Today is Valentine's Day. Congratulations! I hope you're lucky enough to have someone in your life go out of their way to get you a small token of appreciation.
Or, conversely, you have someone that you appreciate enough to get them flowers or a gift of some sort. If you don't, don't sweat it — it's a mostly a marketing thing, anyway.
Regardless of whether you do or do not care about Valentine's Day, I doubt February 14th is the day you drop $11,910 on a limited edition "Secret Love" version of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max that's been unveiled to celebrate the day of love.
That's right, Dubai-based luxury device maker/customizer Caviar has announced a collection of 99 units of Apple's flagship smartphone (h/t GSMArena for the tip-off) with the back panel adorned with leather, jewels and 24k rose gold plating. The collection is divided into three unique designs: Bouquet Dore, Serpentis Pearl, and Sea of Love.
The prices are as follows for the iPhone 16 Pro models based on your preferred storage configuration: $9,630, $9,990 and $11,630. If you opt for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you're looking at $9,910, $10,270 and $11,910. Yep — that's nearly twelve thousand freakin' dollars to buy a phone. You could buy three Vision Pro headsets for this money and still have over a grand left in change.
You could buy three Vision Pro headsets for this money and still have over a grand left in change.
What do you get for the money? Well, the phone itself doesn't change (of course) but if you opt for the Bouquet Dore, your iPhone comes with genuine calfskin, mother-of-pearl butterflies and a double layer of 24K rose gold plating on the back, with a floral design inspired by the aesthetics of the Renaissance. Caviar says it "represents the most expensive bouquet and Valentine's gift." Ok then.
Meanwhile, the Serpentis Pearl has cream-colored leather, pearls and that same 24K rose gold, but the design shows a serpent symbolizing "passion and renewal". The Sea of Love, apart from bringing to mind an 80's Al Pacino flick, is inspired by Botticelli's Birth of Venus and has a back cover of calf leather, a 24K rose gold shell, pearls, mother-of-pearl and diamonds.
Don't buy these
At risk of straying too much into relationship advice territory here, if it takes a gift of this extravagance to signify your affection then I think a long, hard look in the mirror is called for.
Thing is, aside from sending out gigantic "please rob me" vibes every time you pull out your phone to take a call (or have your butler do it for you) there's a pretty simple reason not to get these phones; the iPhone's design is premium and already one of the best things about the device.
For the iPhone 16 Pro series, Apple employed a refined microblasted finish to the titanium that makes it smoother and shinier than a brushed finish. Apple — like any big tech company — spends a vast amount of money on research and development into its materials and design. Titanium has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios you can use, meaning the phone is durable and light at the same time. I just so happen to think it looks awesome just the way it is.
Now, there's some rumors floating about Apple could go back to aluminum for the iPhone 17 series. Aluminum is both lighter and more environmentally-friendly than Grade 5 titanium but I have to agree with my colleague Phil Michaels here; I don't think Apple will ditch titanium on the Pro models anytime soon.
So anyway, even if you do have $12k burning a hole in your pocket, don't buy this phone. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is already one of the best-looking phones out there and it doesn't need a mother-of-pearl inlay to make it better.
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