Apple Launches New Purple iPhone 12 During Live Event

Apple unveiled a new color for its latest iPhone products on Tuesday during the company's virtual [...]

By Michael Hein

Apple unveiled a new color for its latest iPhone products on Tuesday during the company's virtual event. Starting on Friday, April 23, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Mini will be available in purple. The company does not typically release these kinds of options in between new hardware upgrades, so fans are perplexed.

The new iPhone is a light, lavender-ish purple color, similar in tone to the colors already available since the product's launch. Older models will not be available in the new color, and the change is completely superficial. Functionally, it will be no different from the other phones on the market. Still, some fans celebrated this splash of color from a manufacturer known for minimalist design aesthetics throughout the years, including monochromatic color choices.

The new purple iPhones will go on sale on Friday and will begin shipping to customers the following Friday, April 30. In the meantime, Apple made plenty of other, more significant announcements at its event on Tuesday — from a myriad of new iPad upgrades to new Apple TV features. The company is also investing more in its podcast app functionality and is even releasing "AirTags" — a Bluetooth locator that can be attached to a commonly lost item to help locate it with your phone.

It may be a testament to the simple things in life that in spite of all that, many fans are still focused on the iPhone color shift. Here is a look at what people are saying about the new purple iPhone.

Broke

Many people either mourned that they were too broke to pick up a purple iPhone right now, or that they were going to go broke getting one.

Too Late

Some users mourned that they had just upgraded their phones recently, narrowly missing their chance to get a purple iPhone.

Break

Others joked that they would break their current iPhone to give them an excuse to pick up the new purple one — especially if they had an older model.

4/20

Some people joked that the purple iPhone must be a subtle reference to 4/20 — a date commonly associated with stoner culture.

Aesthetic

To some, the purple iPhone called to mind the bygone era of translucent purple hardware from Nintendo. Whether this was fond nostalgia or not, it was hard to unsee.

Consumerism

The fact that the purple iPhone was trending was bleak to some users, who thought that it was a blatant case of shallow consumerism without adding any value to a product.

Target Audience

Finally, some LGBTQ+ users joked that their community was the target audience for the purple iPhone, and that Apple was taking advantage of them.

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