Apple wants the yellow iPhone to fool you…don’t let it

Folks, pay no attention to the beautiful, bright yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. They’re a distraction — bad deals covered in fun colors. And Apple knows it.

I was the proud owner of a yellow iPhone XR for four years, and I loved that darn device. I’m obsessed with color — it affects my mood and it’s a key part of my personal expression — so a yellow iPhone added a lot to my life. It made me happy to look at every day, elevated my style, and was easy to find in even the messiest gym bag. 

I was really bummed when I needed to replace that phone earlier this year. No yellow option was available for the iPhone 14 line, though I was tempted by the soft blue and light lavender of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Max were limited to silver, gold, deep purple, and space black — snore! — and were more expensive.

Given that I’ve asked Apple for a hot pink iPhone, it may surprise you that I resisted the temptation for a bright color and bought an iPhone 14 Pro in plain old gold. When Apple announced its new yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus(Opens in a new tab) this morning, I wondered if I had made a mistake.

But I know the Pro was the right decision for my wallet, and that it might be right for yours, too.

Compare, for example, the 128 GB iPhone 14 and 128 GB iPhone 14 Pro. The main differences between the two phones are their color options, an extra camera lens, and about $200: the $799 iPhone 14 offers two lenses, while the $999 iPhone 14 Pro offers three.

Years ago, each new iPhone release came with camera technology leaps and bounds above the previous iteration. But progress has slowed down since then, and the camera tech improvement in new iPhones is incremental. So when one device has two lenses and another offers three, that’s a huge difference in value.

The iPhone 14 Pro and Max may be more expensive in the short run, but they’ll be cheaper in the long run. By buying an iPhone with three lenses, you’ll keep your device from becoming obsolete more quickly.

But Apple knows that sometimes, a color calls to you. That’s why they make their cheaper offerings bright, bold, and, for someone like me, almost irresistible. Unless that phone is hot pink…then, Apple, you might get me to fall for it.