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A questionable rumor claims Apple has developed a special iPhone 17 Pro color that will play on the iOS 26 Liquid Glass user interface elements.
One of the most obvious changes to iOS 26 is the use of Liquid Glass. If a leaker is to be believed, the aesthetic concept may go beyond just software elements.
In a Thursday Weibo post, Setsuna Digital says the iPhone 17 Pro “has a special color scheme” that is somehow related to Liquid Glass.
The iPhone itself “should be white,” the leaker said, but that it “will have different effects under different light.” This could mean an extra coating made to look like glass, similar to pearlescent paint on an exotic car.
The leaker doesn’t actually offer any further detail about the supposed change, but also admits to not having first-hand experience with it. “I have only heard of it but have never seen it,” states the computer-generated translation.
Setsuna Digital, also known as Instant Digital, doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to leaks, such as the so-far unfounded claim of an all-glass Apple Watch. The admission of having only heard about it doesn’t help their cause.
Color claims
The leaker’s claims seem to go against other leaks about the colors of iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. So far, the most outlandish claim from multiple sources is the use of an “Orange” or “Copper” colorway.
Other colors rumored for the Pro models include Black, Grey or Natural Titanium, Blue or Dark Blue, and White or Silver.
There have also been claims that a Light Blue or Sky Blue iPhone 17 Pro was on the cards, but that has since been withdrawn by the rumor’s originator.
While it is possible that the rumored White model could be the device with these effects, it seems unlikely. Other leakers would presumably have picked up on the glass-like effect and reported on that instead of the base color.
Software changes
While the leaker’s claim of a different Liquid Glass for a specific model seems doubtful, there are some elements that work slightly in their favor.
More specifically, this could be a translation error, and the leak could actually be about a software feature, instead of hardware. It’s not difficult to imagine changes to the way Liquid Glass appears depending on the iPhone being used with it, given that ever color of iPhone has a different model number.
We certainly know that Apple is capable of making rapid changes to Liquid Glass to alter its appearance.
For a start, ever since the quite mixed reaction from testers when Apple brought out the first developer beta, it has worked on improvements. Later betas saw less transparency and a generally more legible update to the UI itself.
There is also an element within Accessibility settings to make the glass frosted and much more readable.
As for hardware-specific software colors, this isn’t an entirely new area for Apple. For example, Apple’s first-party MagSafe cases included an animation that is color-matched to the case being used on an iPhone.
It wouldn’t be difficult for Apple to make a color setting for Liquid Glass to change based on the model of iPhone in use. But equally, it wouldn’t be a big leap either for Apple to make the Liquid Glass color user-selectable.
It would also be a lot easier for Apple to pull off as a software change based on hardware than to develop a completely new case styling.
