Following the success of the cosmic orange shade for the iPhone 17 Pro, Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro in a deep red color. Like orange, it will seemingly be the new flagship color for 2026 Pro iPhones.
The company may also be testing similar hues internally.
Apple’s next Pro iPhone might go deep red
Alongside a design revamp, Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 Pro in a striking cosmic orange finish in September 2025. Compared to the more muted Pro colors of previous years, this shade stands out with its bold, glossy look.
Apple previously reserved such bold, fun colors for the non-Pro iPhones.
The move has paid off. The Cosmic Orange finish helped drive strong demand for the iPhone 17 Pro, particularly in China.
Unsurprisingly, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter that Apple “is now considering a deep red color for its next lineup.”
With the iPhone 18 Pro almost seven months away, though, a lot could change by then. The rumored red shade may end up looking quite similar to cosmic orange. And so, it’s unclear how distinct the final color options will be.
Gurman also speculates that, given the success of the cosmic orange color, Apple may not discontinue it this year.
As for rumors about purple and brown iPhone 18 Pro shades, the report says they are “probably just variants of the same red idea — given that the tones are fairly similar.”
Foldable iPhone will arrive in boring colors
Apple will not pick such a bold hero color for the foldable iPhone. Instead, it will supposedly “stay away from fun colors” and stick to dull, boring colors. This could include dark gray/black and white or silver.
Whatever colors Apple ultimately chooses for the iPhone 18 Pro, one thing stands out: Pro iPhones may no longer be limited to understated finishes.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
