13 Of The Rarest iPhone Colors Apple Has Ever Made

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Apple produces iPhones in a lot of different colors. Users get the classic sleek black and white iPhones alongside the more luxurious gold and silver, and then there are neutral tones of tame colors like blue, green, and others. With the company presenting itself as a premium brand and a status symbol, it makes sense that most of its color focus is on colors that evoke a sense of professionalism, but this wasn't always the case.

There are certain colors that Apple likes more than others, but what are the rarest iPhone colors that the company has ever produced? In terms of general colors, orange has been used the least, but the question becomes more nuanced if we begin talking about specific shades. Most signature colors for the Pro series are unique in that they're only available for a single generation and in two models: the iPhone Pro and the Pro Max. While these are quite rare, you can still find similarities between them and others. If you want to know the rarest iPhone colors, you'll have to go back to some of Apple's oldest iPhones, which had many colors that were more experimental than latter editions. Some of these are relatively easy to find, whereas others are impossible to get in even a halfway decent condition.

Found in the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, Sierra Blue is a pale, metallic shade of blue with distinct gray and silver undertones. Although there have been many blue iPhones before and after this one, it's a shade different from most others.

The iPhone 13 Pro lineup was launched on September 24, 2021, featuring four different colors: Graphite, Silver, Gold, and the unique Sierra Blue, which was the signature color. The color was a fan favorite when the iPhone 13 Pro phones first came out, outselling the other colors by a margin. Apple officially stopped manufacturing and selling iPhone 13 Pro models on September 7, 2022, replacing Sierra Blue as the signature with Deep Purple in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

Since the iPhone 13 Pro is a fairly recent model, you can easily find one renewed on Amazon in Sierra Blue, but the color is still only found on this specific model of the iPhone. If you're looking for a color somewhat similar to the Sierra Blue, the iPhone 14's blue is worth a look; however, it's a more pastel blue compared to Sierra Blue's metallic and grayish shade.

There are many green iPhones out there with different names and shades, but the Midnight Green remains distinct with its muted hue, compared to the brighter green found in older models, or the richer Alpine Green that was a late addition to join Sierra Blue for the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models.

Midnight Green was the first unique color exclusive to an iPhone Pro lineup, being the signature color of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max phones. Like the signature colors that came afterward, it was only available for a single generation and thus a single year — September 2019 to October 2020 — before being shelved in favor of the 12 Pro's signature Pacific Blue.

The only color slightly similar to this one is the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max's Alpine Green, though that version is more saturated than Midnight Green, which is more of an olive shade. Like the 13 Pro's signature Sierra Blue, Midnight Green was also the most sold among all available colors, followed closely by Space Gray. Just like the Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro, a renewed Midnight Green iPhone 11 Pro can also be found on Amazon, though you can't get one directly from Apple anymore.

Apple has introduced a few different shades of blue in its iPhones, but Pacific Blue is a darker and more desaturated shade, making it stand out from the rest. The color's only found on the Pro models of the iPhone 12, and while the base iPhone 12 and the 12 Mini also have a bluish color that has the generic blue name, the one in the Pro models is much more muted in contrast.

An iPhone color slightly similar to Pacific Blue would be Blue Titanium of the iPhone 15 Pro, which is even more desaturated. While this specific blue isn't found in any other generation, Apple does have a tendency to use blue, making it a more common base color for the unique varieties mentioned on this list.

Being released on October 23, 2020 — the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max were available in stores for almost a year, after which the iPhone 13 Pro lineup replaced them. Unlike most signature colors, the Pacific Blue sold less than the Graphite color, which puts it among the rarer signature colors. A renewed Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro can be found on Amazon, and you'll likely be able to find one used as well.

Desert Titanium was the earthly exclusive signature color for the iPhone 16 Pro series of Apple smartphones. It's similar to the gold color seen on many iPhones but has more of a warm and brownish shade rather than a gold or bright yellow. The Gold on the iPhone 14 Pro is close to this one but doesn't have brownish undertones, making it look cooler and more yellowish in nature.

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max were available to be bought for almost a year, launching on September 20, 2024 and discontinuing on September 9, 2025 –- being replaced by the current-gen iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max's Cosmic Orange. Despite being a signature color, the Desert Titanium was bought less than the Black Titanium — the most sought after shade — but also less than the White Titanium and Natural Titanium.

While you can get a new iPhone 16 from Apple, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max aren't available from the site anymore. However, the phone is still recent and therefore easier to find than some of the other iPhones mentioned here. You can find a Desert Titanium iPhone 16 Pro refurbished on Amazon, or on a secondary market, though it's important to note that there are some disadvantages to buying a used iPhone.

The iPhone 17 Pro's signature Cosmic Orange is fresh in most Apple users' minds, partially because of how incredibly bold the color is and partially because of the iPhone 17 Pro's issues with scratches. It might seem odd to call a color that you can still buy from the Apple website rare, but there are certain factors that add to this uniqueness. First, like many others on the list, it's only available on a single generation, which means only phones manufactured between 2025 and 2026 come in this color.

The only other instances of the company using a similar color was for the Orange iPhone 11, which uses a completely different shade than the one found on the 17 Pro, and the Coral color found on the iPhone XR — which is regarded as a rare color in its own right.

The iPhone 17 Pro models became available for purchase on September 19, 2025 and will likely be discontinued in September 2026. 

The last named blue on this list, Deep Blue, is a rich, desaturated, charcoal blue exclusive to the latest iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The color got overshadowed by the much bolder Cosmic Orange, but remains a color not commonly found on Apple's smartphones. Apple replaced titanium with aluminum for this Pro lineup, which makes the shade even more unique. Deep Blue is the only muted option for the iPhone 17 Pro — the other two options being much brighter. 

Though we've seen no shortage of blue iPhones, Deep Blue is a completely new, dark and ink-like shade that's much more reminiscent of a rich black than the blues found on most iPhones. An iPhone color that shares a similar vibe is the Blue Titanium iPhone 15 Pro, though the Deep Blue is darker and truer to an ink-blue, whereas Blue Titanium is more grayish. 

As we mentioned with Cosmic Orange, the iPhone 17 Pro is still in production alongside the base iPhone 17, which means you can get a new Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max from the Apple website.

Another signature color, Deep Purple is exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro lineup. It's a dark and metallic shade different from the more saturated, pastel-like purples that other iPhones come in. It's much more muted, visually going from being more of a smoky gray indoors to a rich violet when you're out in the sunlight.

Apple launched the iPhone 14 Pro lineup on September 16, 2022, and discontinued it after a year, on September 12, 2023. Being a unique color never seen in an iPhone before, the Deep Purple sold the most among all the available color options, followed by Space Black. As with other signature colors, you could only get one in the year-long production cycle, and only on these two specific models.

The closest color to Deep Purple isn't a purple at all, but rather some darker, more metallic shades of blue, like the Blue Titanium of the iPhone 15 Pro. Both Deep Purple and Blue Titanium share similar aesthetics but differ noticeably, especially under direct light. If you'd like to own one, you can find a renewed iPhone 14 Pro in Deep Purple on Amazon.

Most of the colors we've mentioned so far on this list have been signature colors unique to just one generation of the Pro series iPhones. Ultramarine is different, as it was featured on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, which are standard iPhone models. They were launched on September 20, 2024, and are still available in the market, featuring five colors, with Ultramarine being the most vibrant. If you're looking for a color similar to this one, you'll find that no such color exists on any Apple smartphone. Even the closest blues and purples are completely different from how Ultramarine looks, making it truly a one-of-a-kind iPhone color. 

What makes this shade a little more common is that Apple still produces the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, and they can be bought directly from the Apple website. The iPhone 16 Plus can also be found renewed in Ultramarine on Amazon.

Unlike most of the newer iPhones having more metallic, desaturated, and dark shades, the Coral color featured in the older iPhone XR is a highly saturated, vibrant, and warm blend of orange and pink. What makes the color even rarer is that it was found on a single model and never seen again since the iPhone XR, released on October 26, 2018.

Apple released the iPhone XR in six colors: Yellow, Blue, (PRODUCT) RED, White, Black, and lastly, Coral. While the phone came with four vibrant and colorful shades, most users stayed on the safe side and got either black or white, making the bright shades much rarer today. Among the bunch, Yellow and Coral sold the least and, therefore, are harder to find today compared to the other colors. 

The iPhone XR was officially discontinued on September 14, 2021, the same day Apple launched the iPhone 13 series. Despite being on the older side of iPhones, the iPhone XR can still be found renewed in Coral on Amazon. 

Alpine Green is the only color in this list that dropped mid-cycle, which meant you could only get one in a 6-month time period, from March to September of 2022. It arrived as a late addition for the iPhone 13 Pro lineup. The color was a metallic, desaturated, and dark shade of green, unlike most green phones produced by Apple.

In comparison to the somewhat similar Midnight Green of the iPhone 11 Pro lineup, it's slightly more vibrant and is more like a forest green rather than an olive shade. While not really the same, the Alpine Green and Midnight Green can be considered similar as they're both desaturated and dark, compared to most green iPhones being bright and saturated, like the green iPhone 5c. Even though it was available for the shortest time among the color options, Alpine Green was so well-received that it managed to outsell the Silver shade, but still only made about 11% of the total sales.

Alpine Green was manufactured for half the time as other phones on this list, only available for purchase in a 6-month period. You can't get a brand-new one from Apple, but you can still get one from third-party retailers and authorized resellers. You can also find both the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max renewed on Amazon.

Like most other iPhones mentioned here, Jet Black was also a color exclusive to just two iPhone models and was never seen in any other model after that. It was an option for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that featured a total of six colors over their lifespan, including Black, Jet Black, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, and a mid-cycle edition, (PRODUCT) RED.

There are many black color options in iPhone models of all generations, but the Jet Black was something different. It had a high-gloss, mirror-like reflection and was made of aluminum. Although it was a unique color loved by most users, it was also incredibly prone to fingerprints and scratches, causing most buyers to opt for the standard Black instead.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus launched on September 16, 2016, and Apple discontinued them on September 10, 2019. While the iPhone 7 lineup was available for around three years, the Jet Black color is still rare due to sales and the problematic material. 

Even though Apple stopped using titanium for the 17 Pro series, the aluminum finish that it uses today is quite different than the one used to make Jet Black, possibly due to the risk of having a phone that's this prone to fingerprints. It's quite hard to find an iPhone 7 in perfect condition today, even with secondary sellers, but you can still find a refurbished one on eBay.

Most of the colors here are only available on two iPhone models. Black and Slate was only available on one, and on the oldest iPhone on this list at that. Available for purchase on September 21, 2012, the iPhone 5 came with two color options: Black and Slate, or White and Silver. Instead of being just a basic dark gray or solid black, the aluminum back of the Black and Slate shade had a distinct blue-gray, slate-like tint to it that differentiates it from gray and black iPhones released later.

Even though the color combination is different to other iPhones, there are still some shades that do look slightly similar, like the Matte Black iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. However, the iPhone 7 was a pure ink-black color without the bluish undertones found in Black and Slate. The iPhone 5 lineup was discontinued on September 10, 2013, soon replaced by the iPhone 5s. 

The discontinuation was likely to do with how prone the phone was to wear. Users complained that the Black and Slate finish was prone to chipping, scratching, and scuffing. It's quite difficult to fetch one for yourself, though you can find it being sold on eBay.

The iPhone 5C that was available from 2013 to 2015 came with a plethora of bright colors, but Apple chose to give them the generic names of Yellow, Green, White, Pink, and Blue. Though there are plenty of iPhone colors out there with the same names, these shades differ greatly and are distinct from the rest. The reason these look so different from iPhones that came before and that have come since is because Apple decided to use plastic for the back, giving them this lively look that contrasts with Apple's present-day design ideology.

These highly saturated shades were not only rare because they were brighter than most newer iPhones, but also because they were only available in a single model and never seen again. The main reason this is so is because of the material; even if Apple chooses the same exact color, it would look significantly different with the aluminum and titanium that the company uses today. Another reason is that some of these just weren't very well received, with the bold Yellow barely selling in comparison with the other, less in-your-face colors.