Choosing from the available iPhone 16 colors could be the hardest part of your upgrade decision. But we're here to help you make it.
The newly-announced iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max all got shown off at Apple's recent Glowtime event, but with the presentation focusing mostly on the new features over the design, it was hard to get a grasp on how many color options that the phones have, or how they look in real life.
But thanks to our iPhone 16 hands-on and iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max hands-on, plus Apple's store pages for the new phones going live, we can now appreciate the iPhone 16 colors fully. Read on to see a breakdown of the two sets of colors on offer, plus a comparison to what Apple's offered in the past.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus colors
Apple has once decided on a bold and vibrant quintet of colors for its basic iPhone 16 and the larger iPhone 16 Plus. And those colors are: Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, White and Black
Setting aside the more understated black and white options, the three colorful options are rich and eye-catching. Quite a departure from the iPhone 15's pastel-style line-up.
In previous years, Apple's launched an extra color in the spring for its latest iPhones, which normally includes the standard and Plus models if not the Pros. We didn't see this with the iPhone 15 series, but it's worth bearing in mind that a new color could drop for the iPhone 16 in the coming months.
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max colors
With a matte finish on their back glass, and titanium side rails, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 15 Pro models last year. They also kept three of the four colors Apple sold the older Pros in, swapping out just one.
Your options for a Pro iPhone this year are Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium and Black Titanium. Desert Titanium, a bronze/gold color, replaces the old Blue Titanium option.
While on their face three of the colors do appear to be the same as the iPhone 15 Pro's options, the iPhone 16 Pro versions of the three existing colors seem to have a slightly shinier finish to them, despite still having a matte texture. So don't worry, nobody in the know will mistake your new iPhone 16 Pro for an old model.
iPhone 16 colors: How they compare to what Apple has done recently
Below is a table of all of Apple's color options for the iPhone going back to the iPhone 11 series, the first to feature Pro models. We can see how certain colors have disappeared, returned or transformed over the years to give us the choices we have today with the iPhone 16 series.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Standard Models | Pro Models |
| iPhone 16 | Black, White, Ultramarine, Pink, Teal | Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, Black Titanium, White Titanium |
| iPhone 15 | Black, Blue, Pink, Green, Yellow | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium |
| iPhone 14 | Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, [Product] Red, (Yellow) | Space Black, Gold, Silver, Deep Purple |
| iPhone 13 | Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Pink, [Product] Red, (Green) | Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue, (Alpine Green) |
| iPhone 12 | Black, White, Green, Yellow, [Product] Red, (Purple) | Space Gray, Gold, Silver, Midnight Green |
| iPhone 11 | Black, White, Purple, Yellow, Green, [Product] Red | Silver, Space Gray, Gold, Midnight Green |
Colors in brackets are ones that were added after launch. Apple did this for all years since the iPhone 12 series arrived, excluding the iPhone 15 series.
More from Tom's Guide
- iPhone 16 launch — Apple just discontinued these iPhones
- Apple 'Glowtime' event — latest iPhone 16, AirPods 4 and Apple Watch 10 news
- iPhone 16 just made the iPhone 16 Pro look pointless — here’s why
