Apple could make matte black colored iPhones again, but not iPhone 15

Apple is pretty conservative when it comes to its iPhone colors. Its yearly iPhone updates often come in subtle colors, although Apple shakes up things time and again with a handful of its devices by trotting out some really stark colors like green and yellow. iPhones such as the iPhone 5C, and iPhone XR were offered in snazzy and vivid colors such as Red, Blue, Green, and even Coral. For people who do not like flashy colors, Apple also tried its hand at making matte iPhones for one year with its iPhone 7 series but soon stopped. However, the Cupertino-based tech giant could yet again go back to creating matte black iPhones, but sadly, this will not include the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

Matte black iPhones on the way?

First spotted by PatentlyApple, Apple was recently granted a patent titled “Anodised part having a matte black appearance” by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for creating a matte black finish on anodized surfaces, which was first filed back in May 2020. As per the report, the inventors of this technology are James Curran, Aaron Paterson, and Sonja Postak. The patent, numbered, 11751349-B2, involves laying an anodized layer over a metal substrate, which is etched in such a way that it develops light-absorbing properties.

“The anodized layer includes (i) an external surface that includes randomly distributed light-absorbing features that are capable of absorbing visible light incident upon the external surface, and (ii) pores defined by pore walls, where color particles are infused within the pores. The anodized layer is characterized as having a color having an L* value using a CIE L*a*b* color space that is less than 10,” it states.

The patent further shows diagrams for the devices Apple might offer a matte black color option, and there is a handful of them. The patent involves plans for a matte black smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, and even a laptop. Where there has been a matte black iPhone, as well as a black MacBook in the past, a matte black smartwatch and iPad could be the first of their kind.

Interestingly, it looks like Apple wants to achieve true Black color with this instead of Dark Grey or Blue, which is the case with several dark-colored products. Although this seems difficult on Apple products, it will only be interesting to see something like this coming in the span of the next few years.

While not all patents make it to even the developmental stage, it is indeed interesting to see the creativity of Apple engineers, especially after recent patents emerged for a DJ turntable-equipped MacBook and even a foldable iMac!

If you want to check out the iPhone 15 series color, the Apple event, where 4 iPhones will be launched including iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, then the slated date is September 12.