Last year, a Reddit thread emerged suggesting that the iPhone 17 Pro's vibrant cosmic orange color could somehow turn bright pink and it turns out it's absolutely true. In a previous version of this article I tested the Redditor's claims by attacking my phone with various chemicals and at the time I didn't notice much difference, but a couple of months on, things have changed. And when I put my phone against a fresh iPhone 17 Pro Max at MWC 2026, the difference was clear: mine was now bright pink. Here's what happened and what you can do to protect yours.
As PCMag's Eric Zeman noted, discoloration can be caused by cleaning substances that affect a phone's finish, with oxidation being to blame for the color shift from cosmic orange to hot pink. Sure, this might technically be a fault, but in all honesty I love pink phones (remember the pink Moto Razr V3?) and the idea of a hot pink iPhone 17 Pro filled me with joy. So I tested the theory with various cleaning fluids.
It's important to note here that the iPhone 17 Pro I used was bought by CNET for the purposes of testing. Had I paid over $1,000 of my own money, I would never be so reckless in smearing it with chemicals that could potentially do it irreparable harm. And you shouldn't either. If you need to clean your phone, do it safely. Disclaimer aside, let's dive in.
Do not do what I do. Keep this away from your phone. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
The chemicals
I first bought two chemicals to test this out. Zeman explains that oxidation may have caused the color to change and that hydrogen peroxide could do this. I couldn't find this over the counter in the UK at the time (but more on this later), so I instead bought an "oxy-active" stain remover spray that, among other things, contains "oxygen-based bleaching agents" which sounded ideal. Apple clearly states, "don't use products containing bleach or hydrogen peroxide" on its support page -- so, naturally, I bought some thick bleach too.
Watch this: iPhone Air, One Month Later: Camera and Battery Worries Put to Rest 05:55
Oxy application
I started by spraying the oxy cleaner on a microfiber cloth until it was noticeably wet from the liquid. I then liberally applied it all over the rear of the iPhone. The Reddit user with the affected phone showed that it only affected the metal parts, not the glass back panel, so I made sure to focus my attention on the sides and camera bar.
Smearing on the chemicals with a cloth. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
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