In recent weeks I have been able to obtain exclusive iPhone 8 renders and information on Apple's biggest design changes, but now I can reveal they do cause one negative side effect… 

Working again with Nodus and leakers within Apple’s supply chain, I have learnt the iPhone 8 design will limit the colour configurations available to customers. This is because Apple is determined to leave the front of the iPhone 8 black to downplay its controversial ‘cut-out’ top bezel and will result in a limited number of monochrome options at launch:

Nodus and Gordon Kelly
iPhone 8 will be limited to three colours at launch - black, jet black and white (potentially silver)

Black, Jet Black and White (potentially silver) will be the three choices compared to six variants - black, jet black, silver, gold, rose gold and (Product)red - currently available with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

The good news? While gold and rose gold have proven highly popular in recent years, the iPhone 8’s limitation does leave the door open to a future (Product)Red edition with black front. This is a combination many users would seemingly prefer after the backlash to the white front Apple chose with the (Product)Red iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Furthermore what I’m hearing ties in with a report by KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo (famously dubbed “the best Apple analyst on the planet”) earlier this month. Kuo said fewer iPhone 8 colours would be available at launch, citing a “boutique image” as Apple’s reasoning behind it.

Now the reality seems to be less ‘boutique’ and more practicality, especially if Apple hopes to use the iPhone 8’s new OLED display to camouflage the top bezel cut-out with a permanent black status bar as Nodus and I illustrated last week.

Of course while I see the cut-out as causing Apple a design problem, there’s every chance that customers will actually react positively to the restrictions and embrace the ‘boutique’ notion. If not it will bring a boom to the niche market of custom finishes (currently dominated by ColorWare).

All the while Apple simplifies its supply chain, something it desperately needs right now.

In fact the only snag that may arise from such a limited palette of iPhone 8 options is if it makes potential customers less likely to pay the substantially increased asking price for a black or grey smartphone. But based on all the feature upgrades, I doubt it.

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