We write not to proclaim that Apple is about to release a gold iPhone (News - Alert) - but to ask why this is worthy of headlines. Can it really be that adding some gold to the iPhone color palette will cause such a huge surge of excitement and anticipation? Is it fool's gold? Is it truly innovation on a grand scale? Will it be an 18 or 22 carat gold case that, shades of Vertu, will sell in Apple (News - Alert) stores for perhaps $23,500? Is there a market for such a thing?
Amazingly, the answer to the last question is…yes. A 22 carat all-gold iPhone selling for $23,500 would be a huge über-celebrity and nouveau riche hit, and something the paparazzi would be sure to get a lot of photos of. It might also open up a whole new wave of crime - does anyone remember the Sopranos episode when Christopher Moltisanti robbed Lauren Bacall of her $30,000 swag bag? Here is the 37 second scene in case you need a refresher:
But we joke. It is entirely possible that somewhere in this world there is someone who will build you a 22 carat iPhone and charge you handsomely for doing so - let's push the price up to $35,000 in this case. OK, it is surely "silly to the extreme" to think about this, but then it neatly underscores the silliness and absurdity of all the headlines about a gold iPhone. And we will skip all the James Bond Goldfinger jokes - but just for the record, our favorite lines from that movie have always been: Bond to Goldfinger (as the laser is about to cut him in half): Do you expect me to talk? Goldfinger: No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.
The most idiotic headline we've seen is one that suggests the "gold" is the next major innovation for the iPhone. OK, that was just so people would click on the headline, never the less, it is silly.
Apple may very well come out with a "gold" color for the next flagship iPhone. After all, there is the light aluminum-silver finish for the white version of the current iPhone 5. Why not add a color leaning towards gold as well? In any case, it won't be real 22 carat gold - it would likely be some sort of brushed nickel-bronze sort of thing with a sort of gold color. A rendering of this is shown immediately below.
Quite honestly, we ourselves find it to be rather attractive. We've always had black iPhones but we're thinking of switching to white with the next flagship and if the new "gold" option emerges we may very well go with it. But that is hardly news worthy! No more than or our favorite lines from Goldfinger are.
Yet here we are.
The real news for the iPhone is the possibility that Apple and China Mobile will finally strike a deal, opening up a vast new market for Apple. And interestingly, high end buyers in China and in Asia generally, love their very expensive 22 carat gold mechanical watches.
So, fool's gold? Hmm. maybe not.