The pink iPhone 16 is the iPhone I’ve waited years for

Apple’s big September event has now come and gone, and it was a big one indeed. We got the new iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and the Apple Watch Series 10. The iPhone 16 was a pleasant surprise because it’s getting a big upgrade from its predecessor with the Action button, Camera Control, A18 chip, and even a brand new pink color.

While we knew that a pink color was coming for the iPhone 16, the original hue that we saw with the dummy units was very similar to the pink iPhone 15. It was a muted, pastel pink, which is fine, but I like my pinks more, well, pink. And Apple actually delivered this time around.

It’s the year of pink phones

So far, 2024 has totally been the year of the pink phone, despite Barbie coming out in 2023. If you didn’t already know, pink is my favorite color, and whenever I have the opportunity, I will choose pink over any other color — no question about it. I’m a total pink girlie.

Google’s Pixel 9 lineup launched last month, with a Peony Pixel 9 and a Rose Quartz Pixel 9 Pro. Google’s Peony is my favorite phone color of the year so far, but Apple’s new pink iPhone 16 is a close second. It’s so much better than last year’s pink iPhone 15 and the pink iPhone 13.

Why do I like the new pink iPhone 16 so much? Because it’s so much more vibrant. It pops out at you, especially when you look at the previous pink shades that Apple has done. Apple has always been more conservative with its pinks, going for more muted and pastel shades. But this pink is loud and in your face, and I absolutely love it.

I still prefer the Peony pink Google has for the Pixel 9. Though Google calls it peony, I think of it more like a “dusty rose” color. Compared to that, the pink iPhone 16 seems to have a bit more blue, leaning toward the cooler side of the spectrum. And when you look at the pink on the camera module itself, it’s more of a fuchsia.

Google and Apple aren’t the only companies with pink phones this year either. HMD released an actual Barbie Phone, which is — you guessed it — a hot pink phone. However, this one isn’t quite a smartphone, as it’s based on the classic Nokia flip phones of yesteryear.

I hope the pink phones don’t stop with these releases, either. I want to see pink continue to be an option for the iPhone, Pixel, and even more phones in the future.

Still no pink iPhone Pro

Though I appreciate Apple finally giving us a real pink iPhone, I still have to wonder why we can’t have a pink iPhone Pro. When Apple showed the Apple Watch Series 10 coming in rose gold, I was pretty excited. After all, rose gold originally launched with the first Apple Watch, though it’s been a bit sporadic since. Though the Apple Watch Series 9 came in rose gold, it was absent for a few years prior, but it returns for the Series 10.

As Apple showed off the rose gold Apple Watch, I was a bit excited because I thought that maybe, just maybe, it was a tease that we would get a rose gold titanium iPhone 16 Pro. But no — instead, the iPhone 16 Pro gets a Desert Titanium color, which I’m not a particular fan of. It doesn’t look as bad as the original dummy units implied, but it’s still not my favorite.

I suppose I’ll keep waiting and crossing my fingers for Apple to give the people the pink iPhone Pro we’ve been requesting for years. Until then, the pink iPhone 16 is easily one of the best colors that Apple has released in quite some time. And the Ultramarine and Teal green colors aren’t too shabby either. Yes, iPhones are colorful again, with a legitimately great pink option, and I couldn’t be happier.