A recent Reddit thread suggests that it’s possible for a cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro to turn vibrant pink. As PCMag’s Eric Zeman noted, it’s likely that the phone has been discolored by cleaning substances that affected the finish, turning it from vibrant orange to a wild hot pink. Sure, this might technically be a fault, but in all honesty I love pink phones and the idea of a hot pink iPhone 17 Pro filled me with joy. So I wanted to see if I could test the theory and see just what color-changing effects various household cleaners might have on my phone.

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 wouldn’t be so reckless in smearing it with chemicals that could potentially irreparably harm it. And you shouldn’t either. If you need to clean your phone, do it safely. Disclaimer aside, let’s dive in.

The chemicals

I bought two chemicals to test this out. Zeman explains that it may be oxidation that caused the color to change and that hydrogen peroxide could do this. I couldn’t find this over the counter in the UK, so I instead bought an «oxy-active» stain remover spray that, among other things, contains «oxygen-based bleaching agents» which sounded ideal. Apple also clearly states «don’t use products containing bleach or hydrogen peroxide» on its support page so, naturally, I bought some thick bleach too.

Oxy application

I started by spraying the oxy cleaner on a microfiber cloth until it was noticeably wet from the liquid and then liberally applied this 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. 

With the phone well and truly doused in chemicals that have no business being anywhere near a phone, I left it to sit and think about what it had done for 30 minutes — after which time I wiped it dry and took a close inspection. Disappointingly, my phone was still factory orange, rather than «what the hell have you done to your phone» pink. Time to move on.

Bleach blast

I opened the bleach and trying hard not to think about my days as a middle school cleaner, applied a liberal blob of the stuff to a cloth and smeared it over the defenceless phone, concentrating again on the metal areas. I definitely should have worn protective gloves for all of this so please make sure you take better care of yourself than I do if you do anything with bleach. 

Again, I gave it a 30-minute settling in period before cleaning it off and inspecting the results. 

The phone remained as orange as ever, looking as box fresh as it was the day before when it was, indeed, box fresh. The orange color hadn’t changed and now almost 24 hours later there’s still no sign of discoloration of any kind. 

Is the pink iPhone 17 real?

I can’t say with any certainty whether the Reddit user’s images of a pink iPhone 17 Pro are real or not. The cuddly human side of me wants to take them at their word, while the journalist in me is sceptical. What I can say with certainty is that putting your orange iPhone into close contact with household cleaning products isn’t going to win you a funky, ultra-rare pink hue that you could sell on eBay for a small fortune. 

It’s possible that using pure peroxide could be the thing that does it, but to be honest, if you’re going out of your way to throw industrial-grade chemicals at your phone then you may as well just directly try and dye it. My goal here was to see how susceptible the orange model is to everyday household cleaners such as kitchen cleaner or bathroom bleach — the sort of things it might naturally come into contact with in routine use. And what I’ve found is that, no, it won’t ruin the nice orange color. But it’s probably still not good for your phone. 

Black Friday deals: The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are some of the best personal audio gear on the market, even if they aren’t the latest model anymore. Sure, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are the newest earbuds in the lineup but the AirPods Pro 2 are still an excellent pick for most people.

They’re an even better buy this week during early Black Friday sales when you can get your hands on a pair of Apple AirPods Pro 2 at a discount. Right now, Walmart is shaving a massive $100 off the AirPods Pro 2, dropping the cost to $139. That’s one of the lowest prices we’ve seen — but we doubt this deal will stick around for long.

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CNET’s key takeaways

• You can get these amazing earbuds for just $139 right now at Walmart.
• My teenager loves everything about them.
• The sound quality is exceptional.
• The noise cancellation can help give you some peace, even in a busy home.

My 13-year-old daughter loves her music and her privacy, and for years she has wanted a pair of AirPods. They’re not cheap so I’ve only been getting her more budget options, like the Amazon Echo Buds, as a result. These kept seemingly disappearing, though, so I finally ponied up for the AirPods Pro 2.

I picked them up during last year’s sales, and they were definitely well-received. She’s happy, she uses them every day, and she hasn’t lost them yet. The AirPods Pro 2 are currently on sale at Walmart for $139, a nice price for a high-quality pair like these, and one of the lowest we’ve seen.

What about the AirPods Pro 3?

The AirPods Pro 3 weren’t available at the time I bought the AirPods Pro 2, but they were rumored, and I didn’t wait to see what they offered. As CNET’s resident headphone expert, David Carnoy summarized in his AirPods Pro 3 and Pro 3 comparison, the newer model is «significantly improved in the four most important areas: fit, sound quality, noise cancellation and battery life.» They also have heart-rate monitoring, like the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.

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While these are undoubtedly all important things, a lot of people aren’t going to notice the differences or make the most of the new features. With the AirPods Pro 3 being newer, they’re on a smaller sale and are currently available at Amazon for $220, which is $30 off the list price.

Why I didn’t get the AirPods 4 instead

Why did I choose AirPods Pro 2 instead of the AirPods 4 with ANC? First, as I mentioned in another article about a different pair of earbuds I bought, I think sealed, in-ear buds are better than open-design models like the AirPods 4. The seal creates another layer of noise isolation and contributes to superior sound quality, and if you want to pay attention to the world you can always engage ambient sound mode, which Apple calls transparency mode. 

Also a factor was that, at the time, Carnoy considered the Pro 2 the best Apple noise-canceling wireless earbuds: «While we’re quite impressed with those new models — and with the AirPods 4 ANC in particular — the AirPods Pro 2 remain arguably the best Apple AirPods you can buy if you don’t mind having silicone ear tips jammed in your ears,» he said.

My daughter uses earplugs all the time to help her sleep, so she definitely qualifies as somebody who’s comfortable stuffing things in her ears. Like her fingers, when I start using words like «sigma,» «skibidi» and «relatable» to try to relate to her.

I asked Carnoy about the Pro 2s potentially not fitting in her kid-size ears and he reassured me that the range of eartips that come with the Pro 2s «now include XS, so they should fit.» 

Do AirPods make a great gift?

It took me years to finally understand, but yes, for someone looking for wireless earbuds, AirPods — especially the Apple AirPods Pro 2 — make the perfect gift, regardless of whether you’re a teenage girl.