The Weibo account claims that the iPhone 18 Pro most likely has a dark red version – but not because the author was provided with credible reports or images from Apple’s production. Rather, he saw the flagship model of a prominent Android competitor – and it was in the same color. He is apparently alluding to the tendency among smartphone manufacturers from the Android camp, which often try to adopt Apple’s design decisions as quickly as possible – or better yet, anticipate them. Mark Gurman had already reported in February that Apple was planning a Pro model in burgundy red or a similar color.
App Store as a cartoon motif
In Japanese social media, Apple is currently advertising with short clips that highlight the diversity of the iPhone App Store: After tapping on the icon, a colorful world opens in which the three interlocked bars of the App Store logo are the central design element.
All three clips are accompanied by the song Fashion by the K-POP band “IVE”. The lyrics are a mix of Japanese and English. According to the industry magazine “creative bloq”, Apple worked with 13 animation studios and well-known Japanese artists.
Scenes from a variety of apps appear in the clips, which Apple lists on a special Japanese page in the App Store. These include apps such as Goodnotes, Procreate, Duolingo and Discord as well as games popular in Japan, for example from the Pokémon universe. Japan is one of the countries that recently obliges Apple to allow competing app stores on the iOS platform: Since the beginning of the year, Apple has had to allow alternative app marketplaces in Japan – similar to the EU.
