Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro could have a brand new look, leaks suggest

Apple fans disappointed by the dull sheen of the iPhone 15 Pro’s sturdier brushed titanium frame may want to save up for an upgrade later this year.

A prolific, anonymous leaker reported that the tech giant may be using “a method that improves on previous titanium processing and color processing” for the next-generation iPhone 16 Pro

The change could include addressing complaints from iPhone 15 Pro users who are frustrated with their new phone titanium frame had the habit of temporarily changing color upon contact with natural oil of human skin.

The new rumor suggests that a new look for iPhone 16 could manage to maintain the durability of the new titanium frame while restoring the older, sleek iPhone look.

“There will be no external scratches or scratches,” the leaker said, compared to the existing stainless steel models of the iPhone, despite the “shinier” results.

A prolific, anonymous leaker reports that the tech giant plans to use “a method that improves on previous titanium processing and color processing” for the next-generation iPhone 16 Pro – suggesting a return to a shinier, shinier iPhone. Above is the stainless steel iPhone 14

The rumor suggests the updated methods will manage to maintain the durability of the iPhone 15 Pro’s new titanium frame (above) while restoring the older, sleeker iPhone look

One upset user felt that the color distortion issue was “kind of wild considering the price of this technology.” Another said they would ‘probably get the 15 pro for a first time iPhone purchase’ but were ‘worried that frame’ would lose its luster

The leaked information came from ‘a related company source’ to the anonymous blogger’jaux1122‘ which collects news and rumors on the blogging platform of South Korean social media company Naver.

The blogger has suggested that a shinier, yet sturdy iPhone 16 Pro would be a logical response to customer demands as Apple fights to maintain its reputation as the most stylish mobile device on the market.

When the iPhone 15 Pro premiered last September, several new owners took to social media to share photos of their new smartphones, railing about significant discoloration along the titanium metal sidebands.

One upset user felt the issue was “kind of wild considering the price of this technology.”

Another said they would “probably get the 15 Pro if they were buying an iPhone for the first time” but were “worried that frame” would lose its shine.

Although the titanium frame was chosen for its ultra-strong and super-light properties, the metal was also known for its presentation, sometimes charming, ‘interference colors’, which make the surface resemble a rainbow when heated.

Through a process called anodizing, the surface of the titanium reacts with the air and produces very thin layers of oxides that scatter light and give the metal an incredibly colored finish.

But according to Associate Professor Walter Navarrini of the Polytechnic University of Milan, one of the biggest disadvantages of using titanium is that it can also lead to “chromatic changes that cause greasy traces of oily substances on the surface.”

Apple debuted the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max in September, designed with aerospace-grade titanium that is strong yet lightweight – promising Apple’s lightest Pro models ever

The iPhone 15 also has an OLED Super Retina display, which supports Dolby Vision content at 1,600 nits of brightness. However, the peak brightness of this screen is 2,000 nits in sunlight, which is double that of the iPhone 14

In other words, when titanium comes into contact with bare hands, thin layers of oil can stick to the surface, causing the same effect of scattering light into ugly, oil-stained rainbows of grimy-looking fingerprints and smudges.

Tech site 9to5Google and its sister site 9to5Mac had a theory about what the rumored ‘polished titanium’ frame on the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro could look like – they show a photo of Google’s short-lived Essential Phone from 2017who used that same metal in a polished form.

In 2022, yeux1122 announced in advance that the iPhone 14 would fail to make improvements to the device’s ‘wireless charging’ feature.

And true to the rumors, users quickly noticed that the iPhone 14’s design choices had actually made wireless charging with Apple’s magnetized MagSafe charger less than ideal.

“The camera bump prevents it from laying flat and charging,” one iPhone owner wrote the company’s support forum about a month later Yeux122’s leak. “Boo apple.”

“What do we do now after spending money on wireless charging devices?”

This year, the leaker has already made a flurry of predictions about the Cupertino-based company’s tightly held internal plans.

If you’re thinking of splurging on Apple’s new iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, you might want to consider grabbing a case. The tech giant has admitted that the new titanium frame may temporarily change color without protection

In one post, the leaker suggested that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could debut with the longest battery life ever in an iPhone, and that iPhone 16 Pro models may come with optional 2TB of storage.

But despite some big firsts in recent years, the person or person behind “yeux1122” has “a mixed track record of gathering accurate Apple rumors,” according to MacRumor‘s editor-in-chief Hartley Charlton.

Those less reliable rumors include a revival of the small 12-inch MacBook design, made between 2015 and 2019, that some long-time users of the brand are looking at nostalgically.

The leaker has also claimed in recent months that an upcoming OLED iPad Pro will be much more expensive than existing Apple models, ranging from $1500 to between $1800 and $2000 depending on specifications.