I don't like the iPhone 16 Pro Max in brown

Looking back on the week, it was probably a good idea that Google announced the Pixel 9 earlier in the product release cycle than usual, because now all everyone is talking about is iPhone leaks. The latest, part of a handful of other leaks that have surfaced this week, is a look at the titanium color variants for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. These include white, black, silver gray, and something that looks like bronze. Unfortunately, the bronze looks brown to me.

The images were leaked by Ice Universe, a reliable investigator with a consistent track record of leaks. The leaker sets the stage for us here: “It is said that these are the four colors of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.” That's a pretty ominous way to introduce the audience to a leak. Then follows a photo showing four iPhone 16 Pro Max units fanned out on a white table, as you see above.

The original image comes from Sonny Dickson, whose account is full of iPhone 16 leaks. Pinned to the top of the Twitter/X/Whatever-it-is-called-now page is a photo showing the five color variants of the iPhone 16 that were released late last month and confirmed by this week's leaks on YouTube.

This brownish copper iPhone 16 Pro Max has not been leaked yet. I turned off the yellow comfort filter on my monitor to see the color better and it is still brown. The whole range reminds me of the color palette of the early seasons of Columboanother of my favorite shows (almost as much as Beverly Hills, 90210). Only it's not as dreamy, and is set in 1970s Los Angeles. The brown evokes more of an institutional atmosphere – a government agency or the DMV is the first thing that comes to mind.

Maybe the iPhone 16 Pro Max looks different in sunlight. Maybe the artificial white lighting used in the leaked photos makes a rose gold tone look rather dull. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo spoke of a rose gold-like color that replaced the blue titanium coloring of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in May. This could be the Color.

Apple certainly has not I blessed this leak on the main page, so take this all with a grain of salt until it comes from Tim Cook himself. We expect Apple to tell us everything there is to know when it's ready to take your money for the iPhone 16.