The official presentation of this year’s iPhones is fast approaching. Along with this, various speculations are also gaining momentum. According to the latest news, this year’s iPhone 16 Pro could be dressed in a completely new color tone. In addition to this topic, today’s summary will talk about the mysterious Apple robot and Apple’s future 5G modem.
New iPhone 16 Pro in color
Leaker Majin Buu claimed last week that the iPhone 16 Pro could get a new bronze color called Desert Titanium. This shade could become the successor to the current Blue Titanium. In a Twitter post on Sunday, where he shared an image of the rings around the camera lenses that are said to be for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models, Buu mentioned the name. “The Desert Titanium color is a really dark gold,” stated. This isn’t the first time a leaker has used the Desert Titanium name. Back in February, Buu said that the Desert Titanium shade will be similar to the gold variant offered on the 2022 iPhone 14 Pro, but will be “deeper and more pronounced.” The iPhone 16 Pro will introduce Desert Titanium as a new color option to replace the iPhone 15 Pro’s Blue Titanium. It will be available alongside the white, black, and natural titanium variants. This year’s black titanium is expected to be darker, while the natural titanium will have a more prominent gray finish. One of the leaks suggests Apple is using an improved process to refine and color the titanium, which should result in a glossier look than the brushed aluminum on the iPhone 15 Pro models. A glossy finish could look a lot more like stainless steel, which Apple has used in previous years, but it will be more scratch-resistant.
Apple’s future 5G modem
Apple is investing billions of dollars in developing its own cellular modem, but don’t expect the project to bring immediate improvements to users, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter last week, Gurman explained that unlike Apple’s move to silicon chips, the company’s first proprietary modem won’t offer any significant benefits to users. People at Apple are said to “recognize that customers don’t really care who makes the modem in their phone” and “it’s hard to say how much benefit this will bring in the short term.” Instead, Apple is betting on the long term, hoping its modem evolves into a more advanced product that could eventually change the way the iPhone looks and works. It plans to do that in the future Apple is integrating its modem design into a new wireless chip that will handle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth access. That could create a single component for connectivity, potentially improving reliability and battery life. There’s also a chance Apple could one day integrate all of this into the device’s main system-on-a-chip. This could further reduce costs and save space inside the iPhone, allowing for more design options. Apple has used Qualcomm-designed modems for more than a decade, but switched to its own design in 2018 after a legal dispute over royalties and patents. It has since faced performance and overheating issues, and the component’s launch has been delayed until next year. It’s expected to be rolled out gradually, starting with more specialized devices and expanding over several years.
Misterioso Apple robot
Taiwan’s United Daily News reported last week that a “mysterious desktop robot” had been rumored to be coming from the company’s workshop in Apple’s global supply chain. Apple has reportedly chosen Hongzhun to play a key role in the development of this future device. Specifically, the supplier will be responsible for developing key mechanical components and housings for the desktop robot. Once the product goes into mass production, Hongzhun will be tasked with producing mechanical parts at scale. Hongzhun is a subsidiary of Foxconn, a longtime Apple manufacturing partner. At its most recent AGM, Hongzhun announced its intention to invest in emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence, signaling a shift away from its traditional focus on making laptop cases and game consoles. Hongzhun has previous experience assembling Foxconn’s “FoxBot” robot. Apple’s robotics project, internally codenamed J595, is described by Bloomberg as a desktop device that combines an iPad-like display with a robotic arm. It is designed to act as a central hub in an Apple smart home ecosystem, integrated with other Apple products and services such as Siri, and would run on the iPadOS variant. It could be introduced as early as 2026 with an estimated price tag of around $1,000.
