Apple's bronze is the new gold: why Desert Titanium is my iPhone 16 desire

I've been following Apple's events for many years – and as we all await the iPhone 16's official reveal at the "It's Glowtime" event on Monday 9 September, there's a rumour that's really caught my attention. 

The iPhone 16 could be launched in a new bronze finish. Or 'Desert Titanium' if you prefer the apparent marking name. Much as I think that sounds like a weapon from a Guy Ritchie movie, it also sounds like my dream iPhone 16, um, weapon. 

Why? Well, because it just looks so different. I've been in this game for a long time, reviewing the best phones – and, by virtue of that, the best iPhones too – and, until more recently, phones' colour palettes have ranged from subdued to various shades of black. 

Sure, some manufacturers know how to flip the script, such as Motorola's Pantone partnership, but in an Olympic year I see this new rumoured iPhone bronze as being the new gold, really.

Although I do have some apprehension about exactly how it'll look in person, I suspect the bronze iPhone renders and assumed-to-be-fake 'leaked' pictures are more drab-looking than the hopefully metallic sheen that a would-be bronze finish would bring to the table.

There's been plenty of fakery around the iPhone 16 launch so far, too. A faux event invite with 10 September was first revealed, which didn't have me convinced – but it's turned out Apple's own event timing is a day earlier than that anyway, and certainly earlier in the calendar than the usual year-on-year cycle. 

It's not clear whether the Desert Titanium finish will be the reserve of the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max models alone, or the full range will have it available. Either way, this rumour has me on board – and, as I like to live risky, without an iPhone case, I suspect a bronze iPhone will catch plenty of other people's attention too.