Cupertino, California, April 19, 2026, 09:31 PDT
- Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are reportedly being tested in Dark Cherry, Light Blue, Dark Gray and Silver.
- The reported Dark Cherry shade would mark a shift from last year’s brighter Cosmic Orange finish.
- The colors remain in development, and Apple could still drop one before launch.
Apple’s next Pro iPhone could come in a muted “Dark Cherry” finish, with supply-chain information pointing to four color options under development for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Macworld reported on Friday. The shade is described as closer to deep wine than a bright red, making it the likely headline color if Apple carries it through to launch. Macworld
The leak matters now because Apple is expected to lean on visible design cues again this year, even as the phones themselves may look close to the iPhone 17 Pro. Color has become a fast way to signal a new generation when the frame, camera island and display change only modestly.
The reported palette includes Light Blue, Dark Cherry, Dark Gray and Silver, with Pantone codes said to be used internally. Pantone is a color-matching system used to define precise shades across materials and production runs.
MacRumors, citing Macworld’s supply-chain source, said Dark Cherry was expected to be more restrained than the iPhone 17 Pro’s Cosmic Orange, while Light Blue would resemble the current base iPhone 17’s Mist Blue. The same report said the iPhone 18 Pro line is not yet in mass production, leaving room for Apple to change or cut colors before release.
That is the risk. Apple has tested colors before that never shipped. Macworld noted that black or steel gray had been considered for the iPhone 17 Pro, according to earlier reporting, but those finishes did not make the final lineup.
The color move would follow Apple’s 2025 Pro lineup, which shipped in deep blue, cosmic orange and silver. At that launch, Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak called the iPhone 17 Pro “a stunning new design rebuilt from the inside out,” language that showed how much the company tied the Pro refresh to visible hardware changes as well as performance. Apple
Design changes in the latest leak look smaller. Macworld said its source had seen CAD drawings — computer-aided design files used to model hardware — showing a smaller Dynamic Island, the pill-shaped interactive cutout at the top of the display, and a slightly reduced gap between the rear glass cutout and camera bump.
Mashable and other reports also tied the latest iPhone 18 rumors to camera changes, including a possible variable aperture, a lens mechanism that changes how much light enters the camera. That would matter more to photography users than a color shift, but it remains less visible on store shelves.
Apple’s wider 2026 lineup could add another wrinkle. Reports cited by Macworld and MacRumors say Apple is also preparing a foldable iPhone, sometimes referred to in leaks as iPhone Ultra, with more conservative colors such as silver, white and indigo.
That would put Apple deeper into a foldable phone market now fought by Samsung, Motorola and Google. Counterpoint Research has forecast growth in foldables this year as Apple’s expected entry pushes competition toward book-style devices, while associate director Liz Lee said the market is nearing an “inflection point.” Counterpoint Research
Price is still a live question. Analyst Jeff Pu at GF Securities wrote that Apple’s supply-chain work pointed to “cost management” aimed at keeping iPhone 18 Pro starting prices “unchanged” or at a “similar level,” while Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple wanted to “avoid raising prices as much as possible,” MacRumors reported in February. MacRumors
For now, the most concrete change is cosmetic, and still not final. But if the leak holds, Apple’s 2026 Pro story may start with a darker red iPhone — less loud than orange, still meant to be noticed.
