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There’s no white iPhone 8 and that’s a really, really good thing

Published Jul 27th, 2017 9:18AM EDT
iPhone 8 Rumors Colors
Image: Martin Hajek

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Not too long ago, a graphic designer on Twitter imagined what a white iPhone 8 would look like, after seeing that parts leaks failed to show a white iPhone 8 color. While those 3D renders looked gorgeous, I did say at the time that a white iPhone 8 would be a lot uglier than black versions because of cutout at the top of the display. There’s no way to make it disappear if the surrounding are is painted white. The black version, on the other hand, will merge with the black of the OLED screen quite well.

A new report from earlier this week has stated that Apple won’t make any white iPhone 8 versions, and we sincerely hope the rumor is accurate. In fact, this is exactly what we asked for when we wrote about how Apple could salvage its potentially hideous iPhone 8 display design.

Japanese-language blog Macotakara wrote at length about the iPhone 8 in a post the other day, making various claims about the phone. The blog said the iPhone 8 will see significant delays and said there’s no Touch ID sensor in the power button or on the back side of the phone. It also added that Apple is indeed bringing advanced 3D facial recognition to the iPhone.

As for the colors, the site said the front-facing frame won’t be painted white. It also noted that there’s a high possibility that there won’t be too many iPhone 8 colors to choose from. Is is possible that Apple would launch the iPhone 8 in only one color? Apple has increased the number of color options for the iPhone in recent years. What might prevent it from painting the rear shell of the handset in some of the “traditional” iPhone colors, like the ones available on the iPhone 7?

The rear shell on the iPhone 8 will be made of glass, and we all know that Apple encountered production issues with the white iPhone 4 model, which launched after a huge delay. But that was all the way back in 2011. The smartphone manufacturing business has evolved since then, so it’s unlikely that Apple still has to deal with painting glass in colors other than black. Just look at Samsung’s flagship phones, which all feature glass backs in a variety of colors.

Samsung adopted a glass sandwich design for the Galaxy S family starting with the Galaxy S6 in 2014. A rear glass panel is required on these phones, to enable wireless charging. Yet Samsung was able to paint that glass rear shell in a variety of colors for all its flagship devices released since 2014.

Whatever colors Apple has in store for the iPhone 8 this year, let’s hope white isn’t one of them.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.