This is an update to my article on Apple’s color offerings going into the fall hardware season. Now that things have settled down a bit from the big announcements, I think it’s time to analyze Apple’s new color story.

Apple Watch

My biggest complaint about the Apple Watch Series 7 was that there was no neutral color option for the aluminum models. That problem has been fixed this year, with silver joining starlight, midnight, and red in the Apple Watch lineup. I’m really happy with this set of choices, though I know some might be disappointed that the blue and green finishes have gone away. Personally, I prefer an accessory that can go with any outfit over a bold color. But if you loved one of those finishes, I certainly feel for you.

The Apple Watch SE comes in silver, starlight, and midnight, which is a great range of choices for such an affordable product. I’ve seen these SEs in action, and they are really good. They’re going to sell well this holiday season.

The Apple Watch Ultra offers no color options, which is not a complete surprise for a high-end Apple device. I imagine the space black titanium finish will come back at some point, but for this year, silver titanium will have to do.

iPhone

The iPhone 14 still doesn’t offer a true neutral color option like silver or black, which is disappointing. However, I do think that midnight looks more neutral in glass than aluminum, so maybe a black iPhone isn’t quite as necessary. I still think there are iPhone users who’d like a true white option, though.

As far as the colorful options on the iPhone 14, we’ve got red, blue, and purple. I love the pale look of the purple and blue phones, but I’ve heard some people complain that they’re too washed out. They definitely don’t match the rich red finish, but if I were an iPhone 14 user, I’d be delighted by that purple myself.

The pro iPhones come in space black, silver, gold, and deep purple this year. That deep purple is gorgeous, both in photos and in person. I love it. Silver and gold are mostly unchanged, which is fine because they’ve looked great for a long time. Space black is a huge improvement over graphite. It’s much darker both on the stainless steel sides and the back glass. I thought I would go with deep purple this year, but the surprise of the space black won me over.

The pro iPhone color options are better this year than any previous year. My only complaint is that I can’t buy an Apple Watch to match my space black iPhone without spending $1,300 on an Hermès version. That’s not happening. Hopefully space black fully replaces graphite on the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9 next year.

iPads

This year’s iPad updates caused a lot of commotion in the Apple community, but one opinion that seemed to be universally shared was an appreciation for the color offerings on the tenth-generation iPad. The blue, pink, and yellow hues look rich and fun, and then there’s a silver option for those who prefer something more subtle. They nailed it.

The iPad Pro comes in space grey and silver, as usual. I know some iPad Pro users wish for more colorful options on the higher end, but I just don’t see it happening. In Apple’s world, pros don’t get to have fun like that.

The rumors are pointing to no new Macs this year, so I guess that part of the story will have to wait for another day. I don’t expect the color options on Macs to change much anytime soon, though I’d love to be wrong.

Takeaways

All in all, I’m much happier with this lineup than last year’s. There’s always room for improvement, including a wider array of colors on the standard iPhone line. I’d also like to see silver or space grey return with the iPhone 15 and space black replace graphite on the Apple Watch Series 9. But this year was certainly a correction for Apple’s color story. Hopefully they continue that trend into 2023.