No Black, Again: How Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Is Making a Colour Statement Two Years in a Row
For the second consecutive year, black will not be an option on Apple’s flagship iPhone. Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital posted directly on the Chinese platform: “It seems that the black of the iPhone 18 Pro has been cut again.” The message was short and to the point. Black has appeared on every flagship iPhone since the very first model launched in 2007 — through Space Gray, Graphite, Space Black, and Black Titanium — until it was dropped from the iPhone 17 Pro in 2025.
Apple has not confirmed any color details for the iPhone 18 Pro. Everything below is based on leaks from Instant Digital, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, and leaker Fixed Focus Digital — all of whom post on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform where much of Apple’s supply chain reporting surfaces. Plans could change before an expected September 2026 announcement. For context on what else Apple has in store this cycle, see the broader 2026 device landscape and what’s happening in on-device AI shaping the phones of this era.
From Space Black to No Black
← Scroll across to trace how Pro color lineups have changed since 2023. Hover swatches to see color names.
Why No Black? The Scratchgate Explanation
The iPhone 17 Pro switched from titanium to a heat-forged anodized aluminum body. Shortly after launch, Apple Store display units in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai showed visible scratches within hours of going on display. The issue was the anodized coating: it bonds well on flat surfaces but spalls — chips and flakes — along sharp edges, particularly on the large rear camera plateau.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman directly linked the scratch problem to why black was absent from the iPhone 17 Pro. On darker finishes, silver aluminum shows through as sharp contrast when the coating is damaged. Deep Blue showed this problem most visibly in daily use. Silver hid wear best because the raw aluminum underneath is tonally close. Skipping black — the darkest possible finish — was consistent with that pattern.
“We look at things like the design of the phone itself, how it’s going to look with color, and how do those materials take color. What do we want to express with the lineup that year?”— Kaiann Drance, Apple Vice President of iPhone Marketing (interview, fall 2025)
The 2026 Color Picture — What Leakers Say
Tap each colour below to read the full story behind it — what’s confirmed, what’s rumoured, and what Apple’s own supply chain insiders have said.
How iPhone Users Reacted
On the r/apple subreddit, comments about the no-black report leaned critical. Apple VP Greg Joswiak offered the other side when the iPhone 17 Pro launched.
Beyond the Colours
Other rumoured changes to the iPhone 18 Pro, based on leaker reports as of April 2026. None are confirmed by Apple.
The iPhone Fold Gets the Classic Colours
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple plans to “stay away from fun colors” for its first foldable iPhone, expected to launch later in 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro. Instead of bold hues, the Fold is expected in conservative tones — space gray/black and silver/white. That would put black back in Apple’s lineup, on the foldable rather than the Pro slab.
The base iPhone 18 — delayed to spring 2027 as part of Apple’s reported split launch schedule, confirmed by analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman — will also reportedly come in black. The September 2026 event is expected to be exclusively Pro and Fold models, all priced at $999 or above. For more on how Apple’s 2026 software updates are evolving alongside this hardware cycle, see our recent coverage.
This piece covered the leak from Instant Digital stating that black has been dropped from the iPhone 18 Pro for the second year running, the Scratchgate episode that surrounded the iPhone 17 Pro’s anodized aluminum body and its connection to color choices, and the Deep Red option that Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has placed in testing for the 2026 Pro lineup. The Cosmic Orange color’s reception on the iPhone 17 Pro, Apple’s record Q4 FY2025 September quarter of $102.5 billion, community reactions to the no-black decision, the expected conservative color approach for the rumored iPhone Fold, and the split launch timeline placing the base iPhone 18 in spring 2027 were also discussed.
Apple has not officially confirmed colors, specifications, or a release date for the iPhone 18 Pro. For further context on Apple’s 2026 product direction, see our coverage of Apple’s 50th anniversary and iPhone history. Additional details on the broader device and software landscape can be found in our articles on on-device AI developments and the 2026 device calendar.
