gold iPhone 16 Pro color is looking the most likely.

We're almost certain of the gold part, at least, because Mark Gurman – a leaker with a superb track record for Apple information – has posted on X, saying “I think the new iPhone 16 Pro gold is going to be the stand out color this year and potentially drive interest. It looks impressive and not terrible like the early renders.”

So, Gurman seems very confident that a gold color exists, and also that this will be an exciting, appealing option.

Sadly, Gurman doesn't say which of the many possible shades of gold it will be, but our money is on a dark take on the color, and there are several reasons for that.

For one thing, a teaser video from a Dubai-based tech retailer, shared on X by @emkwan, hints that the iPhone 16 Pro line could come in a coffee shade. It’s a bit ambiguous, since it mostly just shows a camera zooming into a mug of coffee, but the housing around the camera also appears to be this shade.

More gold than brown

Now, we wouldn't describe 'coffee' as 'gold', but just a few days ago we saw a leak stating that the iPhone 16 Pro colors would include a gold titanium shade which, based on the included imagery, looks somewhere between gold and brown – and not a million miles from the color of a milky coffee.

A darker, understated gold like this would also fit well with Apple’s typical Pro-model color schemes, which are never particularly bright.

That said, it will probably be more on the gold side than a previously leaked image of an iPhone in brown, as that had quite mixed reactions, and is likely one of the "terrible" renders Gurman refers to in his post above.

In any case, we’ll find out exactly what this mystery color is soon, as the iPhone 16 line is set to land on Monday, September 9. TechRadar will be reporting live from the launch, so we’ll bring you all the announcements as they happen.

You might also like

• How to watch the iPhone 16 launch event live
• iPhone 16 Pro design predictions: expected designs for the top two models
• iPhone 16 Pro camera predictions: every expected camera on the Pro models