An new Purple color option will be available with all iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models later this year, according to a recent rumor.
The claim comes from a post on Chinese social media site Weibo by an unverified source that purports to reveal the full range of color options for Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will allegedly be available in Black, White, Blue, Red, and Purple, while the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in Graphite, Silver, Gold, and Purple.
In recent years, Apple has offered eye-catching color options alongside more neutral tones when launching updated iPhone models. The standard lineup of iPhones usually comes in a relatively large selection of colors. For its "Pro" models, Apple also usually offers a single all-new color alongside its standard Graphite or Space Gray, Silver, and Gold at launch. For the iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro, this included Midnight Green, Pacific Blue, and Sierra Blue, and this year it looks like Apple plans to continue the trend of offering a single standout color: Purple.
Unlike previous years, this headline color is also apparently set to come to the standard iPhone 14 lineup. Apple twinned colors across its non-Pro and Pro selections of iPhones in April this year with the launch of the Green and Alpine Green iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, so offering a parallel color across both devices would not be unprecedented.
The purple color option for both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro is said to be a unique finish that shifts tone based on lighting conditions. A purple color option for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro seems plausible given that Apple introduced a Purple iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in a mid-cycle refresh in April last year to a positive response from customers, and the 24-inch iMac, sixth-generation iPad mini, and fifth-generation iPad Air are all available in Purple.
It is not clear if the unique purple finish is actively supposed to have a kaleidoscopic effect to change based on lighting conditions, or if it simply uses the technique behind the iPhone 13 Pro's Sierra Blue, which varies in appearance more than the other color options. This is because Apple adopted a new production process exclusively for Sierra Blue that uses "multiple layers of nanometer-scale metallic ceramics applied across the surface for a stunning and durable finish."
With the other color options being fairly similar to offerings in recent years, the Purple shade could be a headline feature of the new devices and front-and-center in the marketing for the iPhone 14 lineup.
The rumor got traction on Twitter and the information has seemingly been mirrored by other unverified posts on Weibo. Nevertheless, the post comes from a source without a known track record and it is not clear why it was deleted, so it should be viewed with skepticism at this point in time. For more about the iPhone 14, see our detailed roundup.
