Apple's rumored new iPhone color probably isn't copper. It's something better.
The Apple iPhone rumor mill always adds a hefty amount of confusion just before any new iPhone launch, and the latest, focused on what may be a new color option, is no different.
On Monday, a somewhat low-resolution photo of a supposed iPhone 8 from a post on China's MyDrivers, via Weibo, showed a casing described by some as copper.
However, because the photos aren't high resolution, and we know that lighting can affect the way an object's true color is represented in a poor photograph, we can't be certain that this isn't just a color-distorted casing.
But since this is the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone, and we're expecting a number of changes to the iPhone, let's go ahead and take the photo for what it appears to be and unpack why Apple might go in this direction.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The current array of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus devices are offered in jet black, black, gold, rose gold, and silver. (There's also the special-edition red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.)
Back in 2015, we explored some of the reasons Apple decided to offer a gold iPhone, one of those being to cater to design trends in Asia, and more specifically China, as it attempted to enlarge its market share in the region. Not long after, Apple added rose gold to the mix, a variation that signaled an attempt to shed its utilitarian tech profile and capture more of the fashion-minded, influencer-level iPhone fans. A quick check of Instagram tells us: It worked.
What could possibly be the appeal of copper, a hue associated with pennies, steampunk geekery, and plumbing?
But what could possibly be the appeal of copper, a hue associated with pennies, steampunk geekery, and plumbing? Not very glamorous, or cool.
And yet. Just a couple of weeks ago, images of a similarly "copper-colored" Nokia 8 popped up. That would make two major smartphone makers opting for "copper" as the hot new color.
But I still can't get away from the cheap aesthetic attached to copper. And that's when it hit me – maybe what we're really looking at in this low-resolution image isn't copper, but bronze.
As an alloy of copper, bronze (usually a mix of copper and tin) is sometimes distinctive in color from copper, and it typically has a lighter, more golden hue. However, just as common are examples of darker bronze hues that do indeed look like the color shown in the supposed "copper" iPhone 8 image.
For example, Olympic medals.
And like the Olympics, it would complete a kind of tiered color synergy for the iPhone's overall color palette (gold, silver, and now bronze). And we know how much Apple loves design synergy.
Also, let's be honest, it's a hell of a lot easier to imagine Tim Cook on stage next month introducing the new color as "bronze," instead of the low budget-sounding copper.
"Introducing, the brand new iPhone 8, in stunning... copper!"
Naw. I call bronze.
Convincing us that a bronze iPhone is just as premium as the iPhone's gold and rose-gold options would also be a far easier sell than copper.
And whatever color name Apple uses, a least a few people on Twitter are already in love with the color and want it wrapped around their next iPhone.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
To be sure, there are those who are already calling the rumored color choice "ugly," but we heard the same chirps in the early days of the gold and rose-gold iPhones. Not everyone is ready for change.
But these people aren't the style leaders Apple's increasingly fashion-conscious design team is looking to for inspiration. Among style leaders, bronze has been heating up for while.
Late last year, The New York Times cited bronze as a popular new trend among luxury watch makers and buyers. That's right, the seemingly bygone material has recently made a comeback as "a signifier of luxury," according to the Times. Similarly, Cosmopolitan identified a bronze-inspired trend even in the realm of hair coloring, referring to the hue as "Blorange." And last year it was hard to miss the light bronze ombré hair treatments gracing the locks of everyone from college students to celebrities.
Of course, color trends change from season to season, but look around and you'll soon realize that, yes, bronze is everywhere right now. It may be that Apple is finally locking into this color trend, albeit slightly late, just in time for the 10th-anniversary iPhone.
In a few weeks, if this supposed iPhone 8 image turns out to be accurate, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the bronze version becomes one of the most popular iPhone colors of all time -- third-place connotations notwithstanding.
