Most people pay more attention to the iPhone’s design and beauty than its internal performance. But I still really care about how my phone performs and looks. So, when I saw a rumor about the upcoming iPhone 17, one thing stood out to me, and it wasn’t about performance or features.
It said that the iPhone 17 Pro might come in colors inspired by iOS 26’s new Liquid Glass design. These colors might look like some of the fun ones Samsung used before. That got me thinking, what if Apple’s top phones looked just as exciting as the cheaper ones?
For years, Apple has had two types of iPhones: the regular ones and the Pro models. The regular iPhones are cheaper with lower specs but come in brighter, more fun colors. The Pro models cost more and have better features, but their colors are usually plain, like black, white, or silver-gray, with one new color added each year.
For top-tier phones, I think their color choices are kind of boring. Like when the iPhone 16 Pro dropped, it came in “desert titanium” color, which was just a fancy name for gold. Before that, the iPhone 15 Pro dropped with grey-blue color and in 2022, the iPhone 14 Pro dropped white, added gold and introduced a light purple, along with the usual black and silver. And this pattern just keeps on going.
Some people who spend over $1,000 on a top-tier iPhone want it to look sleek and professional, not bold or colorful. They prefer a more serious and high-end look. But I’m not one of them. I think a premium phone should still offer fun and vibrant colors – not just the usual dull shades.
I get that most people don’t care about the color at all because their phone will be in a case most of the time to stay protected, and that’s understandable too, but when I’m spending that much money on a phone, it should look fun and pretty to say the least.
So when I heard that the iPhone 17 Pro might come in a new Liquid Glass design and is expected to launch in September, like every year, I got a little excited. But there’s a catch: the rumor came from a Weibo leaker named Instant Digital and didn’t include any pictures. According to the translated info, the new color might be white, but with a special finish that changes slightly depending on the lighting.
The Case for More Color in High-End Phones
At WWDC in June 2025, Apple introduced its new Liquid Glass design for the iPhone 17 Pro, along with a fresh look for iOS 26. The update featured more translucent effects and rounded icons to give the interface a modern feel.
But when developers first tested it, many didn’t like it. They found it confusing and said it was hard to tell the icons apart, especially in the Control Center. Fortunately, Apple made improvements, and now the public beta of iOS 26 looks and works much better.
It’s a bit hard to imagine how the Liquid Glass design will look as an iPhone color. The leaker, Instant Digital, says it will be white but will change the color slightly in different lighting, which gives us some hints.
It might even look like some popular phone colors from the past. For instance, the 2018 Samsung Galaxy S10 had a prism white color that shifted shades when you moved it in light, showing soft tones of pink, purple, and blue. If Apple goes in a similar direction, it could make the iPhone 17 Pro feel a lot more lively and unique.
Now compare that to the Galaxy Note 10 from the same year, which came in a bold “Aura Glow” color. It reflected almost every color of the rainbow and was super eye-catching. But let’s be honest, it will probably be a bit too flashy for Apple’s usual style.
Still, it showed how much fun phone colors can be. The only downside? The shiny glass back looked great, but wasn’t very durable if you dropped it.
If Apple found a balance between subtle shine and strong design, it could offer something truly fresh without going overboard.
Apple has used subtle shimmer before with the iPhone 13’s deep midnight black and soft starlight white. But looking at the past Pro models, it’s unlikely we’ll see anything as bold as Samsung’s colorful phones.
I am always expecting that the iPhone 17 Pro endeavors something different. A little extra color might just be what makes the new Liquid Glass design feel exciting, whether we’re ready for the change or not.
