Op-Ed: A 'Gold' iPhone 5S Is A Really Bad Idea
August 16, 2013
I was really looking forward to buying an “iPhone 5S” in red, or maybe blue. It now looks like I’ll be sticking with white this go around since multiple reports now suggest that the only new color for Apple’s flagship product will be gold.
Why gold? Apple will never tell us why they chose this color over others. Still, we can probably guess the reason.
In June 2010, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4. At the time, the Apple CEO indicated that the handset would arrive in two colors, black and white. Although the black iOS device arrived on time, the white iPhone was delayed numerous times due to production issues. It finally launched in April 2011.
Gold, almost certainly, was the color that performed the best in iPhone 5S tests. As a result, gold is what we’re about to get.
This is a terrible idea.
We’ve heard about gold iPhones before. Those handsets were covered with actual gold and worth millions.
Earlier this year, for example, English designer and jeweler Stuart Hughes unveiled the $15 million iPhone 5, which came with a solid-gold chassis and a home button made of black diamond.
Two years earlier, Hughes had revealed a gold iPhone 4 valued at $9.4 million.
I’ll reserve judgment on Apple’s own “gold” iPhone. Each time I've seen an actual gold iPhone, however, the words gaudy and tacky have come to mind -- and these were handsets actually dipped in gold!
Maybe Apple's creation won’t look so bad. Even better, perhaps a late production issue will keep it hidden from view. Better still, maybe this is one of those rumors that simply isn’t true.
We'll know soon enough. Apple is likely to unveil the iPhone 5S and "iPhone 5C" on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
For more information, see: Now Is The Best Time To Sell Your Old iPhone, Why Does Samsung Continue To Mock Apple In Ads? Because It Works, and New Images Strongly Hint That The iPhone 5S Will Feature A Dual-LED Flash.