Neil Hughes
With the iPhone 7 back in black, Apple's new glossy jet black aluminum shade has edged out matte black in preorder sales, at least among 128- and 256-capacity models bought through U.S. carrier Sprint.
Sprint announced on Thursday that the jet black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus rank No. 1 for larger capacity models, ahead of matte black in second place. Rose gold — last year's most popular color — Â dropped to third, while gold is in fourth and silver is in fifth.
Notably, the rankings from Sprint do not include the entry-level 32-gigabyte capacity. It's unknown how the rankings would shake out if that model were included, but Apple does not offer the jet black iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus in a 32-gigabyte model.
Rival carrier T-Mobile, meanwhile, revealed earlier this week that matte black has been the most popular option amongst its subscribers. Unlike Sprint, T-Mobile did not limit its sample size to only 128- and 256-gigabyte capacities.
Both T-Mobile and Sprint have seen preorders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus increase significantly — Â T-Mobile said presales were up nearly four times from the two-year-old iPhone 6 series launch, while Sprint said sales are up 375 percent from last year's iPhone 6s debut.
To incentivize upgrades, U.S. carriers have been offering on-contract discounts and trade-in offers for customers looking to buy an iPhone 7. Ahead of the device's launch on Friday, Sprint is offering $100 off the 256-gigabyte capacity, and giving customers the ability to upgrade for free with trade-in of a newer handset and two-year contract commitment.
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16 Comments
It is an intriguing color. I can see why it's selling so well. Apple has always been able to make their products look like "works of art!" Which I think they are.![]()
I think Jonny wants the iPhone to be a rounded piece of black glass w/ no ports and no buttons. Same w/ the iPad, Apple Watch and the ATV. Then eventually MacBooks and IMacs. No aluminum, just black glass front and back, with the "Dark" OS's. Glass trackpads and keyboards, too.
The only way this can be accurate is if Apple severely underproduced jet black relative to its production of the other colors.
Otherwise, the shipping times would clearly disprove it. I have to believe Apple wouldn't underproduce it intentionally, since they are
pretty savvy about what is going to attract the most attention. Which would only leave "production problems" to explain the ubiquitous,
"ships in November", compared to "ships 2-3 weeks" in every other color and size from every carrier.
I'd buy the crap out of a jet black MacBook Pro (or MacBook for that matter). Heck, even an iMac. Gorgeous.