Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) makes all the rules regarding its products—even rules about which colors developers can use in their marketing materials. The company has changed those guidelines recently but has specified that it doesn’t want developers to show the gold iPhone 5S or certain colors of the iPhone 5C, according to Eric Slivka of Mac Rumors.
Apple allows iPhone colors other than black
In the past, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had required that the black iPhone be the only one used in marketing materials. That guideline stuck around for years, until this year’s launch arrived with a wide array of new colors. According to 9 to 5 Mac, Apple changed its guidelines to allow for the other colors to be shown after the iPhone 5S and 5C launched. Now the company has apparently changed them again.
It wants marketing materials to feature only the newest iPhones, including the silver or space gray iPhone 5S. In other words, don’t use the gold iPhone 5S. The company also wants only the silver or space gray models of the iPad Air and iPad Mini, as well as just the blue and white models of the iPhone 5C.
Why does Apple favor some colors?
Of course we don’t really know why Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is so picky about which colors are shown in marketing materials. The company could have simply decided that the other colors don’t look as good when photographed or videoed. Or maybe it wants to keep the ability to show the other colors to itself rather than allowing developers to also show those other colors.
It could also be that Apple wants to highlight what it thinks are the most popular colors. A survey this week indicated that the blue and white iPhone 5C models are currently the most popular. It also suggested that the gold iPhone 5S was less popular than the other two, although we know that supply of the gold one was constrained from the beginning. Also interestingly enough, the yellow iPhone 5C was the least popular of that model, so perhaps Apple is seeing a theme here.
