The iPhone 15 is available in stores as of today. Whether you want the baseline iPhone 15 or the iPhone 15 Plus, or if you're looking to buy the premium iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you should know that the colors you can choose from aren't the same across the board.
Still trying to figure out which model is right for you? CNET's got you covered. Our reviews of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus go through all the new features, including the new dynamic island, USB-C charging and improved camera quality. CNET mobile expert Patrick Holland has tried out the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and his review explains why he believes they're "one of Apple's most compelling releases in years."
Once you know which model is the best fit for you, here's what colors they are available in.
The new rainbow of iPhone 15 colors have a distinct pastel palette.
The new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will be available in pink, yellow, green, blue and black.
The new iPhone 15 Pro will also be available in four textured titanium options: black, white, blue and natural. The Pro Max is getting the four-color titanium treatment as well.
The new iPhone 15 Pro titanium colors, from left to right: Black, white, blue and natural.
Apple announced the new models at its Sept. 12 "Wonderlust" event. Apple said the new iPhone 15 is the first smartphone ever to have its colors "embedded throughout a single piece of durable color-infused glass." The company's use of metallic ions allows it to control the saturation of the color in the glass back, creating this new roster of colors, Apple said. The iPhone 15 models have a matte finish, with the titanium 15 Pro and Pro Max models coming with a textured matte finish.
Apple's new pink love affair: The pink iPhone 15 and Apple Watch
If you were getting Barbie vibes throughout Apple's Wonderlust event, you weren't alone.
Apple's two focus areas for the event this week were iPhones and Apple Watches, and for both of those segments of its presentation, pink was everywhere. In the first moments of the iPhone 15's introduction to the world, the video started off in a pink haze. We swirl through this pink metallic world, until the pink iPhone 15 is revealed, domino-ing into the other colors afterward.
The new Apple Watch Series 9 comes with a new, easy-to-use double tap feature.
During the Apple Watch segments, pink was front and center -- literally. The new Apple Watch Series 9 shows off its new pink model, and we see the new models flying in followed by an electric trail of pink rays.
So, this all raises the question: What is Apple's motivation behind this new pink love affair? For anyone who's been online -- or near a movie theater -- this summer, the cultural phenomenon that is the Barbie movie seems like an obvious answer. As Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie have dominated the box office, the cultural hype surrounding the movie has taken on Mattel's iconic pink tone. From the movie's extensive marketing campaign to fans' "Barbie-core" reaction, pink has skyrocketed in popularity.
The new Apple products aren't the exact shade of Barbie pink we've become accustomed to the past few months, and we don't know for sure that Barbie inspired the new color. But now's a great time to release a new pink iPhone.
Titanium tones: iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max colors
Titanium also dominated Apple's new product announcements. Rumors circulated in the days before the event that the darker hues of the Wonderlust logo would be seen in the new colors of the iPhone. We now know that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models are the ones that'll be available in these textured, darker colors.
Similar to the basic names of the iPhone 15 colors, the names of the titanium shade range are simple: black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium and natural titanium.
These models are a stark contrast from the light, springtime feel of the iPhone 15s. The Pro and Pro Max colors are dark, with metallic flecks that are subtle but still eye-catching. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the Oppenheimer to the iPhone 15's Barbie.
The Pro model colors are more in line with what Apple has historically created for its phone. When the iPhone 14 launched last September, it was available in blue, purple, midnight, starlight and Product Red. Apple then surprised users in March the next year by announcing that the 14 and 14 Plus would also be available in a new color, a pastel yellow. Apple could have similar plans for the new iPhone 15 -- perhaps another springtime new addition? We'll have to wait and see.