iPhone 17 Air is a new device that’s going to replace the “Plus” variant in Apple’s smartphone lineup. Over the years, we’ve seen the iPhone colors become less vibrant with each generation, and it seems the iPhone 17 Air is headed down the same path. A leak from Weibo confirms Apple is mixing a new color for it, which some fans might find underwhelming.
Fixed Focus Digital added a post on the Chinese social media site and let slip the new color option, which Apple might call “Silverblue.” Your first thought might be that it’s a glossy blue shade with a hint of silver, but in reality, the opposite is true. Although there’s no image yet to confirm it, the leaker goes on to reveal what this new color looks like.
It’s primarily white, but it has a subtle hint of Blue in there, which appears invisible until you look at it from a certain angle. This is the sort of color that might force you to ask if it’s even worth calling Blue. Samsung did something similar with the S25 Ultra, which has a completely washed-out color palette as well.
There might be a reason why Apple doesn’t want to risk producing flashy colors for the iPhone 17 Air. This Apple's latest iPhone model will be available in limited stock since it’s an ultra-thin enthusiast phone with very little appeal for the general user. It may bring a few other options to scratch our itch for vibrant colors, but we need to wait for confirmation.
The vanilla iPhone 17 doesn’t seem to have that issue. We hear the main colors for this device are White and Black. Of course, there will be more options, but the focus might be on a Purple finish, which we saw before on the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022.
As we mentioned, the colors are getting dull with each generation, so expect the new purple to have a less saturated finish. It seems the iPhone 17 Air’s colors are the least of Apple’s worries right now. We’ve heard reports that its display has started to crack mid-production.
BOE, the display maker from China, has been kicked out of the contract because its LTPO OLEDs keep breaking. LG and Samsung will be the main suppliers for Apple this year since they are the only manufacturers left with patents for LTPO 120Hz technology. We still have much to learn about the iPhone 17 series, so keep watching the news for more leaks and updates.
